There were clear winners and losers during the Kansas City Chiefs’ first preseason outing against the Arizona Cardinals, and one former draft pick may have shifted into the category of cut candidate after a brutal performance.
While discussing what they saw in Week 1 of the 2025 preseason on the “41 is the Mic” podcast, Chiefs beat reporters Matt Derrick (Chiefs Digest) and Nick Jacobs (KSHB 41) noted that fourth-year cornerback Nazeeh Johnson’s showing “burned” his roster chances significantly.
“So, with Nazeeh Johnson, he struggled finding the football twice, and one of them led to a penalty,” Jacobs began a very critical rant of the former seventh-round draft pick. He then noted that Johnson’s “third” mistake came on the touchdown that he allowed.
“The wide receiver set him up perfectly and gave an outside nudge, so that Nazeeh hopped and gave up the inside release,” Jacobs detailed. “So, Nazeeh kind of bit right into what he wanted to begin with.”
“Headed into year four at this point. I know he had the ACL and everything, but that’s something you can get a rookie, maybe a first-year guy on,” the KC beat reporter continued. “Year four, it shouldn’t be that easy, the way that it was [against the Cardinals].”
“I think the performance that he had is really going to burn him,” Jacobs concluded. Adding later that the combination of the touchdown, two penalty flags, and general shortcomings in coverage “burned” his outlook as a bubble candidate.
Joshua Williams’ Stock Rises Slightly After Chiefs’ Preseason Opener, But Cut or Trade May Still Be Probable
Competing with Johnson for one of the final roster spots at cornerback is fellow 2022 draft pick Joshua Williams.
Williams has had a discouraging offseason that traces back to his Super Bowl performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs brought in Kristian Fulton and rookie Nohl Williams in free agency and the draft, dedicating key resources to the cornerback roles that Joshua Williams once occupied.
With that in mind, the former fourth-round pick managed to put together one of his better recent performances against Arizona.
“With so many defensive backs on this winners list, Williams obviously faces some competition to make the 2025 roster,” Arrowhead Pride analyst Matt Stagner wrote while labeling Williams one of 10 “winners” from preseason Week 1.
Continuing: “But he responded well in this game, making a couple of drive-killing plays — including a tackle for loss. Even if it was in the second half of the first preseason game, it was good to see Williams making his presence known.”
As Stagner alluded, although his play was strong, Williams’ second-half usage was more telling in a negative way.
“I think Joshua Williams [has] given himself an opportunity to potentially be traded somewhere,” Jacobs noted on “41 is the Mic.”
“There [are] a lot of teams that could use him as a corner,” he explained. “I understand people think — well, that could deplete the Chiefs’ [CB] depth and everything — but he’s playing in the third and fourth quarter at this point. The Chiefs have already kind of told you where they feel that they’re at with him.”
Jacobs concluded that a “change of scenery” could be good for Williams as he tries to revive his NFL career.
Who Will the Chiefs Keep at Cornerback If It’s Not Nazeeh Johnson & Joshua Williams?
For much of camp, it’s felt like Johnson or Williams would make the final spot. But what if neither of the 2022 draft picks is retained?
The Chiefs have Trent McDuffie, Fulton, Jaylen Watson (concussion), and Nohl Williams as roster locks at cornerback. Derrick also argued that nickel specialist and safety Christian Roland-Wallace “solidified” his 53-man spot with another strong performance on Saturday, coming up with two turnovers on defense and special teams.
If Roland-Wallace is utilized mostly in the slot, he’d be KC’s fifth CB on the roster. But there would still be a sixth spot for Johnson or Williams, potentially.
The other candidates would most likely be rookie UDFAs Kevin Knowles, Melvin Smith Jr. and Jacobe Covington.
