SerpApi.Org
It's no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs went through a major renovation on their defense this offseason. And with training camp nearing every so close, it's important for Steve Spagnuolo to quickly realize the guys in line to take the starting spots left by Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson at cornerback.
One of those emerging starts is second-year man Nohl Williams, who got better as each game went on last year, despite his fourth-round draft pick pedigree. He played in at least 60 snaps in four of the last five games of the season and allowed an impressive 52.5 completion percentage and less than seven yards per target to go along with 48 total tackles and a sack.
PFF metrics touted Williams' play as well, giving him an overall 74.5 grade, which ranked 15th out of 114 qualified CBs. That's not the only glowing response that Williams has received from PFF, as they ranked the 23-year-old as one of two corners on their 2026 All-Breakout defensive team heading into the 2026 season. Let's hope, for the Chiefs' sake, this holds true.
PFF named Nohl Williams as one of their breakout defensive prospects heading into 2026 season
Williams being named as a potential breakout candidate is not the first time Chiefs fans have heard such a thing. If you watched the team last season, Williams was one of the few bright spots during what was a truly poor 6-11 campaign. He is primarily an outside corner at 6'1", 200 lbs, and should be given the starting spot in training camp right away.
Opposite him on the boundary should be No. 6 overall pick in this past year's NFL Draft, Mansoor Delane. The LSU product has a lot of pressure riding over his head to be the next McDuffie. But they are different players. While each of them possesses nearly technically perfect coverage skills, Delane is bigger than McDuffie and has better ball skills. At least as a college prospect.
The Chiefs are facing somewhat of a logjam after that, with veterans Kristian Fulton and L'Jarius Sneed fighting to stay out of the retirement home, Chamarri Conner, Jaden Hicks, and Christian Roland-Wallace competing for the second safety spot behind Alohi Gilman. And young bulls Jadon Canady, Kevin Knowles, and Kaiir Elam hoping to get one of the last few roster nods. Not to mention former Dolphins slot-CB Kader Kohou in the mix as well.
Safe to say, Kansas City will have a lot of work to do over the coming weeks to figure out who deserves to come out on top. But one thing is for sure. Nohl Williams has proven he can play in the big leagues, and his high potential is shared by the belief of both Chiefs fans and the media as a whole.
Today's best reads
- Chiefs might have the perfect trade partner to solve their most overlooked logjam
- Revamped Chiefs defense has to overcome Trent McDuffie loss in more ways than one
- Is Kader Kohou's spot on the Chiefs' 53-man roster really secure?
- ESPN's latest LB ranking tells Chiefs fans everything they need to know about Nick Bolton's value
- Bleacher Report proposes Chiefs finally cut ties with disappointing former first-round pick
This article was originally published on kckingdom.com as The arrow might finally be pointing up for Chiefs breakout candidate Nohl Williams.
