The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t just address in the draft their shortcomings at cornerback. They attacked them.
The Chiefs drafted three cornerbacks. KeiVarae Russell of Notre Dame and Eric Murray of Minnesota were two of their top four picks, and the Chiefs later added D.J. White of Georgia Tech.
But all isn’t necessarily good here. The Chiefs have numbers now. They have bodies. But do they have enough good players at cornerback?
It’s difficult to see how they do, at least for now. The cornerback the Chiefs know they can count on is Marcus Peters. That’s a good start but not nearly enough.
Phillip Gaines will probably be their other starter, but he’s still trying to establish himself as an NFL player. He looked like he was on his way toward doing that last year before tearing his ACL. The Chiefs expect Gaines back at something close to full strength when training camp begins, but there’s no guarantee he’ll continue the upward career path he was on before the injury.
Otherwise, the Chiefs have a collection of developmental prospects at cornerback including Steven Nelson, a third-round draft pick last year who played little as a rookie.
So the Chiefs will need one or more of their rookie cornerbacks to help immediately. Russell should become a solid player eventually. Murray may be the Chiefs’ best value pick, looking at his potential compared to the spot where he was drafted (fourth round).
But the Chiefs don’t have time to wait for those players to develop. They have a game on Sept. 11 against Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, and Russell and Murray, at least, might need to be ready to help.
If they’re not, the Chiefs could regret their refusal or inability to bring in a veteran when they had the chance.
