Kansas City opens training camp with what the team called its fiercest battle for playing time at cornerback, with six players listed as the main contenders: Mansoor Delane, Nohl Williams, L’Jarius Sneed, Kristian Fulton, Chris Roland-Wallace and Jadon Canady.
The three winners will earn starting roles on defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit for opening night against the Denver Broncos on Sept. 14. The position battle escalated after the Chiefs traded two-time All-Pro Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for a package of four draft picks, including the No. 29 overall selection, and Jaylen Watson also signed with the Rams when free agency began.
Kansas City’s biggest response was to add Delane, for whom the team traded up three spots to select sixth overall. The Chiefs also drafted Canady in the fourth round and signed Sneed, who spent four years in Kansas City before joining Tennessee in 2024, to a one-year deal in June. In 11 games at LSU last season, Delane recorded two interceptions, 13 pass breakups, surrendered no touchdowns in coverage and was a unanimous All-American.
Spagnuolo said in May that Delane “jumped out on tape” and that the staff viewed him as “the top corner in this class.” The organization’s evaluation of Delane was compared to its predraft view of McDuffie: both were described as sticky in coverage, with smooth footwork and above-average intelligence. Delane emphasized the mental side of his play, saying, “I take pride in my cerebral part of the game. I try to understand my alignment and my splits to help give me an advantage before the play even happens. You just try to eliminate routes. If it’s a cut split or a wider split, there’s only so many routes you can do. Eliminating the route tree makes the game easier.”
Spagnuolo will assess the group with the Chiefs’ top receivers — Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton — lining up against them. Delane missed the team’s mandatory minicamp with a shoulder injury; Sneed participated only in the final practice and was held out of the 11-on-11 period. In their absence, Williams got the most reps during the offseason program and started the final four games of last season. “For sure, [I’m] way more comfortable than last year,” Williams said. “The terminology is easier. It’s more ingrained into my brain now, the scheme.”
