{"id":240895,"date":"2025-07-29T17:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=240895"},"modified":"2025-07-29T16:41:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T20:41:50","slug":"chiefs-mcduffie-cornerback-nickelback-training-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/07\/29\/chiefs-mcduffie-cornerback-nickelback-training-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Bowl Champion Gets Honest About Potential Role Change With Chiefs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs are grinding their way through training camp, and it has revealed a potential new wrinkle for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie Eager for Potential Role Change<\/h2>\n

Trent McDuffie Working in Slot More During Chiefs Training Camp<\/h3>\n

McDuffie has logged more reps in the slot in training camp than he did last year. It is actually a return to form for the two-time Super Bowl champion and former No. 21 overall pick of the 2022 draft, though.<\/p>\n

Regardless, McDuffie is eager to put pressure on opposing QBs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite story is when I say, \u2018Every time I get a blitz, I start smiling,\u2019\u201d McDuffie told Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen<\/a> in comments shared on July 29. \u201cI feel like I really just gotta focus in on what it means to be a blitzer, really, in this defense. Yeah, it gets to the quarterback. But like I always tell everybody, I know what it\u2019s like to be on an island. I know what it\u2019s like when it\u2019s Cover 0, and everybody blitzing, and the quarterback knows it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really getting back to the quarterback, right, to help my buddies out on the back end. So, this year I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDuffie could be in for a big season in terms of making splash plays for the Chiefs.<\/p>\n

Per Pro Football Focus, McDuffie spent 152 of his 1,206 defensive snaps<\/a> in the slot at nickelback during the 2024 regular season.<\/p>\n

That is down from McDuffie\u2019s 608 NB snaps<\/a> in 2023. They are also fewer than his 247 snaps there as a rookie<\/a> in 2022. McDuffie earned First Team All-Pro honors in 2023 and was a Second Teamer this past season.<\/p>\n

If he continues to embrace the defense\u2019s new mantra, McDuffie is in for another big season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018Be bold and be courageous,\u2019 which I think is really just an attitude thing,\u201d McDuffie said. \u201cWhen you want to play in Coach Spags\u2019 [Steve Spagnuolo<\/a>] defense, you gotta be confident, you gotta be bold, and you can\u2019t be scared of making a mistake. So, we just gotta go out there and fly around.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDuffie recorded the first two interceptions of his career last season, and he forced 5 fumbles in 2023.<\/p>\n

2025 could be the season McDuffie puts it all together for an especially productive campaign.<\/p>\n

Chiefs Newcomer Misses Practice<\/h3>\n
\"Kristian
Oct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton (7) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

McDuffie playing more in the slot means others must hold the fort down on the perimeter. The Chiefs have 2024 holdovers Chamarri Conner<\/a> and Nazeeh Johnson<\/a> to make the transition operate as desired.<\/p>\n

However, they also added former Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton<\/a> in free agency.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, Fulton was part of a notable list of non-participants on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cKristian Fulton (knee), Darius Rush<\/a> (hamstring), Eric Scott<\/a> (hamstring), Deon Bush<\/a> (hamstring), Jeffrey Bassa<\/a> (ankle) and Jake Briningstool<\/a> (hamstring) didn\u2019t practice for the Chiefs today,\u201d McMullen posted<\/a> on X on July 29.<\/p>\n

\u201cHollywood Brown<\/a> (ankle), Xavier Worthy<\/a> (banged his head), Cooper McDonald<\/a> (sick) and Skyy Moore<\/a> (hamstring) left early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown\u2019s outlook is optimistic in the aftermath.<\/p>\n

Still, Fulton could be the biggest key to the Chiefs trusting their coverage on the outside enough to move McDuffie inside in nickel formations. At the very least, they are thinner at a premium position so long as he is sidelined. Of course, that also applies to Brown, Moore, and Worthy.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chiefs are trying something a little bit different with him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2879,"featured_media":240899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[7811,6031,9107],"class_list":["post-240895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chiefs","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-kristian-fulton","tag-trent-mcduffie"],"modified_by":"Josh Buckhalter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2879"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240895"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":240901,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240895\/revisions\/240901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}