{"id":8100,"date":"2016-12-12T21:20:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T02:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=8100"},"modified":"2016-12-13T10:19:28","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T15:19:28","slug":"8100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/12\/12\/8100\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions at Kansas City Chiefs Secondary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marcus Peters<\/a> is a game changer. Other teams know this so quarterbacks, for the most part, avoid throwing his way. The rest of the Chiefs secondary has been questionable though. They desperately need someone to fill the void that Sean Smith<\/a> left when he signed with Oakland Raiders<\/strong> in the off-season. Kansas City was hoping Phillip Gaines<\/a> would step up and fill that hole that Smith left. Gaines, however, has been suffering injuries and having some poor performances in big games. A lot of Chiefs fans were unhappy with Gaines following his performance against the Denver Broncos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Questions at Kansas City Chiefs Secondary<\/h2>\n

A bright spot on the Chiefs secondary besides Peters is obviously Eric Berry<\/a>. The four time Pro-Bowler is making another strong case at the Pro Bowl for the 2016 season. The former Tennessee Volunteer<\/strong> was a huge difference maker in the Chiefs victory over the Atlanta Falcons<\/strong>. The NFL Comeback Player of the Year Winner in 2015 has a total of three interceptions on the year. This puts him at second on the team behind only Marcus Peters<\/a>. Every time Berry has caught the ball he has found his way into the end zone for a Chiefs score.<\/p>\n

Terrance Mitchell<\/a> has been on four different teams since he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The former Oregon Duck<\/strong> was picked 254th overall by the Dallas Cowboys<\/strong>. He fell to the seventh round because he was considered somewhat slow for a corner. He was waived from the Cowboys with a chance to sign to their practice squad but signed with the Chicago Bears instead. From there he would go back to the Cowboys and the Houston Texans<\/strong> before he signed with the Chiefs in September 2016. Kansas City even promoted him to the active roster on October 18th before releasing him November 8th.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs would sign Mitchell back to their practice squad on the 9th. Kansas City promoted him to the active roster on the 25th of November. Mitchell started to see playing time against the Atlanta Falcons. He will be forever remembered for his deflected pass on 4th down against the Raiders to seal the win for the Chiefs. The California native recorded five tackles and two passes defensed in the Chiefs victory against Oakland. Kansas City hopes that the former Cowboy can continue to show the promise that he has been showing. He has been seeing playing times against two of the top passing teams and doing very well in the games.<\/p>\n

Full Nelson<\/h3>\n

The Chiefs have also been giving Steven Nelson<\/a> a lot of playing time in their secondary as well. Kansas City selected Nelson out of Oregon State<\/strong> in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The former Oregon State Beaver was given mostly special teams duty in 2015. In 2016, Kansas City has given Nelson more playing time on the defense and he\u2019s showing signs of improvement. The only game he didn\u2019t play in was the night game in Denver. The Oregon State standout has a total of 52 tackles on the season, along with 14 pass defensed. Compare that to 2015 where the former Beaver only recorded 8 total tackles. Kansas City does thrive on turnovers though and Nelson has yet to record any in his NFL career but if he keeps playing like he will he should get one.<\/p>\n

Fantastic Front<\/h3>\n

Kansas City has one of the best front sevens in the National Football League and if Nelson and Mitchell can step up their defense might become even stronger than it already was. So far the defense is very bend don\u2019t break style. This has worked well for the Chiefs so far but might become more difficult in the playoffs. Kansas City needs some players in their secondary to step up if they want to hoist the Lombardi trophy in February.<\/p>\n

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