Kansas City Chiefs rookie CB L’Jarius Sneed shines in debut
The Kansas City Chiefs got an impressive debut performance out of rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.
Brett Veach has done it again. The Kansas City Chiefs general manager has done an incredible job of building this roster in recent years and an even better job of keeping it all together. Not only was he able to bring back all of the key pieces from their Super Bowl squad, Veach and company added some impact players to the mix over the offseason.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire gets all of the hype, and for good reason. Edwards-Helaire had a fantastic rookie debut and is set up to have a ton of success out of the backfield for the Kansas City Chiefs this season. However, rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was just as impressive on Thursday night and could quickly become a major difference-maker for this team going forward.
Sneed was a fourth-round selection out of Louisiana Tech by Kansas City in the 2020 NFL Draft. He was an impressive cornerback for three years but played safety during his final season in college. However, Veach and the Chiefs saw his combination of length and athleticism and decided to move him back outside.
The rookie started at outside corner for Kansas City in their 34-20 victory over the Houston Texans in the season debut. Deshaun Watson and the Texans attacked Sneed early in this game and he immediately held his own. He played tight coverage on the outside and shows impressive natural ball skills in the defensive backfield.
On the night, L’Jarius Sneed was credited with three tackles and two passes defended. Early in the fourth quarter, he helped put the Texans away with an interception of Watson. While it was not the most difficult interception in the world (as you can see below), the pick was the cherry on top of a strong night for the rookie.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1304247331827494912
So far, Kansas City appears to have struck gold with the fourth-round defensive back. He still has plenty to prove going forward, but Sneed is undoubtedly a talented player who could help take this Chiefs’ defense to the next level.
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The Kansas City Chiefs were always going to be a difficult team to beat this season, but if Sneed can continue to play at this level and give them a sticky man coverage corner on the outside, the sky is the limit.