K.C. rookies wasted no time making presence felt
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andy Reid remembers talking to the Kansas City Chiefs at some point last year, back when the veterans were getting to know the rookies and the season still seemed far off, and he brought up the San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh.
It was 1981, and the 49ers had drafted four defensive backs they expected to contribute right away. They did so much more. Ronnie Lott went on to start all 16 games, beginning a Hall of Fame career and becoming one of the finest safeties to play the game. Eric Wright and Carlton Williams, who both eventually became Pro Bowlers, started alongside Lott every week, and Lynn Thomas appeared in 15 games.
Together, that group carefully selected by Walsh helped the 49ers win their first conference championship before beating the Bengals for their first Super Bowl title.
“It seems like a long time ago that I mentioned that to our guys,” Reid said this week.
The reason for bringing it up? Chiefs general manager Brett Veach also drafted four defensive backs last year. And much like the 49ers, the Chiefs banked on their rookie quartet to get to the Super Bowl.
“I mean, here we sit,” Reid said with a smile.
First-round pick Trent Mcduffie emerged as a lockdown cornerback after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the
opener. Jaylen Watson had a 99yard pick-six that helped the Chiefs beat the Chargers early in the season, and he since has picked off two more passes in the playoffs.
Josh Williams also intercepted Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the AFC title game, catching a deep throw in the closing minutes after rookie safety Bryan Cook had batted it into the air.
The pressure on the four Sunday night went soaring on the game's fourth play, when one of the few veterans in the secondary — L'jarius Sneed — was sidelined by a concussion.
They were undaunted. “Obviously there was concern,” Reid said when asked about his rookies playing so much so soon, “but there was an optimism that it can be done. Then the kids, just their work ethic — they showed us this in training camp. They showed it all the way through the season. If they got beat, they came back and fought back.”
Indeed, all of them took regular-season lumps. But you wouldn't know it by the playoffs.
Did they exceed even Veach's expectations?
“I think so,” he replied. “Maybe
it was a necessity because we had a lot of turnover. Again, every time we approach an offseason, whether it be a free-agent signing or draft pick, we have full confidence in our staff 's ability to bring talented players in and our coaches to get the most out them. I think you saw early on — you guys were at the OTAS, the training camps — I think it was pretty clear early on that this would be a special group.”
It hasn't just been the four defensive backs either. It's been an entire rookie class outperforming expectations.
Defensive end George Karlaftis had six regular-season sacks, then another of Burrow in the AFC title game.
Skyy Moore played a crucial role against the Bengals after three wide receivers were lost to injuries, and his punt return helped set up the winning field goal.
Leo Chenal has appeared in every game at linebacker. And seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco has become the lead running back.
The returns on the Chiefs' rookie investments are even more impressive given the fact that Kansas City, like other teams that make deep playoff runs each year, are usually picking after just about everyone else.
“I don't know if you've ever heard of a guy named Brett Veach,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said, “but he has brought in some amazing talent when he put this team together. We're the best team in the AFC because of what he's been able to do, on top of what these coaches have been able to do in terms of teaching these guys how to make plays.”
It's been a long time since Reid was teaching them a little bit of history too. But the parallels between that bunch of 49ers in the early 1980s and this group of Chiefs in the early 2020s just might go all the way to a Super Bowl title.
Lott and those young 49ers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. The Chiefs have a chance to do the same.
“I was optimistic,” Reid said, “but you don't know how that journey's going to go. But they've sure done a nice job.”