The rough days in the NFL happen too commonly for young players still trying to carve out a consistent path. Each season brings challenges and obstacles that can make or break players, a lesson quickly learned by Kansas City Chiefs second-year defensive back L’Jarius Sneed.
Sneed was a surprise budding star for the Chiefs during his rookie season, making impactful plays against some of the best quarterbacks and receivers in the league. However, he has been the target for opponents this season, and many Chiefs fans want answers regarding his decline. Chiefs cornerbacks coach Sam Madison was an elite defender in his playing career and he continues to be optimistic about Sneed’s future and improvement this season.
“Oh yeah, Sneed, just a different person,” Madison told reporters on Thursday. “When you’re in the NFL now, a majority of the time, 10-15-20 years ago you look at base – two tight ends, two wide receivers, you only have two corners on the football field. Now you have to have three corners on the football field pretty much 75 to 80 percent of the game. We brought him in, thought he’d be an able corner, had the injury, moved him and put him at nickel then we were like ‘oh he can really do this’. Transitioning, going back and forth and having the opportunity to really learn the nickel and master that.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Sneed’s effectiveness has dropped considerably from his rookie season to the first five weeks of 2021. Last season Sneed was a breakout star with three interceptions and two sacks as a rookie garnering a favorable grade of 72.9. This season’s rate currently sits at 52.2, allowing a 152.8 passer rating with 19 receptions on 23 targets. That’s the worst mark in the NFL by a corner with over 200 snaps on the year.
The only thing that has changed for Sneed, is that he’s playing both cornerback and nickel for Kansas City this year.
“I had the opportunity to play with (Patrick) Surtain who played here,” said Madison. “He played nickelback for five years before he even started playing corner. He mastered that and then he was able to go outside. So this is something (L’Jarius Sneed has) been able to do and he’s doing a really good job. But the little, small details of being able to move inside back to outside, he hasn’t really had the outside part of it. His mindset is built for it though, we’re able to have a smaller quicker guy in there yet people still run the ball in those situations and he’s able to go in there and make those tackles and be aggressive at it as well.”
Sneed has the continued support from Madison to eventually shake off the issues he’s had so far this season. He doesn’t feel his current role is too much for him to handle. Mastering his roles in the middle of the season will be a chore, but it’s necessary as the Chiefs seek to correct the problems on defense before it is too late.
