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Kansas City Chiefs: Kendall Fuller was the true star of the trade

By Maxwell Ogden

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 23: Kendall Fuller #29 and Rob Kelley #20 of the Washington Redskins wait in the tunnel before taking the field to play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 23, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 23: Kendall Fuller #29 and Rob Kelley #20 of the Washington Redskins wait in the tunnel before taking the field to play against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 23, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs traded Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, but the true star of the trade was one of the best young corners in the NFL: Kendall Fuller.

With Super Bowl LII mere days away, the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins temporarily stole The Big Game’s thunder. In one of the most unexpected moves in NFL history, Kansas City sent starting quarterback Alex Smith to Washington in a move that has created a ripple effect throughout the league.

For as compelling as Smith being dealt to Washington is and was, it’s not just he and Kirk Cousins who could alter the landscape of the NFL; Kendall Fuller could, as well.

Kansas City is coming off of a season during which it went 10-6 and made the playoffs for a third consecutive year. Smith put together the best season of his career, accumulating 4,042 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns, and just five interceptions.

One of the more quiet narratives of the season, however, was the apparent implosion of Kansas City’s once vaunted pass defense.

Kansas City finished 2017 ranked No. 15 in scoring defense and No. 29 in passing yards allowed. It did an excellent job of creating turnovers, but the defense was unable to prevent teams from moving the chains—see: No. 23 in the NFL in opponent third down conversion percentage.

Thankfully for Andy Reid and company, adding Fuller is exactly what needed to be done to address that very issue.

Fuller has firmly established himself as one of the NFL’s truly elite slot defenders. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 6 overall cornerback in 2017, with a prestigious 90.0 rating that only five other players managed to achieve.

Those players: Casey Hayward (96.4), Tre’Davious White (92.0), Jalen Ramsey (91.8), Patrick Robinson (90.6), and Marshon Lattimore (90.5).

Furthermore, Fuller allowed a mere 0.74 yards per snap in slot coverage—the second-best mark amongst cornerbacks, trailing just Mike Hilton of the Pittsburgh Steelers (0.68). He allowed one reception for every 12.3 snaps in slot coverage, which ranked No. 5 amongst cornerbacks.

For perspective: Fuller played 81 more slot coverage snaps than any of the other players in the top-five of said statistic.

To round out his dominance, Fuller recorded three interceptions in slot coverage—tied with Robert McClain and Patrick Robinson for the best mark in the NFL. Thus, it’s just not just a matter of being able to shut players down in the slot.

When a quarterback throws his assignment’s way, Fuller has been as likely as any player in the NFL to turn defense into offense.

If that still isn’t enough to convince you, try this: Seven cornerbacks were targeted at least 60 times in slot coverage during the 2017 season. Six of those seven players allowed an NFL quarterback rating of 91.6 percent or better.

The only exception: Fuller at an absolutely absurd 55.0.

https://twitter.com/KeFu11er/status/958567846459658245

Kansas City will now add Fuller to a secondary that already includes two-time All-Pro Marcus Peters. That dynamic duo could anchor what has the potential to become a legitimately dominant secondary.

All we have to go on at this point is speculation and statistics, but the numbers suggest that Fuller and Peters will help Kansas City achieve that very success.

There are still areas in which Andy Reid and Brett Veach must improve the current roster. There’s no telling if Patrick Mahomes II will be an adequate replacement to Alex Smith, nor is there a guarantee that Fuller and Peters will excel in the manner we expect them to.

And thus, there isn’t a way to guarantee that Kansas City Chiefs will return to the NFL Playoffs in 2018-19.

Must Read: Predicting the quarterback carousel

If we’re talking about pure talent and upside, however, then 22-year-old slot cover corner Kendall Fuller was the star of this blockbuster trade.

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