As a revamped secondary prepares for the 2026 season, sophomore standout Nohl Williams emerges as a high-upside playmaker for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs secondary looks much different right now than it did during Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season.
The Chiefs traded Pro Bowler Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for a package that included the Rams' first-round pick in 2026.
The Chiefs then saw cornerback Jaylen Watson sign with the Rams and safety Bryan Cook join the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.
Joshua Williams also left in free agency and signed with the Tennessee Titans.
Kansas City patched things up a bit by adding safety Alohi Gilman and selecting LSU Tigers star CB Mansoor Delane at No. 6 in the draft, and Delane was the CB1 of this draft class.
However, the best-kept secret for Kansas City is cornerback Nohl Williams, as written by Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report.
"Delane and Williams are now slotted to be the Chiefs' starting outside corners, with last year's third-round pick likely finding himself in an interesting position with one year under his belt. Some teams will certainly challenge him in coverage rather than testing the rookie," Sobleski wrote.
Williams, who played college football at Cal, was selected at No. 85 overall by the Chiefs in 2025, and he should see a large uptick in usage this season.
In 2025, he had 30 solo tackles with seven pass deflections.
Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus also picked Williams as a breakout player for 2026, so the hype is building for the young cornerback.
" Impressively, Williams placed in the 93rd percentile in single coverage grade and the 89th percentile at outside corner," Locker wrote in his PFF piece.
Kristian Fulton is another option to be a starter for the Chiefs, but Bleacher Report recently listed him as a potential cut candidate for Kansas City, so that's something to keep an eye on during the summer and the preseason.
Williams played well as a rookie, and the Chiefs have had success turning mid-round draft choices into capable starters time and time again, so there is a lot of buzz around Williams entering his sophomore season in the league.
Although there were a lot of changes on the defensive side of the ball for the Chiefs, players such as Williams should be given more opportunities, and if he excels, the Chiefs could do just fine on defense despite losing a lot of pieces this offseason.
Williams and Delane should help fill that void.
