The Kansas City Chiefs need secondary help, and they've added Jadon Canady as a depth player in the fourth round.
The Kansas City Chiefs continued their defense-only approach to this draft by selecting defensive back Jadon Canady from Oregon to help beef up a unit that took some heavy losses in the offseason.
The losses are familiar at this point, but they’re still worth reviewing. The Chiefs lost cornerback Trent McDuffie when they traded him to the Los Angeles Rams, and fellow cornerback Jaylen Watson followed McDuffie to the Rams in free agency. Kansas City also lost Bryan Cook to the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency, so they’re basically doing a complete overhaul.
Unlike first-rounder Mansoor Delane, however, Canady won’t be a starter. The Chiefs like his versatility, as he started at three schools and has played both safety and nickel corner. He’ll slot in as a depth piece initially, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will also have some work to do given Canady’s shortcomings.
According to Jesse Newell of The Athletic, Canady is both undersized and underpowered, but he makes good decisions and has genuine athleticism. Canady also has experience as a gunner, so he could be instrumental on special teams as the Chiefs look to reduce some of the key penalties with that unit that often surfaced at the worst possible times.
Newell identified Chiefs scout Greg Castillo as an evaluator who values Canady’s competitiveness, and his experience at multiple schools means he’ll be asked to step in and contribute right away.
Kansas City signed safety Alohi Gilman in free agency to provide better coverage in the back end, so he’ll likely be Canady’s mentor early on. It’s unlikely that he becomes the next Bryan Cook, who was rated one of the best safeties in the league, but the Chiefs will likely be happy if Canady can become a rotational player in the secondary.
Newell’s initial draft grade for Delane was an A, and he was high on Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods with an A-. Edge rusher R Mason Thomas was considered a reach by fellow Athletic writer Nick Baumgardner, especially with edge rushers like Zion Young and Cashius Howell still on the board.
It’s still something of a shock to see the Chiefs taking this many defensive players consecutively, especially given the draft capital Kansas City lost trading up with the Cleveland Browns to get Delane.
It’s definitely not the approach we were expecting based on the pre-draft comments of GM Brett Veach, and Spagnuolo will be under a lot of pressure to turn the defense into a cohesive group after all the changes.