This Chiefs starting spot still up for grabs: ‘Hopefully one of the guys will emerge’

The Kansas City Chiefs, when healthy, will start L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie at cornerback.

So who is the leader for the third starting spot at that position?

Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt doesn’t have an answer yet between Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams — something that appears to be frustrating for him this far into camp.

“Every day you wake up, every day you step on the field, you have to prove that you belong,” Merritt said Wednesday after practice at Missouri Western. “And so until one of them steps up and takes the job, right now, we will continue to rotate them. So hopefully that will iron itself out over the next two weeks.”

Williams — a fourth-round pick in 2022 — and Watson — a seventh-round selection the same year — split time last year, too. Watson started six games, mostly coming at the beginning of the season. Williams, meanwhile, later stepped into the starting lineup for four games in November and December.

During the first full-squad week of this year’s training camp, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo revealed that he’d warned one of his second-year defensive backs (he wouldn’t name the player) that he was “going back to his rookie habits.”

Merritt similarly seemed to hint that Watson and Williams weren’t always progressing as he’d hoped.

“Sophomore year, always after a Super Bowl, there’s always possibly the talk of a guy having a sophomore slump or a second-year slump — where these guys are not only second-year players, they’re also coming off of a big win,” Merritt said of Watson and Williams, “... as far as possibly reading the papers (newspapers) a little bit in the offseason and coming into camp and maybe needing to lock in a little better.”

Merritt said the evaluation of both players was still ongoing.

“I think these guys are getting to the point where they can just kind of go and be themselves and show the skill set that they have to be able to help us win,” Merritt said. “And like I said, hopefully one of the guys will emerge as a starter.”

Watson (16 snaps) and Williams (10) had limited playing time in the Chiefs’ preseason opener against the Saints, though both are likely to get more run during Saturday’s second exhibition game at Arizona.

Merritt has been pleased with the growth of some of his other secondary players. That includes the 2022 first-round pick McDuffie, whom Merritt called a “smart, smooth athlete.”

“If Trent makes a mistake once, it’s not too often that he’s going to have that same mistake that’s going to show up,” Merritt said. “And so that’s just one of the things that Trent brings to the table — is the fact that he’s able to comprehend what you’re trying to teach and then go out and actually perform it. I like where he is.”

Merritt also highlighted 2023 fourth-round pick Chamarri Conner, saying he has done a “great job” while performing multiple roles on defense like nickelback, dime defensive back and safety.

The defensive backs coach later described 2023 seventh-round pick Nic Jones as a quick-twitch athlete who was settling in at slot corner; the rookie’s development could be delayed a bit, though, as Jones fractured two fingers during Sunday’s game.

Merritt also mentioned a pair of rookie corners competing on the outside for roster spots: Ekow Boye-Doe (out of Kansas State) and Kahlef Hailassie (from Western Kentucky).

“Fresh blood is in the room,” Merritt said, “and so it’s been good.”

Even with those additions, it’s likeliest that Watson or Williams will be a starter for the Chiefs’ regular-season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 7.

The sooner Merritt figures out which one, it’ll be, he says, the better.

“I hope one of the guys,” Merritt said, “steps up and takes the job.”