Trent McDuffie Emerging as ‘Quiet Leader’ for Chiefs' Defense

The emergence of the Kansas City Chiefs' starting cornerback duo is one of the club's most positive storylines of the 2023 campaign. Before the organization's very eyes, L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie are turning into star-level players and locking down the back end of Steve Spagnuolo's defense.

McDuffie, in particular, is doing some terrific work at such a young age. When Kansas City traded up for him in the first round of last year's NFL Draft, even they may not have expected this type of production from the former Washington standout. In just 26 regular-season games spanning his first two seasons, the 23-year-old has made his mark as a premier cornerback in the league. That's despite an injury-filled rookie campaign and a bit of uncertainty at times surrounding which cornerback spot he'd be lining up at for Kansas City.

As a sophomore, the Chiefs aren't necessarily keeping it simple with McDuffie. A lot is still being asked of him within the defense. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Spagnuolo tipped his cap to the standout defensive back and said he's stepping up as more of a leader now that he's more experienced in the system. 

"He just keeps doing this (points arm upward)," Spagnuolo said. "He did that last year — remember he was out for that stretch where he was hurt and then had to come in midseason? I thought that was really impressive for him to be able to do that. He's kind of really developing into a slow, quiet leader. LJ and Justin Reid are kind of the guys, but you can feel that in Trent. I think he's playing with a lot of confidence. I want him to get that first interception. I thought it was coming last week, I really did. I told him that, and I think he wants that too." 

Despite not recording an interception just yet, McDuffie's impact remains profound. This season alone, he has nine quarterback hits, seven passes broken up, five forced fumbles, three tackles for loss and three sacks. He's taken on more responsibility as a blitzer while maintaining a low missed tackle percentage and staying aggressive on defense. Spending 411 of his snaps in the slot versus 283 on the outside (per Pro Football Focus), Kansas City has flipped his split and turned him into a top-flight nickel cornerback in 2023. 

Of all corners on the PFF leaderboard with at least 20% of maximum snaps played, McDuffie is the No. 7 player overall. His 16 pressures are seven more than the next-closest player. In their "stop" metric, he's tied for the eighth-most. The former 21st overall pick is a Swiss Army knife that Spagnuolo is getting the most out of in tandem with Sneed. McDuffie embraces the leadership role on top of that, serving as a coach of sorts on the field. 

"Yeah, I definitely think I've started to take on a little bit more of a role out there on the defense, especially playing that nickel position," McDuffie said. There's a lot on me as far as checks, as far as just communicating out there on the back end with the linebackers and stuff, so on the field in that way. But also just off the field, trying to keep that positive attitude around here and keep that culture of winning and kind of just making sure I reiterate what the coaches are talking about. Coming along quietly for sure." 

In the Chiefs' Week 16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Sneed got banged up with a calf injury. It's being described as a strain by the team, although the ailment held him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. The team is hopeful that Sneed will be able to play on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals but if he can't, having another Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback already in the fold is a massive plus. McDuffie may not have that elusive first interception, but he's got everything else taken care of. Could he check that last thing off his list to cap off 2023? He's hoping for it.

"I mean, shoot, that's always something on my mind," McDuffie said. "I think it's always on a DB's mind is going to get that interception, but I've tried to not let it affect my confidence and kind of affect my play. But it definitely gives me this edge that I've got to go out there and keep proving myself and keep trying to go get that one."