Summary Points:
- Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo praises rookie CB Nohl Williams for his performance thus far.
- How is Williams having an impact on Trent McDuffie’s role?
Kansas City Chiefs rookie CB Nohl Williams has looked like the best rookie cornerback in the NFL through the first four weeks of the 2025 NFL season.
In just 40 coverage snaps, Williams has been targeted eight times, allowing a 25% completion percentage and just a 39.6 passer rating from opposing quarterbacks throwing into his coverage. He’s allowed just two receptions for ten yards to go along with multiple pass breakups. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but it’s enough of a sample size to understand why his role on defense has slowly increased.
Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo spoke about the performance by the rookie on Friday, explaining that Williams showed some signs early on that he could perform at a high level.
“Yeah, he’s done a really nice job for us,” Spagnuolo said of Williams. “You know, early in the year, he kind of stuck out to me on special teams. He had some — I don’t know if you guys remember — a couple of really good — on the kickoff team — he had some really good hits. And he’s a physical guy. He was physical in training camp. There was a little bit of a rough beginning because it was kind of different to him, but I think he’s kind of settled in. He’s playing more confident, which is probably the first thing you need out there. And I think, you know, we got a lot of respect for D-Hop (DeAndre Hopkins), and he went out and was able to have a couple of decent plays on him, so I think that boosted his confidence.”
Beyond the impact that Williams is having on the field, he’s also putting one of his teammates in the best position to succeed, which in turn is setting up the entire defense for success.
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Nohl Williams is allowing the Chiefs to do what they needed to do with CB Trent McDuffie
A major topic throughout the 2025 NFL offseason was how the Chiefs could get star CB Trent McDuffie more work in the slot. McDuffie played over 950 snaps out wide on the boundary in 2024, after playing primarily in the slot during the 2023 NFL season. Part of that was personnel-related issues, with Jaylen Watson battling injury for a significant portion of the 2024 season. Now that the Chiefs have two outside cornerbacks who are fully capable, in Watson and the rookie Williams, it allows McDuffie to play a larger percentage of his snaps on the inside.
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“Well, when we are able, I mean, that’s a good point,” Spagnuolo told reporters on Friday. “When we do put Nohl (Williams) out there, we’re able to put Trent (McDuffie) inside, which we all know. We like Trent in there. We like Chamarri (Conner) in there as well, but when we can get three corners out there in the game, if, and that’s kind of dictated by down-and-distance. I mean, you guys know that. And so when we get in those situations, and if Nohl can keep playing well, and Jaylen (Watson) can keep playing well, we can get Trent inside there.”
Trent McDuffie In The Slot Quick Facts:
- In 2023, McDuffie played over 600 snaps in the slot.
- He earned a First-Team All-Pro selection.
- He recorded seven passes defensed, 19 pressures, three sacks, and five forced fumbles.
- He allowed 57 receptions on 90 targets for 637 yards and three touchdowns.
While Spagnuolo is complimentary of Conner, it’s clear that they’re getting the best version of their defensive secondary when Watson, Williams, and McDuffie are all on the field together. This should be the preferred group in nickel sub-packages for Kansas City down the stretch, even after CB Kristian Fulton returns from injury.
