Why the Chiefs traded L’Jarius Sneed to the Titans

Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterMar 23, 2024, 01:56 PM ET
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- Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
- Joined ESPN in 2013

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs began planning for the eventual loss of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed two years ago when they picked Trent McDuffie in the first round and selected three more cornerbacks before the 2022 draft was over.

Their plan for life without Sneed was apparent then, but remains to be seen how well they executed it. They might come to regret trading Sneed to the Tennessee Titans for a couple of draft picks.

For now, they received something in return as opposed to losing Sneed as a free agent and getting nothing as he walked out the door. The return wasn’t as substantial as what the Chiefs got two years ago when they traded Tyreek Hill.

But as well as the Chiefs have drafted recently, it’s not unreasonable to expect they will get at least one productive player from what they received from the Titans, a seventh-round pick this year and a third-rounder next season.

Cornerback is now McDuffie’s domain, along with the other players they drafted two years ago. McDuffie, an All-Pro selection last season, looks ready to accept the responsibilities the Chiefs handed to Sneed last season.

The others are Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson. Williams, a fourth-round pick in 2022, and Watson, a seventh-rounder that year, have already delivered for the Chiefs. Each played a considerable amount of snaps the past two seasons, with Williams in particular late last season looking like he was ready to be a starter.

Johnson missed all of last season after tearing his ACL during training camp but could be the fourth cornerback this year. The Chiefs also have Chamarri Conner, a fourth-round pick last season who played some as a slot cornerback as a rookie, and some developmental corners like Nic Jones, a seventh-round pick in 2023.

There will likely be times the Chiefs wish they hadn’t traded Sneed, who was as steady from down to down as any cornerback in the league. He was often asked to cover the opponent’s top wide receiver — on at least 65% of the snaps a league-high seven times during the regular season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats — and he delivered as well as the Chiefs could have hoped.

He also gave them some big plays, none more notable than the fumble he forced against the Ravens’ Zay Flowers in this past season’s AFC Championship Game.

In 57 regular-season games, Sneed has 10 interceptions and 40 passes defended. He has one interception and seven passes defended in 13 postseason games.

But the Chiefs, who are paying Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones contracts at or near the top of their positional markets, were in no position to afford another one.

They saw this coming as far back as two years ago.