The Kansas City Chiefs made plenty of changes over the offseason without spending a lot of money in free agency. Even after reworking the contracts of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones to create some more breathing room, they still have to budget for a long-term extension for guard Trey Smith and to fill holes on a roster that got blown away by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs believe they improved one of their deficiencies by adding cornerback Kristian Fulton in free agency. The former second-round pick by the Tennessee Titans is now on his third team in his career, but hopes to have found a long-term home in Kansas City after signing a two-year, $20 million contract.<\/p>\n
While the deal may look like a bargain, it may be an overpay as the Chiefs are desperate to add depth to their secondary.<\/p>\n
Fulton was considered a steal when the Titans selected him in the 2020 NFL Draft due to a situation regarding a failed drug test during his time at LSU. The gamble didn\u2019t pay off immediately, however, as he posted a 56.1 overall grade and a 54.7 grade in coverage in his rookie season, according to Pro Football Focus<\/em>. Unfortunately, his rookie season was a sign of what was to come.<\/p>\n Fulton struggled in coverage, allowing a 101.4 passer rating during his rookie campaign, and has since allowed a passer rating over 100 in four of his five seasons. It\u2019s also damning when only three quarterbacks have a higher passer rating than Fulton\u2019s 103.2 allowed in coverage since entering the league, with those being Drew Brees (106.4), Brock Purdy (104.9) and Aaron Rodgers (103.3).<\/p>\n Turning opposing passers into Super Bowl and Hall of Fame quarterbacks isn\u2019t a great sign for longevity, nor is being unable to tackle the receiver once they catch the ball.<\/p>\n Fulton ranked 48th among 128 qualifiers with an 11.9% tackle rate with the Los Angeles Chargers last season. Surprisingly, that number was a significant reduction from his 20.4% missed tackle rate with the Titans in 2023 and the 14.9% rate over his career.<\/p>\n Fulton also recorded a career-high 68.9 overall grade last season; however, it came with plenty of big plays allowed as he surrendered six touchdown passes. If this were a small sample size, it may be worth the risk, but the Chiefs may have just paid $10 million per season for a potential outlier year. Then again, they may not have had a choice.<\/p>\n Trent McDuffie remains locked in as the team\u2019s top corner, but Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, Joshua Williams, and third-round pick Nohl Williams are slated behind him. If Fulton can improve with a better infrastructure, perhaps last year\u2019s breakout with the Chargers was a sign of what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n That’s an unlikely bet, though, and one that will see the Chiefs eventually admit they overpaid on a key free agent.<\/p>\n The Kansas City Chiefs made plenty of changes over the offseason but they didn\u2019t have a lot of money to spend in free agency. Even after re-working the contract<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":55889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nMore Kansas City Chiefs News & Rumors:<\/strong><\/h3>\n