The Kansas City Chiefs seemed to like what they had in their hands with rookie cornerback Nohl Williams. He was featured in every game at the beginning of the season, and he played much better than the average third-round rookie.
However, the cornerback out of the University of California hasn't been much of a factor lately. His playing time has fluctuated drastically over the past three games, playing 15, 67, and then zero percent of the snaps in that span.
The Chiefs Have Turned Their Back on Nohl Williams
Watching Williams be a healthy scratch against the Denver Broncos was certainly an odd situation. Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo went with the often-injured Kristian Fulton instead, although he only played 15 snaps in that game.
Williams has only been out there for 148 snaps this season, but he's still done an outstanding job in his limited playing time. He has a 72.6 Pro Football Focus grade, and he's shown his prowess in pass coverage multiple times.
Through the first nine games of his career (one start), the No. 85 overall pick registered 23 total tackles (11 solo) to go along with three passes defensed. He's given up just 6.7 yards per completion and has yet to allow a touchdown. Also, opposing quarterbacks have a below-average passer rating of just 76.4 when targeting him.
Spagnuolo is one of the greatest -- if not the greatest -- defensive coordinators in the history of this game, and he's done more than enough for the Chiefs to have earned the benefit of the doubt. That being said, it's hard to justify this approach.
It's not that they never played Williams or that he played poorly. On the contrary, he looked like a potential star in the making, and there's simply no way to justify having him watch from the sidelines against a divisional rival.
The Chiefs' pass defense has been fairly decent this season, giving up just 196.8 passing yards per game, which ranks 11th in the league. They're also giving up just 18.1 points, the fourth-fewest in the league. It's hard to argue with the numbers, but the wins haven't been there.
Now, riding a two-game losing streak entering a must-win matchup with the Indianapolis Colts' explosive offense, it'll be interesting to see whether the Chiefs want to give their rookie another chance to show what he's capable of against an explosive slot receiver like Josh Downs.
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