With training camp just around the corner, the Kansas City Chiefs have a few interesting position battles on the horizon, but there's one particular role that seems to be truly up for grabs.
The Chiefs have starters—or at least clear favorites—at four of their five top spots in the defensive secondary. Safeties Chamarri Conner and Alohi Gilman are penciled in as the likely full-timers at the back of the defense, while rookie No. 6 overall pick Mansoor Delane needs to be one of the team's starters on the boundary. The other outside corner position could be a true battle between second-year third-round pick Nohl Williams and veteran Kristian Fulton, but Williams should begin with the inside track.
The fifth spot in the secondary is where the battle is most intriguing. Who will be the Chiefs' slot corner in 2026?
Why the slot corner position is so important
In Steve Spagnuolo's defense (and all across the modern NFL), the slot defender isn't exactly a traditional starting role, but it is a hugely important one. On the field in nickel packages (with five defensive backs), the slot corner needs to be a versatile defender who matches up well with slot receivers and can be a net-positive against the run.
The Chiefs' best slot corner in recent years was, somewhat unconventionally, Trent McDuffie. McDuffie was also Kansas City's best outside corner, but at his peak, he would often kick to the slot in nickel, allowing two outside corners to handle the boundary while he dominated inside. That setup wavered in 2025, when McDuffie spent more time on the outside, forcing Conner to take on many of the slot-defending duties.
After a huge overhaul in the secondary, including McDuffie's trade to the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs appear to have a new strategy in 2026.
Who could win the Chiefs' slot corner job?
In March, the Chiefs signed former Miami Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou to a one-year deal after Kohou missed all of 2025 due to a torn ACL suffered in training camp. In April, they selected Oregon defensive back Jadon Canady in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. In June, the team reunited with L'Jarius Sneed after Sneed's injury-riddled two-year stint with the Tennessee Titans came to an end.
That trio of incoming defenders join one intruiging incumbent: Chris Roland-Wallace. After signing with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2024, Roland-Wallace earned a role in Spagnuolo's defense. He played 194 defensive snaps as a rookie and 190 snaps in 2025 before being placed on injured reserve in December. That's not an enormous workload, but it is a noteworthy one. Roland-Wallace played at least 36% of the team's defensive reps in six of the 11 games he participated in last season.
None of Sneed, Kohou, Roland-Wallace or Canady made our list of the top 25 Chiefs entering the 2026 season, but all four have a path to become a starter and one of Kansas City's most vital defenders this year.
For now, Canady may have the longest path. That's not cause for alarm; Canady is still the team's best-case long-term solution, potentially building an excellent young trio with Delane and Williams in 2027 and beyond. But with three more veteran players ahead of him, he'd have to prove quite a lot in camp to take the starting role.
Kohou would have been my pick through the month of May. As described by KC Sports Network's Matt Lane, Kohou was "an ascending slot defender before his ACL injury" with the requisite instincts and versatility to solve Kansas City's slot quandry. Early reports out of the Chiefs' offseason activities have made me question where Kohou will begin training camp, but I'd still like to see him get the first shot at the job.
On the other hand, Roland-Wallace has experience in Spagnuolo's defense, which is hard to find in this overturned secondary. Roland-Wallace has looked comfortable in the slot and already projects as Kansas City's third or fourth safety, which gives him another advantage from Spagnuolo's perspective. Roland-Wallace has been asked to do a variety of things in the secondary in his still-young career, and versatility is a major selling point for a nickel defender.
Then, the wild card. What does Sneed have left in the tank? At his best and healthiest, Sneed was one of the best corners in football. By the end of his time with the Titans, Tennessee cut Sneed for salary cap relief. I'm a bit skeptical of the idea that Sneed and his persistent knee issues are still a good fit for a slot corner role, but he has played more snaps for Spagnuolo than the rest of Kansas City's cornerbacks combined. This could be the beginning of a new act of Sneed's career, depending on how Spagnuolo chooses to use him. Of course, he has to begin by staying healthy.
The best news here is that the Chiefs have a number of candidates who could solve their uncertainty in the slot, with several layers of redundancy before forcing a player like Conner to return to the role and damaging the defense at multiple positions. As long as one of these players truly wins the job, it will be good news for the 2026 Chiefs.
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