How Will the Chiefs New Look Secondary Hold Up in 2026?
Next season, the Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary will be nearly unrecognizable in comparison to years past. Three out of their four starters will be donning new colors in 2026 as cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson will wear the blue and yellow in sunny Los Angeles for the Rams, while safety Bryan Cook will embrace the tiger stripes of the Cincinnati Bengals. Remaining safety Chamarri Conner will be joined by several new additions, such as fellow safety Alohi Gilman from the Baltimore Ravens, as well as corners Kader Kohou and Kaiir Elam from the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans. These newcomers are certainly going to freshen up the defensive backs room in Kansas City, but they will face an uphill climb attempting to replace the production of their predecessors.
Easily the biggest loss of the Chiefs' offseason was sending away McDuffie, a two-time All-Pro, to the Rams in exchange for several draft picks. As the anchor of the secondary over the previous four years, his shoes will be difficult to fill. The same can be said of Watson and Cook, whose play always had the Chiefs finishing in the top half of the league in passing yards allowed, including 12th in 2025. This begs the question of why Kansas City would let these players walk. The answer lies in the same place a golf ball often does: the green. All three of these players were drafted in 2022 and were up for new contracts this offseason. However, the Chiefs have a history of letting defensive backs go, such as when they traded away L’Jarius Snead in 2024 and let Tyrann Mathieu walk in 2022. By trusting in their general manager, Brett Veach’s eye for talent, and defensive backs coach Dave Merrit’s developmental abilities, Kansas City managed to stay afloat after making these decisions, and they are more than capable of doing the same again in 2026.
This leads to the new kids on the block being given the task of keeping the ship from sinking. Gilman is a six-year veteran who was traded to the Ravens midseason last year by the Los Angeles Chargers. He played all 17 games and had a career high 90 tackles, which was also more tackles than McDuffie, Watson, and Cook had last year. On the other hand, Kohou and Elam have been far less reliable. Kohou missed all of last season for Miami with a torn ACL, although he was a frequent starter for them in the three years prior. Elam played sparingly for both the Titans and Dallas Cowboys last year, although he is more known for his time in a rough stint in Buffalo, and especially his poor performance in the 2024 AFC Championship, ironically against Kansas City. Despite their struggles, oftentimes a player just needs a change of scenery, and that is exactly what they will have in 2026.
In short, the Chiefs’ new secondary on paper will be a step down from previous years. That is not to discredit the new signings; they just simply lack the same accolades, consistency, and championship pedigree they are replacing, but anything is possible. The 2026 NFL Draft is also coming up in a few weeks, and Kansas City will have ample opportunity to plug any perceived holes in their secondary. The last line of the Chiefs’ defense has many intriguing question marks, and those questions will be answered in just a few short months.
