The first thing people think about when discussing the Kansas City Chiefs is their offense, and rightfully so. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions are always a dangerous unit on that side of the ball with Patrick Mahomes leading the way.
Mahomes is arguably the best player in football right now, running laps around his peers at the quarterback position. The Chiefs have made the AFC Championship Game every year that he has been the starter; six and counting.
While he and the offense deserve a lot of credit for the team’s success, they aren’t doing it alone. The Kansas City Chiefs defense has also played at a very high level, showing massive improvements in recent seasons.
The star on the defensive side of the ball is defensive tackle Chris Jones. A perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro, Jones anchors the defensive front is wrecks opposing game plans with his ability to get into the backfield and rush the passer.
But, he isn’t the only star on that side of the ball. Another player who is going to become a household name sooner rather than later is cornerback Trent McDuffie.
A first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Washington, McDuffie is quickly moving up positional power rankings. Kansas City has seen a key part of their secondary depart in free agency in recent offseasons; Charvarius Ward in 2022 and L’Jarius Sneed this year.
Those departures would hurt a lot more if it weren’t for the presence of McDuffie. An All-Pro in his second season in the NFL, it won’t be long until McDuffie is moving up the ranks along with his star teammates in Mahomes, Jones and Travis Kelce.
All three of those veterans were ranked in the top 10 of the Top 100 players in 2024. McDuffie didn’t make the list this year, but Alex Kay of Bleacher Report doesn’t believe that he is too far off either.
He put together a piece recently highlighting five players who can break into the NFL’s top 100 players in 2025. McDuffie was one of the players he named.
“If McDuffie continues to play at the same level without Sneed to help take the heat off and the Chiefs go on to win an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl, it would be almost criminal to keep the star defensive back out of the NFL Top 100,” Kay wrote.
McDuffie will certainly face new challenges in 2024 without Sneed opposite of him. He is the unquestioned No. 1 option in the defensive backfield and will draw some tougher assignments.
If he continues playing at a high level and helping the Kansas City Chiefs win games, he will find his name on the top 100 next year.
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