NFL teams
Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer 4y

K.C. taking a first-round CB? It's a rarity, but could happen in 2020

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Say this for the Kansas City Chiefs and their pursuit of cornerbacks: When they draft one in the first round, they get it right. The last two corners taken by the Chiefs in the first round played in at least one Pro Bowl while in Kansas City.

The trouble is that those two players came over a period of 23 years. The Chiefs selected Dale Carter with the 20th pick in 1992 and then took Marcus Peters with the 18th pick in 2015. That's right, the Chiefs have gone for a corner just twice in the first round in the past 28 drafts, making them overdue to pick one this year.

As the Chiefs prepare for the scouting combine, cornerback is a position of need and one to watch when they select 32nd in the first round, and keep an eye open in the later rounds.

One of the Chiefs' starting cornerbacks from 2019, Bashaud Breeland, is a potential unrestricted free agent. So is Kendall Fuller, who played mostly at safety late last season but has played a lot of cornerback for the Chiefs over the past two years.

If both players depart, the Chiefs are left at cornerback with starter Charvarius Ward, reserve Rashad Fenton, some developmental prospects and a lot of work to do.

Other than Peters, who was selected to play in the Pro Bowl after the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the Chiefs had one Pro Bowl selection at cornerback in the past 20 years. Brandon Flowers, the Chiefs' second-round pick in 2008, was selected to play in the Pro Bowl after the 2013 season.

The Chiefs in recent years have had work to do at cornerback, in part because they haven't drafted many of them. The 2015 draft brought Peters, who was traded after three seasons, and Steven Nelson in the third round. Nelson left as a free agent last year for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the four drafts since, the Chiefs have picked four cornerbacks but none higher than the third round. Fenton, who played some nickel back toward the end of last season as a rookie sixth-round pick, is the only one who made a significant contribution.

Of the others, one, Keivarae Russell, never played in a regular-season game for the Chiefs and another, D.J. White, played only a handful of snaps. The third, Eric Murray, played a lot but at safety before being traded last year.

As a result, the Chiefs have obtained cornerbacks from other sources. Breeland joined the Chiefs last year as a free agent. Ward was acquired two years ago in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Fuller arrived in a trade two years ago with Washington.

Fuller and Nelson were the starters in 2018. Veteran Orlando Scandrick, signed during training camp, was the third corner for most of that season.

PROSPECTS WORTH WATCHING: With their top pick the Chiefs could look at Florida's CJ Henderson and Auburn's Noah Igbinoghene. Bryce Hall, who played with Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill at Virginia, could be an option for a later round.

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