Versatility, smarts enable Fuller to see more snaps as Chiefs prep for Houston Texans
Kendall Fuller’s winding path through this season has brought him to an important place on the Chiefs’ defense.
He’ll likely be used as he was over the final two weeks of the regular season, as a hybrid safety-corner, when the Chiefs meet the Houston Texans Sunday in an AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.
That’s how Fuller lined up at Chicago and in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the L.A. Chargers — when he logged two of his most productive games of this season in KC.
Against the Bears, Fuller played a season-high 88 percent of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps. Against the Chargers, he was in on 79 percent. He was credited with 11 total tackles in those games.
This, after Fuller’s playing time had diminished since he returned from a broken thumb in the Week 6 loss to the Texans.
Over the next four games, Fuller never got more than 33 snaps. The Chiefs and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo seemed to have gone in a different direction.
Fuller’s versatility and his football smarts, plus a season-ending injury to safety Juan Thornhill (suffered against the Chargers), has given Fuller an opportunity to write a better ending to his season.
“The thing about him is his versatility,” Kansas City cornerback Charvarius Ward said. “Corner, nickel, safety, he can and does play them all.
“But the thing about him is he’s one of the smartest guys I’ve been around. In the (defensive backs’) classroom, he’s helped me a lot as far as teaching me techniques. He’s one of the smartest teammates I’ve ever had.”
Thornhill’s injury most certainly affected the safety position. The rookie second-round selection from Virginia was having a terrific season, earning a spot on the NFL All-Rookie team. And he will be missed.
But Chiefs coach Andy Reid liked what he saw from Fuller and Armani Watts, who will join Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen in a position group that has improved immensely since last season.
“Kendall Fuller, he kind of plays everywhere,” Reid said. “And he’s a brilliant guy with a great football mind. ... I always tell him that he’d be a great coach. He knows everything. He wants to know everything.”
Fuller arrived in Kansas City from Washington in the Alex Smith trade. Great expectations followed. In 2017, Fuller graded out as the NFL’s second-best slot corner, according to Pro Football Focus. But his rating decreased in his first year in a Chiefs uniform while playing in the slot and on the outside. Bob Sutton was the team’s defensive coordinator that year.
When the Chiefs’ new defensive staff arrived, Fuller said he was ready for any position move.
And that approach should serve him well now.
“I’ve just tried to control what I can control,” Fuller said.
That includes a jersey change that Fuller made before the season — one that carries more meaning now that he’s taking snaps at safety. He switched from No. 23 in his first year with the Chiefs to No. 29 this season. That was the number worn by former Chiefs All-Pro safety Eric Berry.
“I definitely know, especially in this community, the responsibility that comes with it,” Fuller said of wearing No. 29.
His responsibility has increased as well now that the playoffs have arrived. The Texans handed the Chiefs one of their four regular-season losses of 2019 in October, rolling up a season-high 472 total yards in Kansas City. Surely, quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Texans’ receiving corps led by DeAndre Hopkins will look for opportunities to test Fuller Sunday.
That previous game against the Texans also changed the course of Fuller’s season — it’s when he fractured his thumb. But he’s back now, playing more than ever, and ready to be part of the Chiefs’ playoff push.