Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill’s pick was just one play. But it reveals a lot
The stutter-step happened so quickly that you might have missed it, even with the aid of replay. But that slightest of hesitation set up one of the most revealing plays of this Chiefs preseason — one they hope will have lasting consequences.
The memorable image of safety Juan Thornhill’s interception in Arizona will be the sprawling, parallel-to-the-ground dive as the ball reached his hands, the football sticking there through a hard landing.
The setup, albeit less attractive, is just as telling of a development. Thornhill says he took what he called a false step — essentially a deke move to imply he planned to cover a sideline route. That baited quarterback Colt McCoy into thinking the middle of the field would be one-on-one coverage with an underneath linebacker — just as Thornhill had hoped.
As the ball left McCoy’s hand, Thornhill had already reversed his stride toward the middle, hitting full speed before his interception.
“You gotta play games with the quarterback,” Thornhill said.
It’s just one play. And it came in a preseason game, at that. But it illustrates the difference between Thornhill this year and where he was last year, coming off ACL surgery.
In 2020, he played catch-up.
In 2021, the interception implies he’s playing one step ahead.
“I’m back,” he declared after the game.
A year ago, he felt unsure of himself and the knee in particular. He’s talked of that often.
So the Chiefs are spending the preseason prioritizing returning him to the player he was at the end of his rookie season in 2019 — before he knee injury in Week 17.
How?
By playing him. A lot. He led all defensive players with 32 snaps in the second preseason game after finishing second among defenders with 40 snaps in the preseason opener.
“We need Juan,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We need him in there feeling good about himself and playing. I think this well help him.”
The process continued back in Kansas City Monday, with Thornhill rotating in with various sets — appearing some with the first-team unit, some with the second-team group and even some snaps with the third team.
No complaints from the player, either.
“There’s guys in the locker room that want the same amount of reps that I’m having. So I’m not gonna go out there and complain that my coach is giving me three quarters when there’s guys that just want one,” Thornhill said. “I’ll never complain about that.”
It’s all part of the process, even if it’s taken longer than the team or player anticipated. Thornhill didn’t miss a game last season, but he never felt quite like himself. Eventually, he lost his starting job, with Reid once referring to him as a situational player.
It’s not that he wasn’t healthy enough to play. He was. But he was never fully convinced of it.
“When you’re out there focusing on football and not the knee, you always play better,” Thornhill said. “There were some times last season I was doubting myself. Can I still jump that high? Can I still run this fast? Can I push off that leg like I want to?”
He’s crossed that barrier in the preseason, he insists. The interception — and the manner in which he set it up — is an important development for the mental grind he endured.
But it’s a step, not a guarantee everything is back to the way it once was.
The next? Stacking more plays like it.
“When you make a play, it always boosts your confidence — just to show that you still can do it,” Thornhill said. “It felt great. You can do it on national TV and everyone saw it. They saw that I can still play like I used to.”