Chiefs’ L’Jarius Sneed garners national accolades as ‘absolute steal’ of 2020 draft
A collarbone injury limited Chiefs rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to nine games this season, but he made an impact with three interceptions and two sacks.
Sneed added two more sacks in the playoffs, and caught the attention of national NFL observers.
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, an NFL player analyst, redrafted last year’s draft, and moved Sneed up a whopping 131 picks. The Chiefs grabbed Sneed in the third round (138th overall pick), but Trapasso’s redraft had Sneed going seventh overall.
“Sneed was quite easily the finest rookie cornerback in the NFL last season,” Trapasso wrote.
Pro Football Focus rated Sneed as easily the best rookie cornerback in 2020, and Austin Gayle sang his praises:
Nick Shook of the NFL Network wrote, “Sneed has been an absolute steal, filling a versatile defensive back role for the Chiefs.” Shook gave the Chiefs overall draft class a B-plus on Wednesday.
Sneed also landed on Shook’s list of unsung heroes on each NFL team. He wrote in part: “Sneed posted the fourth-best rate of targeted EPA among all defensive backs with at least 30 targets on the year, trailing only Xavien Howard, Jaire Alexander and Bryce Callahan while taking away 18 total points from opponents this season. Those are names folks are used to hearing, or in the case of Callahan, soon will be, and Sneed played at their level while flying under the radar in 2020.”
Pro Football Writers of America had Sneed on its all-rookie team for the 2020 NFL season.
Benjamin Solak of the Draft Network also put Sneed on its all-rookie team.
“Sneed’s wicked straight-line explosiveness and long speed allow him to work on the outside and carry routes downfield, but a player with little coverage background shouldn’t be so naturally comfortable with his back to the ball working through the catch point. I’m excited to see if he can keep this up in 2021 and beyond,” Solak wrote.
