Andy Reid is confident Chiefs can rebuild secondary thanks to Nohl Williams
Roster turnover is a given in the NFL. There’s always a change to a team’s roster from one season to the next, and three Chiefs cornerbacks have already joined new teams.
The Chiefs traded All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams, who later signed Jaylen Watson to a free-agent deal. And Joshua Williams signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans.
Despite the changes, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid believes the secondary will be fine in the upcoming season. Reid’s faith in the secondary comes in part to his time as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers (1992-98).
“I’ve been in positions as a head coach where we’ve replenished the secondary,” Reid told the NFL Network’s Judy Battista over the weekend. “At Green Bay, we replenished in the secondary. I’ve been through that and seen it be productive. Do you want to lose a McDuffie? No, but that’s today’s football. That’s how this thing works today. So, you’ve got to stay flexible, and then you’ve got to put yourself in a position where you can replenish that.”
Reid mentioned the play of Nohl Williams, who was a rookie last season. Although he played just 44% of the snaps in 2025, Williams was ranked first by Pro Football Focus among rookie cornerbacks with a 74.5 grade.
Williams should see an increase in playing time in 2026. And the Chiefs have three top-40 picks in this year’s NFL Draft (Nos. 9, 29 and 40), and could take a cornerback with one of those choices.
“We drafted a good kid (Williams) last year, so I know we’ll continue to work through that this year,” Reid said. “I’m really not worried about it. I look forward to seeing who these people are that come in.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2026 at 9:02 AM.
