Arrowhead Pride
With the Kansas City Chiefs preparing for their second preseason game this Friday, defensive backs coach Dave Merritt shared his thoughts on the development, challenges and strengths of his group. Speaking after Tuesday’s training camp practice, Merritt touched on everything from rookie learning curves to the versatility of his veterans.
In rookie cornerback Nohl Williams, Merritt sees a player a coach can meld.
“I just love the fact that the kid takes coaching,” declared Merritt. “A lot of guys, sometimes they come in and you don’t know what you’re getting. It’s like a box of chocolates: you have no clue what you’re going to get. But he takes coaching, so we love that about him.”
Merritt likes the resilience he sees in Nazeeh Johnson, who played as a safety during his college career at Marshall. With Jaylen Watson missing practice time while in the league’s concussion protocol this week, the fourth-year player has been continuing his evolution to cornerback.
“[I like] the fact that he’s able to bounce back up,” said Merritt. “Even if he gets beat, the kid continues to bounce back up and compete. NJ is a young man that last year was kind of baptized as a corner in the NFL. And so the fact now that he is really going into his third year as a corner, it’s going to help him out. He has long speed and he has quickness, so hopefully he continues to get better.”
Merritt is also pleased with Christian Roland-Wallace, who is transitioning into one of the secondary’s chess pieces during his second NFL season.
“Chris has done a wonderful job for us,” noted Merritt. “We have him at multiple positions. He did that his rookie year, [when] we played him at safety [and] played him at nickel. [We] moved him from outside and really played him closer towards the box.”
Merritt called Roland-Wallace a “very cerebral” player.
“He’s able to pick up the defenses,” remarked the coach, “and then he can do a lot of things for us — [as a] strong [or] free safety — as well as play a little dime and nickel. Having that kind of Swiss Army knife is going to help us out.”
Then there is the matter of Merritt’s veteran chess piece: All-Pro Trent McDuffie, who is working on refining his game even further.
“Once Trent gets in phase,” explained Merritt, “one of the things we’re working on is making sure that he’s able to get closer to the receivers — and pin the hip as they’re going down the field.”
Because McDuffie isn’t one of the league’s taller corners, physicality will be a key to his success.
“He’s going to have to get into the body of these guys,” said the coach, “and try to outwork them as they’re going down the field — versus separation where the guys can just jump. It’s just really working on getting closer to receivers. He’s doing a good job.”
There is, however, another pressing matter: getting...
