Arrowhead Pride
Two weeks from today, there will be a Kansas City Chiefs training camp practice to react to!
On Wednesday, July 29, the Chiefs will hold a full-team practice to an exclusive crowd of season-ticket holders. The following day will be the team’s first public practice.
To get ready for camp, let’s take a look at the players competing for an important role in the starting defense: the slot defender, or the “Nickel.” We’ll start with an incumbent who may be starting elsewhere in the secondary this year.
Slot snaps in 2025: 391 (Pro Football Focus)
Conner led the team in slot snaps last season, manning the Nickel position in the Chiefs’ primary defensive personnel. While he certainly looks the part on run downs, flying to the line of scrimmage aggressively to fill run lanes, the role put him in a bad spot on more obvious pass downs. He is a natural safety, and the results back up the notion that he is not as natural as a man-coverage, slot cornerback.
Based on the team’s moves in free agency and the draft, it is ready to move away from relying on Conner in that way. That feeling was further cemented after OTA practices were observed by beat reporters: one major takeaway from many was that Conner appeared to be playing as a strong safety in the defense, leaving the Nickel and slot snaps to others.
There’s a good chance that Conner’s best football is still ahead of him if he is deployed as a true strong safety.
Slot snaps in 2025: 56
After playing 78% of his rookie snaps (153) in the slot during the 2024 season, Roland-Wallace continued to make an impact on the Chiefs’ defense in a limited fashion, but with more alignment diversity.
Roland-Wallace played 56 snaps in the slot, 60 as a free safety and 65 in the box (PFF). When he did see more time in the slot as a rookie, he was sent as a blitzer 20 times, earning two quarterback hits and four other pressures. He didn’t replicate that impact for the pass rush in 2025.
The coaching staff’s expanded use of him last season could be a strong indicator of his candidacy to continue playing a role in the defense. The Nickel spot could be where he settles in.
Slot snaps in 2025: 74
With a path to the field similar to Roland-Wallace’s as a rookie, Knowles flashed his athleticism and range on special teams in 2025. On defense, he was nearly exclusively used in the slot.
In coverage, Knowles allowed just four receptions over the 12 targets credited to him by PFF, generating a 42.4 passer rating over those passes. He also blitzed eight times, generating one pressure and a batted-down pass.
He may be more focused on making a special teams impact entering Year 2, but Knowles is one that will catch your eye during training camp and the...
