Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s star cornerback spoke after Monday’s training camp practice.
While the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp is unfolding at Missouri Western State University, preparations for the 2025 season long predate the team’s arrival in St. Joseph.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie and his teammates have been getting a message from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo this offseason — one that is being better received than a year ago.
“In the first day of meetings,” McDuffie recalled after Monday’s practice, “Coach Spags put on the board, ‘Be bold, be courageous.’ He pretty much said he wants a room full of guys that are confident, that are fearless and that want to go out there and compete. I think that really set the tone — especially when you look at practice right now.
“Things aren’t perfect. People make mistakes. Everybody’s still trying to learn the defense, but we’re flying around and we’re having fun. We’re jelling together, and we’re communicating. I think the biggest thing right now is getting back into football and the communication and the trust. Right now, it’s a lot better than it was last year, and I think we continue to stack up on that.”
Echoing previous sentiments shared by linebacker Nick Bolton, McDuffie believes that even with some newcomers in the secondary, the defense’s communication is on point.
“This defensive backroom,” the fourth-year pro observed, “I feel like is [filled] lifelong learners — people who truly want to help each other. There’s not a lot of ego, so when it comes to guys competing in certain positions, it’s all love. The new guys we’ve brought in — the rookies we brought in — I feel like have learned this defense so much quicker than I feel like our class even did because they have so much help. They have so much communication — and whoever’s out there, for me personally, I trust them. I’m excited for what they can do.”
One of those newcomers is rookie cornerback Nohl Williams, taken in the third round of April’s NFL Draft out of California. McDuffie is high on his new teammate — although the two-time All Pro has noted some areas for improvement.
“He’s getting good,” remarked McDuffie of the rookie. “You know, really good ball skills. He’s long, and he’s one of those guys that just competes. He’s a smart guy. He knows the defense really well, and we’ve got to clean up a few things and his technique. A few grabbings here and there, but once we iron those things out, I think he’s going to have a really good career.”
McDuffie’s highest-profile new teammate has yet to take the field in St. Joseph. Veteran corner Kristian Fulton, who joined the Chiefs as a free agent in March after spending 2024 with the Los Angeles Chargers, was placed on the active/physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list at the start of camp to continue recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Even off the field, Fulton has contributed to the defensive backs room and is still...
