The Kansas City Chiefs have made it their mission to help Trent McDuffie and the cornerback room this offseason, bringing in players like former Los Angeles Chargers’ corner Kristian Fulton in free agency. However, with all the new additions, that didn’t mean that the Chiefs weren’t going to lose anyone either.
On Friday, Chiefs’ cornerback Keith Taylor was signed by the Atlanta Falcons to a contract. Taylor was permitted by Kansas City to seek out a new deal.
Taylor, who started his career on the Carolina Panthers, joined the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2023 and spent some of 2024 there as well. In October, he was officially signed to the Chiefs’ active roster. In his one season, he made 11 appearances, notching 5 tackles. On both the Panthers and the Chiefs, Taylor took part both defensively and on special teams. In those 11 appearances in 2024, he took 11% of the defensive snaps and 47% of the special teams snaps.
Taylor saw the field the most when cornerback Jaylen Watson went down with an injury, but never really cemented a stable role within the defense. Taylor, only 26, currently stands at 6’3 and 195 pounds, with athleticism that any team in the NFL could use.
Taylor spent his first 5 years with the Panthers. Carolina drafted him 166th overall back in the 2021 NFL Draft. Over this span, Taylor started three games in his rookie season, playing in all 17 games. The cornerback also appeared in 17 games, making two starts, in 2022.
During 34 games between 2021 and 20222, Taylor recorded 67 combined tackles, including a tackle for loss. He also posted six passes defended, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. Unfortunately, Taylor was cut from the team before the start of the 2023 season but luckily joined the Chiefs just two days later.
It’s uncertain what role Taylor could carve out with Atlanta, but the first thing he needs to do is make the roster. If he does that, it seems like a similar role to what he did for Kansas City is gearing up. Taylor is still young, and could very well prove everyone wrong.
