Getty The Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary was ranked surprisingly high by a big-name NFL site.
NFL fans are not happy about the latest Kansas City Chiefs ranking.
On July 8, big-name grading site Pro Football Focus published a new NFL ranking of every secondary (cornerbacks and safeties only) in football. The Chiefs, somewhat unexpectedly, place second overall.
“While the Chiefs may lack household names, their secondary is a cohesive unit that performs at a high level,” PFF explained within the article. “Trent McDuffie leads the group and is arguably the NFL’s best cornerback, topping all players at the position in advanced coverage grade over the past two seasons. Cornerback Jaylen Watson and safety Jaden Hicks were both strong in 2024, earning coverage grades of 71.6 and 75.7, respectively.”
PFF finished by noting that “Kansas City also added Kristian Fulton in free agency and drafted Nohl Williams in the third round to bolster an already excellent group.”
While the KC secondary has felt criminally underrated for years, they are coming off a rough Super Bowl performance versus the Philadelphia Eagles, so a No. 2 ranking seemed to catch most NFL fans by surprise.
NFL Fans React to Chiefs’ Secondary Ranking: ‘Ain’t No Way’
PFF ended up posting a graphic of their top 10 secondaries in football going into 2025, and skimming through the comments, it’s immediately clear that the Chiefs’ ranking caused the most backlash from fans.
“I’m not even a big Chiefs hater or anything but having their secondary at 2nd in the league is wild,” one user replied. “McDuffie is elite but outside of that, it’s a completely average unit.”
Another questioned: “How are the Chiefs 2nd????” While a third fan responded that “McDuffie carrying that #2 spot for KC for sure.”
Finally, a fourth user said: “Kansas City doesn’t have a better secondary than [the Denver] Broncos, [Houston] Texans, Eagles, [Detroit] Lions, [Seattle] Seahawks and [New Orleans] Saints. TBH! Hahahahaahahahahahahaha.”
Rival Broncos fans, in particular, appeared bothered by this ranking, which placed their team third overall, just behind the Chiefs.
“😂 aint no way,” a Broncos fan wrote. While another reaction read: “Any list not having the broncos as #1 is completely wrong.”
Right or wrong, this ranking sparked a ton of backlash for PFF, which hasn’t always been a friend of the average Chiefs supporter in years past.
One NFL fan even quoted the post, stating: “Putting the chiefs at 2 that’s it unfollow and mute yall content im done with the bs @PFF.”
Chiefs’ Secondary Ranking Is Not as Far-Fetched as It Seems
The Chiefs have become the new evil empire of the NFL, and that means opposing fans will never admit that their as strong as ever heading into a new season, but it’s actually true in this case.
When KC traded Tyreek Hill, they used a lot of the draft capital to revamp their secondary, drafting McDuffie, Watson, safety Bryan Cook, and CBs Joshua Williams and Nazeeh Johnson. That group, nicknamed the “Fab Five,” helped lead the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl titles that were mostly fueled by their defense.
To varying degrees, these draft picks were all hits, but the depth was lacking heading into last year’s Super Bowl.
After it was exploited by the Eagles, general manager Brett Veach took action, bringing in potential upgrades on Joshua Williams and Johnson (the aforementioned Fulton and Nohl Williams). Don’t forget Hicks and Chamarri Conner’s continued development, as two more recent draft hits, not to mention second-year UDFA gem Christian Roland-Wallace.
Kansas City has built this unit from the ground up, mostly through the draft, and these players have gained more and more chemistry — which is crucial for a secondary — as they’ve grown together inside Steve Spagnuolo’s system.
The one Chiefs question mark in the secondary this year is the loss of veteran team leader Justin Reid. Although his leadership on and off the field will no doubt be missed, the argument could be made that Hicks is the better safety (and an upgrade on Reid) at age 23 in August.
Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller
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