Here at Arrowhead Live, we hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Now read about the Chiefs rookie CB L’Jarius Sneed and why he takes from other teams to give to the Chiefs.
To the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, L’Jarius Sneed must have seemed like the Grinch. A perfect day for future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees to return, and try to give his team a shot at the one seed in the NFC, only to be taken away, literally by the young Chiefs rookie. Sneed was all over the field on, recording an interception, a sack, three tackles, and three passes defended. His play helped ensure a Chiefs victory, as well as make sure everyone in New Orleans would have a rotten Christmas.
Having an interception and a sack in a single game put’s Sneed in elite company, and has now drawn the attention of the entire NFL. He was like the Grinch to the Saints, but to the Chiefs, he was like Santa Claus. It’s not every day a fourth-round pick can come in and make an immediate impact for his team, but it is another thing entirely that Sneed is not starting to draw talks of potentially becoming one of the league’s elite cornerbacks.
Sneed’s big-play capability, along with his ability to track the ball and go after for interceptions is what draws the most attention when talking about his game, but his physicality is what makes him special. He is the type of corner who is not afraid to go into the box and make a play, as well as isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder to knock a would-be completion out of a receiver’s hand.
These traits go back to his days of playing safety at Louisiana Tech. One of the benefits of having him Sneed playing the slot is it puts him closer to the line of scrimmage where he can go down and use his tackling ability to make plays around the line of scrimmage.
It also gives him the chance to go against smaller wide outs where he can use his strength and size advantage to make plays.
The last play that I decided to analyze was to me just as impressive as any of the interceptions that he had on the season and is coaches film on how to play against a faster player in the slot. He is lined up one on one with Emmanuel Sanders in man coverage. Upon the snap he jams down on Sanders, forcing him outside. Sneed then goes stride for stride not giving Brees much of a target to hit. Perfectly executed on a big play.
Sneed now has three interceptions and seven passes defended this season, and when considering he has done all of this after missing a significant portion of time with a collar bone injury after having no preseason or, any such preseason preparation, it makes it all the more impressive. Sneed has the potential to be a star for a long time.
He has the potential to be the stud cornerback that the Chiefs have been seeking for several years now, and he could take the league by storm. His play has been a gift for Chiefs fans this season, but as the season continues Sneed could be the gift that keeps on giving, to Chiefs fans. As for the rest of the NFL, he will continue to take.
