Andy Reid’s Strong Take About L’Jarius Sneed After Shutting Down Tyreek Hill
The Kansas City Chiefs' defense delivered in a big way against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night. It was yet another stellar performance in what's been a long stretch of them for Steve Spagnuolo's unit, with the work of defensive backs coach Dave Merritt also paying off in the secondary.
Once again, cornerback L'Jarius Sneed set the tone with an elite outing. Extending his streak of targets without surrendering a touchdown, the fourth-year man assisted in slowing down a dangerous Miami offense featuring Jaylen Waddle and old friend Tyreek Hill.
After the game, head coach Andy Reid delivered some strong praise regarding his 26-year-old defensive back. Tipping his cap to Sneed for getting the best of Hill, Reid also implied that he's the best corner in the NFL right now.
"Listen, Tyreek's a great player," Reid said. "I mean, a great player, and you saw the one catch he had. You don't see Tyreek get knocked down very often, but Sneed did that. I have a hard time believing there's another corner as good as him in this league. He's really playing well and challenging, and you've got (Trent) McDuffie on the other side who is doing the same thing. He's playing great football, as is the secondary. Dave has done a nice job with that group."
If one were to judge only Sneed's performances against the Dolphins, that'd be an easy conclusion to draw. According to Next Gen Stats, the Louisiana Tech product allowed just one combined catch to Hill and Waddle in two games versus Miami this season. Targeted eight times in total on Wild Card Weekend, he surrendered two receptions for 20 yards overall. His aggressive, physical style of play provided an advantage over Hill on multiple occasions, even drawing the praise of Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. To those watching what took place at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, it was easy to see who was standing out in the secondary for good reasons.
Sneed's 2023-24 resume goes far beyond just his achievements when lined up across from Hill or Waddle, however. During the regular season, he embraced matchups against other top-flight receivers such as Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, A.J. Brown, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs. He found success against them, too. In 16 starts, Sneed posted career-best marks in completion percentage (51%) and passer rating when targeted (56.2) despite being tried deeper down the field than ever on average. Regardless of circumstance, he typically won.
While Sneed didn't make the Pro Bowl, the Chiefs have made his value known. Heck, even McDuffie was named an All-Pro and his running mate didn't make either first or second team. Sneed's consistency speaks for itself, though, with Saturday being another example to add to a growing sample size. Now entering his athletic prime (and potentially free agency in the spring), Sneed has grown up on the field before Kansas City's very eyes. As the Divisional Round of the postseason approaches, having someone capable of shutting down the opposition's top weapon is a luxury not many teams can say they have. Reid knows he and his group can.
