Chiefs Have Their Own ‘Titan’ Liability Issue at Cornerback

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Long after defensive coordinator Bill Yoast championed his players to “remember forever the night they played the Titans,” Ryan Gosling is dealing with his own legacy.

The actor’s new movie Hail Mary opens this weekend but no matter how well it does at the box office, thanks to his role in that 2000 blockbuster Remember the Titans, he’ll always be remembered for his own narrative.

“It doesn’t matter what I accomplish in my life,” Gosling told Travis and Jason Kelce on Wednesday’s edition of New Heights, “there’ll be someone in the comments section that says, ‘Never forget that he’s an absolute liability at the corner.’”

“Get Petey in there,” Travis Kelce responded, with a one-of-a-kind laugh.

Talk about a liability at corner

But Chiefs observers listening to the podcast aren’t laughing because, through 11 days of free agency, Kansas City has its own liability at corner. If the Chiefs had to play a game this weekend, they’d have to trot out a motley crew at the position.

Talented but raw Nohl Williams presumably would join Kristian Fulton, fresh from Steve Spagnuolo’s doghouse. Chris Roland-Wallace returning from injury is a question mark, and non-drafted free agent Kevin Knowles enters his second season. Oh, and the player tasked with replacing All-Pro Trent McDuffie in the slot is Kader Kohou, who missed all of 2025 after ACL surgery.

Talk about a liability at the corner.

But with the ninth-overall pick, two of the first of 29, three of the top 40 and four picks among the first 74 choices ... in Brett Veach the Chiefs will trust.

“I mean, we don't want to be picking at 9 every year,” Veach said Feb. 24 at the combine, “but we're excited to add some young talent to this roster. And I think even more excitingly, those second, third rounds, where I felt like in years past, Day 1 came and went and we'd come in there and there'd be five or six players but you knew at 32 in Round 2, you wouldn't get them, either.

“So, it's not just the first round. I think we have an opportunity to really capitalize here and add a lot of talent throughout the course of the draft weekend.”

jaylen watso — Sep 11, 2021; Pullman, Washington, USA; Portland State Vikings quarterback Davis Alexander (6) breaks the tackle of Washington State Cougars defensive back Jaylen Watson (0) in the first half at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images | James Snook-Imagn Images

Remember the 2022 draft

That’s exactly what Veach did under similar circumstances in 2022. Armed with added capital from the freshly minted Tyreek Hill trade, Veach parlayed those picks into another trade that netted the Chiefs McDuffie at 21 overall in the first round.

Stunningly, George Karlaftis is the only remaining player from that 10-member class, but the Chiefs still got plenty of mileage. Safety Bryan Cook, linebacker Leo Chenal and running back Isiah Pacheco joined those two first-rounders, McDuffie and Karlaftis, in helping secure the NFL’s first pair of consecutive Super Bowl titles in two decades.

He even landed Jaylen Watson in the seventh round that year, an eventual starter opposite McDuffie, who wound up setting the cornerback market in free agency last week by joining McDuffie with the Rams.

Veach didn’t swing and miss often in that draft, but this week he even recycled one of his misses. The general manager orchestrated a trade with the Jets to acquire a solid backup quarterback, Justin Fields, using the sixth-round selection he pilfered from the 49ers in August for wide receiver Skyy Moore.

justin field — Nov 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) looks to pass the ball against the New England Patriots in the third quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images