The Jury Is Still Out on Chiefs' Safety Room Following Bye Week

Change was the theme of the offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs' defense, especially in the secondary. It wasn't just the cornerback position that underwent a shakeup, either, as safety Bryan Cook departed for the Cincinnati Bengals and was replaced by Alohi Gilman in free agency.

The acquisition of Gilman, paired with Chamarri Conner returning to his more natural spot in Steve Spagnuolo's lineup, seemed to set the tone for a productive and disruptive pairing. For multiple reasons, however, that hasn't been the case through four games.

Lumping in a roller coaster of a campaign for Jaden Hicks and a limited workload for Chris Roland-Wallace does nothing but further complicate things. The bad news is that things must improve coming out of the bye week, although the good news is there's ample reason to believe that'll happen.

Starting with Gilman, the former Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore Ravens standout isn't exactly lacking statistically compared to his last couple of seasons. Across Pro Football Reference, Pro Football Focus and NFL Pro's data, his coverage data averages out to 10 targets and six completions, 8.3 yards per target and a 120.6 passer rating.

He's being tried more often down the field (13.9-yard average depth of target) and performing at his recent — albeit underwhelming — standard, but it's the lack of ball production that's really hurting. One of Gilman's main draws is his ability to make splash plays, evidenced by his 28 career pass breakups, six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and five interceptions. Four games in, he's been quiet, which is a concern.

Hicks is hands-down the most frustratingly inconsistent player in this group. In some instances, he flies around the field and looks like a heat-seeking missile who's oozing confidence. In others, though, he's lost in the shuffle, slow to react and ends up totally out of place. He leads the safety collective with eight "stops" on the year, yet it's coming with a unit-worst mark in yards per reception.

The low-key player to keep an eye on is Roland-Wallace, who played 190 defensive snaps in 2025, good for 30% of those available in his 11 games played. This year, that number is 55 (20%), and it's hard to see that share going up too much with Conner back. Roland-Wallace has some corner-safety versatility, so perhaps he occupies some slot snaps (he has 12 right now) in due time.

Conner stands out as quite easily the biggest X-factor here. The fourth-year man is in a contract season but started it on the shelf due to a knee injury that lingered for a while. While he was far from perfect in his regular-season debut in Week 4 versus the Las Vegas Raiders, the former fourth-round pick finished with six tackles and made multiple plays that showcased his quick trigger when running downhill.

There wasn't much of a runway for Conner to ramp up, as he played 63 snaps down in Paradise against the Raiders (75%). If he's back to being an unquestioned starter at safety, he'll form a heavy-involvement duo with Gilman and send someone like Hicks down a rung on the ladder. That may assist the latter man in finding the optimal role for his skill set.

Progress isn't linear, which might be the best way to sum up a group that's flashed some good and bad in the first month of the 2026-27 campaign.

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