The Kansas City Chiefs were reportedly in play for star cornerback Jaire Alexander's services before he ultimately landed with the Baltimore Ravens. Missing out on a two-time All-Pro stings, especially for a squad eager to avenge its embarrassing Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, their pursuit of him is the more noteworthy and worrisome aspect of the situation.
Kansas City's defense carried them at times last year when superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the scoring unit struggled for a second straight campaign. But exploring the idea of signing Alexander suggests there might be some concerns about their secondary depth. This suddenly adds another issue to the Chiefs' docket, on top of their well-chronicled offensive line woes.
Chiefs being mentioned as a Jaire Alexander suitor reveals hidden chink in their armor
By many metrics, the Chiefs were average to good at limiting opponents through the air in 2024. They were 10th in adjusted net yards per pass attempt, 12th in touchdown percentage and 16th in pass deflections, among other stats. Kansas City's interest in the newest member of the Ravens can be seen as an admission that the numbers don't tell the complete story.
Trent McDuffie has blossomed into a shutdown All-Pro cover corner. Jaylen Watson is healthy following a trying season in which he missed 11 games due to a broken fibula. The Chiefs also poached Kristian Fulton from their divisional rival Los Angeles Chargers in March via free agency. What exactly did they need Alexander for?
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler didn't explicitly mention Kansas City when recently discussing what went into Alexander's decision to join Baltimore instead. The SportsCenter ticker clearly stated that he "agreed to [a] 1-yr deal with Ravens despite Chiefs also showing interest" nonetheless. Regardless of how the information was provided, it doesn't change the fact that the three-time defending AFC champions inquired speaks volumes.
Perhaps the Chiefs are still getting flashbacks of what the back end of their defense was like when Watson went down. They couldn't find any semblance of decency next to McDuffie in his stead, which put even more pressure on Mahomes and their ferocious pass rush. Yet, that's where Fulton is supposed to factor into the equation, though Kansas City ostensibly feels like that wasn't enough.
Alas, the Chiefs will have to look elsewhere after seeing Alexander choose arguably the biggest in-conference threat to dethrone them. His connection to Ravens franchise signal-caller, Lamar Jackson, was too much to overcome. The two spent three years in college together at Louisville, and now reunite in Baltimore.