Kansas City Chiefs OTAs continued on June 12, and the media were in attendance once again as cornerback Nazeeh Johnson was credited with the “play of the day.”
Per KSHB 41 beat reporter Nick Jacobs on June 12, “[the] play of the day belongs to Nazeeh Johnson, who deflected a football to himself and intercepted the pass.”
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Arrowhead Pride’s Pete Sweeney detailed this interception on X, too, relaying: “Also in 7s, CB Nazeeh Johnson jumped a Gardner Minshew pass intended for WR Justyn Ross, bringing in the interception even while wearing the muzzle training clubs to prevent tugging. Impressive play without the gloves, more impressive with them.”
In the same post, Jacobs added that Johnson “also had a nice goal line deflection,” making Thursday a particularly strong practice for the 2025 bubble candidate.
Nazeeh Johnson Could Be Hard-Pressed to Make Chiefs’ 53-Man Roster in 2025
Johnson was briefly cut and signed to the practice squad as a rookie, but he’s either been with the active roster or on the injured reserve ever since late September of 2022. That’s not bad for a seventh-round pick from a deep draft class.
Having said that, Johnson could be hard-pressed to survive the roster cutdown in 2025.
The Chiefs made moves to bolster their CB room in free agency and the draft, and that could push Johnson out of a spot as he competes with players like fellow draftmate Joshua Williams, promising 2024 UDFA Christian Roland-Wallace and several other reserve defensive backs like Darius Rush, Eric Scott Jr., and rookies Kevin Knowles and Jacobe Covington.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando highlighted those CB acquisitions as his “favorite” Chiefs moves of the offseason on May 29.
Reasoning: “I’m betting on defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo maximizing the top two cornerbacks Kansas City added; veteran Kristian Fulton, who played well for the [Los Angeles] Chargers last season, and third-round pick Nohl Williams, who can play nickel and safety.”
“Both project as physical pieces for Spagnuolo to utilize,” Sando went on, concluding that “they are surer bets than the players Kansas City added to address its issues at left tackle.”
Assuming both Fulton and Nohl Williams make the 53-man roster, as well as starters Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, that only leaves one or two remaining cornerback spots for a cut candidate like Johnson.
Chiefs Second-Year Safety Jaden Hicks Continues to Make Plays on the Football at OTAs
Jaden Hicks is expected to take over for free agent departure Justin Reid as one of the starting safeties in 2025, and the second-year DB continues to make plays at OTAs.
“One of the better defensive plays happened in the opening 7-on-7 period on the very first rep, with S Jaden Hicks breaking up a deep pass from Patrick Mahomes down the left sideline to Xavier Worthy,” Sweeney noted.
“It’s a corner blitz,” Hicks told reporters after practice. “I know I got the [number] one [WR], seen Xavier Worthy [going deep], that’s a speedy guy. Just try to stay on top of him and make the play. That just [shook] out for me.”
Jacobs added that Hicks “showcased his range” on that highlight-reel play.
As for Mahomes and Worthy being foiled on another deep ball attempt, Sweeney had this to say:
“Throughout the practice, I noticed Mahomes and Worthy are emphasizing work on connecting deep down the field. Thursday’s look saw a couple of missed conversions as they continue to crank away at it.”
Mahomes likes to work on things like this during Chiefs OTAs and camp, so this is nothing new. On the bright side, expect plenty of Worthy deep shots in 2025.
