Chiefs undrafted rookie created unexpected waves in his first season with K.C.

CRW has an interesting future ahead of him with the Chiefs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Kansas City Chiefs | Cooper Neill/GettyImages

The Kansas City Chiefs had no shortage of young defensive backs to start the 2024 season.

Coming into training camp, the Chiefs had waved goodbye to L’Jarius Sneed via a spring trade with the Titans, but still had an enviable group loaded with potential anchored by Trent McDuffie. Other names like Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, Chamarri Conner, and Nazeeh Johnson were expected to claim roster spots, leaving little room for a load of others competing for the final slot.

When the final bell rung, it was a little-known, unheralded rookie free agent signing who stood taller than the others: Christian Roland-Wallace.

Roland-Wallace was a USC product by way of Arizona who came into the NFL with loads of experience as a fifth-year senior. That experience likely helped him gain immediate trust from Chiefs coaches over other players who proved to be not as pro-ready.

In the end, Roland-Wallace even beat out former draft picks for the final round as well as others who appeared to be stronger candidates at first glance. From Kamal Hadden to Nic Jones, Kelvin Joseph to Miles Battle, it was CRW who grabbed the final corner spot in camp.

Roland-Wallace ended up playing in all 17 games for the Chiefs this season and even made two starts in the secondary. He put up 34 total tackles and had 1 pass deflection as well as 1 forced fumble. He also added an interception and two tackles for a loss.

Looking back at season’s end, Roland-Wallace finished in the top five rookies for the Chiefs in terms of total snap counts. Roland-Wallace played 194 total snaps on defense and another 249 on special teams, giving him invaluable reps of experience for both Steve Spagnuolo and Dave Toub going forward into his Chiefs career.

There’s no telling for sure whether Roland-Wallace will continue to grow into a larger role, remain a core special teamer for years to come, or even beat out competition next year. But for a Chiefs’ secondary that’s loaded with players coming into their contract seasons (McDuffie, Johnson, Williams, Watson), having someone around like Roland-Wallace to round out the depth chart with years of cost control is a very good thing.