When the Las Vegas Raiders welcome the Kansas City Chiefs into town for Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season, a lot of the pieces on the other sideline will look quite familiar. It will be Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones and Nick Bolton. Same old, same old.
But the Chiefs re-tooled several rooms this offseason, adding Kenneth Walker III to a running back unit that desperately needed a boost. Walker III has provided that boost and then some. Defensively, Kansas City took a big gamble, trading Trent McDuffie and letting Jaylen Watson leave in free agency.
That was their two top cornerbacks, gone in a flash. So, how on earth is Spagnuolo's secondary not falling apart this year? Well, because the Chiefs' trio of Kristian Fulton, Nohl Williams and rookie Mansoor Delane have carried the torch and are dominating to begin the campaign.
In particular, Williams should be circled on Klint Kubiak's game plan.
Raiders must not overlooked underrated Nohl Williams in Chiefs' secondary
Among Chiefs fans, Williams gets a lot of recognition. But he's not anything approaching a household name, so he won't be on any of the promotional graphics or at the forefront of Raider Nation's mind when the two teams hit the field this Sunday. Luckily, Kubiak has surely seen on tape what we have.
Williams is a good-sized boundary corner with great physicality and ball skills. He's a product of the Cal Golden Bears, and fans are seeing with Zeke Masses this year that Cal is a factory for good NFL defensive backs, particularly corners. And by many metrics, Williams is among the best in the league.
Where he thrives is in man coverage, and the Chiefs run that at one of the highest clips in the league. That is a testament to just how talented their secondary is, and how much Spagnuolo trusts his young defensive backs to stick with their guys. Williams has not let him down.
Through three games, he has been targeted 14 times and given up just six receptions while breaking up three passes. Opposing quarterbacks have a dismal 64.3 passer rating when targeting receivers covered by Williams, and he has played almost every snap in 2026. He's a constant threat on defense.
Spagnuolo asks a lot of his defensive backs, as they'll be key contributors against the run and will blitz often. Williams has the ability to do both, as his block-shedding ability for his size is great, and he's logged one surprise blitz each game. Oh, and he's quick enough to stick with twitchy receivers.
Although he still has room to grow, Williams is becoming a complete cornerback at the NFL level, and very quietly. He was just a rotational player the first time he faced Las Vegas last year, but he flat-out dominated in the Week 18 bout. Surely, plenty of players remember facing him.
If he brings his "A" game against the Raiders, as he frequently does, then the Silver and Black's route-runners may have a hard time shaking free, and Kirk Cousins may have a hard time targeting players downfield. Williams is a legitimate threat to what Las Vegas is trying to do.
Why Williams is a matchup nightmare for the Raiders
Honestly, nobody in the NFL can defend Brock Bowers; I believe that. A team's only hope is slowing him down and leaving others open, begging them to win the game for the Raiders. But if anyone on the Chiefs is built to make life tough on Bowers or make Cousins second-guess, it's Williams.
At 6-foot-1, Williams has enough size and length to theoretically cover Bowers, but more importantly, he's got quick-twitch ability, and he is very physical. Not that Bowers can't handle that, but there aren't a ton of players who can contribute both quickness, speed and strength in a given secondary.
Linebackers just aren't an option to cover Bowers anymore, so Spagnuolo will have to put somebody on Bowers. Rookie Mansoor Delane and Kristian Fulton are both thriving in man coverage as well, but neither is quite big or physical enough to realistically alter Bowers' path.
What the Raiders saw in Week 3, and have seen in the past, is that true No. 1 cornerbacks are following Bowers around all game. That would be Williams for the Chiefs; at least it seems that way to me. He is their most effective cornerback at this juncture and could be tasked with following Bowers.
Kansas City is getting reinforcements this week with the return of safety Chamarri Conner, so there should be more help over the top than there has been in the first three weeks. And for what it's worth, Chiefs fans aren't confident in anyone on their defense guarding Bowers - it's hard to blame them.
But if one person can at least slow him down, or make the best attempt at it, and if one defensive back can cause Cousins to second-guess a throw in Bowers' direction, it's Williams. Kubiak has to be prepared for this matchup, and he certainly needs some tricks up his sleeve to exploit it.
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