Former Orlando Apollos cornerback Keith Reaser has emerged from the chaos surrounding the Alliance of American Football to land an NFL contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reaser took advantage of his brief opportunity in the AAF to showcase his game-changing ability in coverage. On 30 targets sent his way, Reaser allowed just 14 receptions for 146 yards, and he didn’t surrender a touchdown all season. He also came down with three interceptions and seven pass breakups while allowing the league’s lowest passer rating in coverage at only 21.7. Reaser’s 92.7 overall grade and 92.9 coverage grade both ranked first among cornerbacks before the sudden end to the AAF season.
A significant factor in his breakout with the AAF was his performance on his downfield targets. Proving that he was head and shoulders above the rest, Reaser allowed just three catches from 14 targets of 10-plus air yards, coming away with three interceptions and adding a further two forced incompletions. His 97.2 coverage grade from those targets was over 30 points higher than Jamar Summers, who was the next closest cornerback, while Reaser's 9.2 passer rating allowed on such throws also ranked first among players at the position.
He’ll have his shot to make the Chiefs’ roster throughout the offseason, and he'll be a vital depth piece to a secondary that was recently highlighted as an NFL unit that needed to be addressed. As a team, the Chiefs allowed a catch rate of 67.3 percent for over 5,000 yards in coverage last season, and they collectively allowed a passer rating of 96.0 to opposing quarterbacks.
Reaser was a 2014 fifth-round selection out of Florida Atlantic by the San Francisco 49ers, and this will be his second stint with the Chiefs as he spent the 2017 season on Kansas City’s practice squad and 2018 on injured reserve.
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