Ten seconds into his answer, Brett Veach’s eyes began to dance back and forth. He couldn’t help but smile.
The Chiefs had just beaten the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, and the fourth-year general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs was standing against a backdrop, talking about the team’s rookie cornerback.
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“He’s, uh, I’ll tell you what,” Veach said, his smile starting to form. “We certainly got fortunate. Had they had one of these draft do-overs, you could make the case for L’Jarius being selected in the first round.”
He was talking about L’Jarius Sneed, the 2020 fourth-round pick from Louisiana Tech whom Pro Football Focus graded the highest among rookie cornerbacks. Sneed, who had earned playing time at the beginning of the season because of injuries (and a suspension) to the other Chiefs cornerbacks, allowed just 214 passing yards into his coverage on 45 targets, per PFF. Quarterbacks tallied a 53.4 passer rating on those targets, ranking the third-lowest among any cornerback to be targeted 30 times this season, behind Bryce Callahan (46.9 passer rating) and Xavien Howard (53.0 passer rating).
Hence the reason Veach’s smile became a chuckle a week and a half ago.
“I guess we were more lucky than smart,” he said. “Because in retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have been there in the fourth round.”
Sneed’s sheer talent tells that story, but only part of it. His success is a byproduct of understanding, a belief that developed through time.
John Bradford was working the phones on NFL Draft day, April 23. The first round was ongoing, and Bradford, one of Sneed’s mentors and coaches in Minden, La., about 30 miles east of Shreveport, wanted to know whether Sneed’s name was going to be called.
“Have y’all heard?” he’d ask.
“No,” a family member would say.
“Nope,” said another.
“Not yet.”
Bradford waited, continuing to check in. He had long thought the Las Vegas Raiders or Houston Texans were going to be the fit. The first round ended, and Sneed’s name remained on the draft board. The next day, the draft resumed with the second round. Bradford worked the phones again, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were weighing what to do.
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During the draft process, Veach had talked about Sneed with Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who had watched Sneed’s early college tape, back when Sneed played cornerback. Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt added insights. So did Chiefs DBs/cornerbacks coach Sam Madison. And then there was scout Willie Davis, who had been impressed by Sneed’s length, ball skills, instincts and, most importantly, Sneed’s practice habits.
“They really work those kids down in Louisiana,” Davis would later say. “They understand what it takes before game time, the preparation and everything that needs to go into preparing before playing the game. I’ve watched LSU and Louisiana Tech and I’ve watched them for 13 years now, nothing’s really changed.”
Still, the second round passed and Sneed hadn’t been picked. Saturday arrived and Bradford no longer was working the phones. He was watching the broadcast himself, texting with Sneed. When the Chiefs selected Sneed in the fourth round, Bradford was proud. He also realized what the late-round pick would do to a player who had long felt doubted.
Back✌️Back
@LATechFB’s L’Jarius Sneed & Amik Robertson are both heading to the AFC West. pic.twitter.com/9qHF7oqSVa— Jarred D. Latta (@jarredlatta) April 25, 2020
A few weeks after the draft, Sneed stopped by Bradford’s house. They were in Minden, where Bradford had grown up, where he’d learned what he’d later pass on. Inside the house, they started talking, and Sneed kept coming back to one sentence.
“They’re getting ready to witness greatness,” he said.
Bradford could hear the bite in the tone. He had long had a thought: “Once he matures and understands his purpose and what he has and applies the hard work behind it, he’s aiming for the skies. The sky is not the limit.”
“You speak it? Believe it,” Bradford responded that day. “Speak it? Believe it.”
More than five years ago, then-Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator/safeties coach Blake Baker first heard the name L’Jarius Sneed, who Baker learned was a two-way player at Minden High School. So one afternoon, Baker hopped in the car and drove the 40 minutes west from Ruston, La., to Minden.
Minden was practicing, and Baker identified him quickly, a long and skinny kid who darted across the field. Sneed was faster than the others. He wasn’t afraid to make tackles. As cliche as it sounds, teammates converged on him after plays, talking and joking. Leaving practice, Baker was sold.
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This had long been a theme for folks who first watched Sneed play. He joined a youth league team, the Bulldogs, at age 10. He had long been focused on basketball, and the youth league coach, Marvin Harris, begged him to play. Once Sneed had committed, Harris immediately told Bradford, who was helping coach.
“You’re great, man,” they would tell Sneed early on. “It’s up to you.”
That fall, the team road-tripped an hour west to the University of Louisiana Monroe for the youth league state tournament. It was double elimination. The Bulldogs were expected to lose their first two games, Bradford said, but the team ended up making the championship game. The game entered double overtime.
From 12 yards out, the coaches put Sneed in the slot. The quarterback dropped back and lobbed the ball. Sneed skied for it, caught it and the team won the title.
“It was like he was an 18-year-old playing against 10-year-olds,” Bradford said.
L’Jarius Sneed’s youth league team poses for a photo after winning a championship. Sneed is the player in the back row holding up a certificate between the coaches. (Courtesy of John Bradford)
His success sent Sneed on the football path, but he needed a mentor. Not only would Sneed’s older brother, T.Q. Mims, go on to play at Arkansas Pine Bluff, but Bradford, who had helped coach Sneed, had been a player himself. He, too, grew up in Minden. He played free safety and wide receiver. He was an all-state player. Yet he didn’t pursue his gift. He didn’t appreciate it. The lack of focus cost him scholarships and a future in the game. As Sneed reached high school, Bradford would continuously tell him his story.
Sometimes, the experience would resonate. Other times, it wouldn’t. One day, Bradford called Sneed to check in.
“You gonna be able to go to the gym in the morning?” Bradford asked.
“Yeah,” Sneed said. “I’ll go, but I might go to a party tonight.”
Bradford and Sneed had talked about the parties, and though it was important for a high school kid to have fun, Bradford had relayed the importance of being able to say no. Later that night, Sneed called Bradford.
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“Hey, what you doing?” he asked.
“I’m doing nothing, lying around, watching TV,” Bradford responded.
“I don’t want to go to that party,” Sneed said.
“Why?” Bradford asked.
“It just doesn’t feel right,” he said. “I’m just going to tell them my stomach hurts.”
Bradford was taken aback by the maturity, and workouts such as the one the following morning translated to the field. Sneed had played safety and receiver his sophom*ore year. Then Minden used him only on defense as a junior. By his senior year, he was back playing both ways — coaches thought he was too explosive not to be.
There was a game against rival Benton High School. Minden head coach Spencer Heard watched Sneed return a kickoff for a touchdown, catch screens and scamper toward the end zone and make plays on defense. At the end of the game, Sneed was returning another kickoff and headed toward the end zone, but he was tackled from behind.
“He was so burnt,” Heard said, laughing. “We had used him so much.”
There was another game against North Desoto High School. Trailing 14-0 at half, Bradford called Sneed over.
“I know you’re supposed to go sideline left on this kickoff,” Bradford said. “But we can’t see the field from the sideline. Just go score.” Sneed hauled in the ball and weaved his way to the end zone, sparking a comeback.
Baker and fellow Louisiana Tech coaches showed up to these games, confident that the two-star recruit ranking didn’t mean anything. Early on, Sneed wasn’t responding to DMs or texts. Baker wondered what was up, but Sneed was quiet, more focused on the game than the recruiting process. That said, LSU coaches weren’t showing up, and neither did any other coaches from big schools. Maybe it was the fact Sneed wasn’t crisscrossing the country, competing in camps. Or maybe it was the relative lack of accessibility to Minden.
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Regardless, Bradford would tell him: “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter. It’s all about what you do when you get wherever you’re going. You’re a diamond in the rough. They passed on you. They didn’t see your worth. Greatness was upon you. But you don’t prove them wrong by thinking about it.
“Use that in the back of your mind. It’s all about the fire inside you. Use the fire inside of you, and use that as gasoline on the fire.”
He did. At Louisiana Tech.
Blake Baker thought Sneed had the talent to play in the NFL from the first time he saw him at the Minden practice. He hasn’t watched much of Sneed’s play on Sundays — coaches are going to coach — but within the clips he has seen is a characteristic he long hoped would shine.
“Confidence,” Baker said. “When for years you’re telling this kid how good he can be, it’s truly awesome.”
Late in Sneed’s freshman year in 2016, Louisiana Tech moved him to cornerback. His first snap at the position, against Western Kentucky, he snagged an interception and returned it for a touchdown.
“I was thinking, ‘I am a dumb … ass,’” Baker said.
Still, as Sneed strengthened his body and had success, Baker would have to remind Sneed how good he believed he could be. By Sneed’s junior season, Baker saw a different Sneed in practice. He attempted to one-up teammate and current Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Amik Robertson. Sneed also jawed with receivers. He finished with 59 tackles and three interceptions his junior year, then tallied 73 tackles and three interceptions his senior year.
Bradford watched the growth, which is why Sneed’s comment weeks after the draft didn’t surprise him. They’re getting ready to witness greatness. Bradford was confident Sneed’s internal drive would propel him; Baker, now LSU’s linebackers coach, was confident the external elements of Tyrann Mathieu’s leadership and the Chiefs’ culture would help, too.
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A tumultuous 2020 didn’t inhibit Sneed from learning the playbook. The season began, and Sneed, wearing the red and gold, intercepted Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in Week 1. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert became his next victim and then, by the AFC Championship Game against the Bills, Sneed was blitzing Josh Allen in a way that had Veach smiling.
#Chiefs rookie CB L'Jarius Sneed with a 15-yard sack.
Seems like every time they blitz him, its results in a big sack.
2nd one in the playoffs.pic.twitter.com/voCRjz6mIF
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 25, 2021
Reflecting on Sneed’s success recently, Bradford thought of a moment after Sneed graduated. They were in the Minden locker room, and Sneed handed an up-and-coming player a pair of gold cleats. They had been his. But before passing them along, he signed them, a glimpse at the confidence that would come.
“Dude, really?” Bradford said then.
“Yeah,” Sneed said. “I could get used to this.”
He’ll have to. Fresh off a nod to the PFF All-Rookie team, Sneed is poised to play a big role this weekend in Super Bowl LV. At age 24, for him, one thing seems clear: The sky is not the limit.
(Photo: Stephen Lew / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
