I would first like to say Thanks to NB for allowing me to post my blog on his site. Also none of the following reflects the opinions of the Chiefs or NB. Enjoy!
As of offseason of the NFL wears on big questions still loom for the Kansas City Chiefs. Coaching positions are still waiting to be filled, Free Agents have yet to be signed, and ultimately the NFL draft is waiting in the wings. As the days pass on, Chiefs fans like myself, are growing more and more impatient waiting on some news from Scott Pioli and company. What will be first? Will it be the announcement of a new Offensive Coordinator or the signing of one of the many FA’s the Chiefs have yet to resign? Today that is what I am going to look at. I will classify the Kansas City Chiefs FA’s into 3 categories: Must Keep, 50/50, and Get Lost!!
Must Keep:
Dwayne Bowe: I am going to start with the obvious. Dwayne Bowe is simply a playmaker. Yes, he does drop the occasional easy catch and that is incredibly frustrating. However he can come down with a spectacular catch just the same. See the TD grab against the Colts this past season. Besides his receiving skills, Bowe is a tremendous blocker. With the Chiefs dedication to the running game this is absolutely crucial. Without his blocking on the outside Jamaal Charles doesn’t have the type of season he did a year ago. He gives the Chiefs a true #1 WR and that is crucial in today’s NFL. Bowe can do it all and he needs to do it in Kansas City.
Brandon Carr: As was Dwayne Bowe, Carr is an obvious Must Keep as well. Since being drafted 4 years ago, Carr has started every game in his career. He has improved tremendously over these past 4 years and some teams have publically stated that they would rather attack Brandon Flowers rather than Carr. Carr possesses terrific size and speed and matches up well with the bigger WR’s in the NFL (Vincent Jackson). With Eric Berry coming back next season after a disappointing ACL injury the Chiefs secondary has an opportunity to become an elite group in the coming years. As a defensive minded guy, Romeo Crennel knows the importance of a talented secondary.
Jovan Belcher: Belcher is a less obvious Must Keeper. A Restricted FA we can tender him and not worry about losing him this coming season, unless a team wants to give us Draft Picks in return. While not flashy, Belcher simply gets the job done. Do you think Derrick Johnson has the season he does without Belcher? Absolutely not. Belcher is a solid ILB that takes on blocks and stops the run, finishing second on the team in tackles behind DJ. He might look lost in coverage, but that is not his game. He is simply asked to take on the lead blockers and let the play making LB’s to do exactly that. Make plays. Belcher is a must keep for this reason as well as he should come relatively cheap.
Le’Ron McClain: Now I will be the 1st to admit we didn’t see the season we expected out of McClain in 2011. However that doesn’t mean he wasn’t valuable. A front-line FB is a necessity to any team looking to run the ball. With JC coming back and hopefully another complimentary back not names Jones or Battle the Chiefs should once again return to the top of the league in rushing in 2012. What makes him a must keep is that he a versatile FB. He can run and catch the football as well as block up front. If we were to lose McClain we would either have to draft a replacement (who wants to see that?) depend on Shane Bannon (spent most of the season on the Practice Squad IR) or grab a FA. None will come with the ability of McClain.
Those are my only Must Keeps in this year’s FA class. In the coming weeks I will address the remaining free agents. So Chiefs fans, agree or disagree with my selections?
-J
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