Added pieces could elevate Chiefs from good to great

For probably the third straight season, the Kansas City Chiefs were a hard team to figure out. A season that featured wins over Seattle and New England (in a blowout), and losses to Tennessee and Oakland (previously winless) resulted in a 9-7 record. For the second straight year the Chiefs battled for a wild card spot with the San Diego Chargers behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. Two years ago both teams snuck into the playoffs, this year the luck ran out and both were left watching the postseason.

Offensive Breakdown

Smith has receivers worthy of catching touchdowns this year

Quarterback Alex Smith didn’t throw a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver last year, but can you blame him?

Smith’s top targets on the outside last year were Dwayne Bowe, who was good once, and Albert Wilson. Now three years removed from his last strong season, the 30-year-old Bowe is in Cleveland,and with those QBs, could be facing his second straight touchdown-less season. Wilson, however, remains in the starting lineup and while the undrafted free agent showed some promise down the stretch last year, his spot could be easy pickings for third round rookie Chris Conley or former Philadelphia Eagle Jason Avant.

The good news is the new No. 1 is Jeremy Maclin. Maclin signed a big money deal with the Chiefs and his former coach Andy Reid in the off-season after his best year in Philadelphia, accumulating a career-best 1,318 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Maclin may not hit double digits in touchdown catches as a Chief, but is more than expected to make sure Kansas City doesn’t go two years in a row not finding a wide receiver in the end zone.

If the passing game leaves a little to be desired, the running game certainly does not. Jamaal Charles is of course back after another excellent season – 1,033 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns, and another five TDs through the air – with the only concern he may be close to slowing down. The Chiefs eased off on the now 28-year-old a little last season; his 206 rushes were the least of his career since his breakout sophomore year in a full season. Fantasy players seem unfazed however, with Charles routinely mentioned among the top picks for the upcoming season along the likes of Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, and Eddie Lacy.

PLAYER TO WATCH: TE TRAVIS KELCE

Smith couldn’t find a wide receiver in the end zone all season last year, but he hit Travis Kelce there five times. Big things were expected of Kelce in his first active season, and while expectations may have been a little too much, a little too soon, the former third-rounder showed enough promise for those expectations to return for this year, perhaps even a little heightened. Kelce finished with 862 receiving yards and while he’ll have to battle Maclin to increase those figures; the 6’0 Maclin shouldn’t threaten Kelce’s red zone targets and his expected uptick in touchdown catches.

IN: OG Paul Fanaika, OG Ben Grubbs, WR Jeremy Maclin

OUT: WR Dwayne Bowe, TE Anthony Fasano, C Rodney Hudson, OL Jeff Linkenbach

Defensive Breakdown

With returning players, Chiefs could be top defence in 2015

If JJ Watt wasn’t JJ Watting all last season, a lot more attention would have been given to Justin Houston and his monstrous season. The 3-4 outside linebacker finished with 22 sacks last year, a mere half off the league record set by Michael Strahan in 2001, in what was surely the second best season by a defensive player last year.

Houston returns to anchor what could be the best defence in the league; there is talent everywhere! Dontari Poe and his six sacks from the nose tackle position lead a solid defensive line that will be bolstered by the return of end Mike DeVito from injury.

Houston is one of three stud linebackers for the Chiefs alongside fellow outsider Tamba Hali, whose production admittedly dropped off last year from 11 sacks to six, and inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, who returns after missing all but one game to injury last year. Johnson is now 32 and coming off an Achilles injury, but with the talent around him, should still hit triple digits in tackles in 2015.

The secondary will receive another big boost with the return of Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry this year in one of the best stories of the off-season. Berry is back after recovering from Hodgkin lymphoma and still just 26, the hope is he can return to his pre-injury form. Sean Smith, coming off a very impressive season last year, and first round rookie Marcus Peters, are expected to lead the cornerback group.

The Chiefs finished with the seventh-ranked defence last year and are welcoming back to the fold three solid contributors in DeVito, Johnson, and Berry. If Peters pans out at corner, Kansas City could certainly challenge the Seattle Seahawks’ two-year run as the league’s top defence.

IN: S Tyvon Branch

OUT: DL Kevin Vickerson

Draft

The Chiefs selected Peters 18th overall and if not for character concerns that got him kicked off his college team, the cornerback may not have been available that late in the first round. If Peters figures it out, he could be a steal, and will get a chance to show his talent – on the field at least – early on as he’s battling Phillip Gaines to start opposite Sean Smith in the Chiefs’ strong looking defensive unit.

Third round wide receiver Chris Conley could find his way into the starting lineup before too long too. If Conley can turn his strong physical attributes into football skills, he’ll be a force alongside Jeremy Maclin.