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Kansas City Chiefs: Big Off Season For The Chiefs

By Leigh Oleszczak

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The Kansas City Chiefs have had an eventful off season, adding big veteran names like Jeremy Maclin and Ben Grubbs. The acquisitions have given fans hope that this year’s Chiefs can finally make it to that next level of winning a postseason game – something the Kansas City Chiefs haven’t done since 1994 when Joe Montana was the quarterback in Kansas City.

Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated feels that the Chiefs have had a very impressive off season. In fact, he gave them a B- in his off season report card. Farrar mentioned that Ben Grubbs was the team’s best acquisition and I would agree. Obviously getting Maclin was huge too, but at least the Chiefs have Travis Kelce in the passing game. The offensive line was horrible last season and Grubbs is an immediate upgrade.

Here is what Farrar had to say about Grubbs joining the Chiefs this season,

"Grubbs was acquired from the Saints for a fifth-round pick as part of New Orleans’ off-season salary cap dump, and he’ll fit right in on the Chiefs’ offensive line. Last season was a bit down for Grubbs, as it was for most of New Orleans’ offensive line, but the hope is that Grubbs, who was traded for a fifth-round pick and given a four-year, $24 million deal with $10.6 million guaranteed in his new home, will bolster a line that had its problems in 2014."

Now I’m also a diehard New Orleans Saints fan (though I don’t cover them because I know none of you care to read about them), and I was stoked to hear Grubbs would be helping out the Chiefs on the offensive line. Grubbs will hopefully be able to help out Eric Fisher on the left side of the line. Fisher has struggled in his first two years in the pros, but a good vet like Grubbs should assist with him taking the next step.

Farrar stated that the team’s biggest loss this off season was Rodney Hudson, and I’m sure almost everyone agrees with that. The Chiefs did lose Dwayne Bowe, but they upgraded with Jeremy Maclin coming to town. With Hudson gone (and snapping the ball in Oakland nonetheless), the Chiefs have Eric Kush and second round pick in this year’s draft Mitch Morse competing for that starting center spot.

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    • Now I’m not trying to bash Kush or Morse, but they’re no Rodney Hudson. The battle for starting center will certainly be interesting. Farrar seemed concerned about the future of the Chiefs’ o-line.

    "Hudson ranked third overall in Pro Football Focus’ rankings for centers, and he was a relative bastion of strength on a line that wasn’t always what it could have been. And given Reid’s focus on line play, the loss of Husdon is a problem."

    Farrar felt that the Chiefs’ most underrated draft pick this year was Rakeem Nunez-Roches, a sixth round pick out of Southern Mississippi. Nunez-Roches should be able to beef up the defense in the future and could make an impact on special teams this year. Here is what Farrar said in his article about Nunez-Roches,

    "He started to show up on a lot of underrated lists, and the Chiefs may have themselves a real bargain here in the sixth round.In Bob Sutton’s defense, which requires its interior linemen to play multiple gaps, Nunez-Roches has a step up, as he’s already proven himself to be a versatile player."

    The last thought Farrar wrote about in his article was if Chris Conley would be able to pick up the slack in training camp. There’s a lot of potential for Conley in the Chiefs’ system and a very high chance that he could grab that second wide receiver spot opposite of Maclin, but he is a rookie. Rookie wide receivers sometimes struggle running routes or hauling in big passes due to the pressure of being in the big leagues.

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    Farrar seemed to think that Conley could be the real deal in Kansas City.

    "Conley looks like a guy who could take things to a new level in the Chiefs’ receiver corps. Yes, it’s a low bar, but one starts where one must. The Bulldogs weren’t a juggernaut in the passing game, but Conley still managed to grab eight touchdowns on just 36 receptions in 2014. The 6-2, 213-pound target, who ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, needs a few mechanical fixes at the next level, but the Chiefs would be wise to invest the time in this future George Lucas, as Jeremy Maclin will need a second banana sooner than later."

    All of the buzz about the Kansas City Chiefs’ upcoming season gives fans a lot of reasons to be excited. It’d be nice to see the Chiefs not only win the AFC West (something they haven’t done in four years), but to make it to the playoffs and actually advance for once. This should be a good season to be a Chiefs fan.

    Next: Five Reasons the Chiefs Will Win the AFC West

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