Why LeSean McCoy makes sense for the Kansas City Chiefs

There may not be a better situation to go into as an offensive playmaker than the Kansas City Chiefs offense. There also may not be a more dramatic difference in offensive talent than the 2018 Buffalo Bills and the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs.

Looking at McCoy’s raw numbers from last year, and it is easy to convince yourself that he is washed. There is a ton of context to consider though.

First, let us look at the quarterback situation. Buffalo started four(!) different quarterbacks in 2018; Josh Allen (rookie), Matt Barkley (bust), Derek Anderson (77 years old) and Nathan Peterman (Pick-6 Extraordinaire). That list of signal callers is laughable.

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While I like Allen’s talent and potential, he was not ready to take over an NFL franchise in 2018. He also happened to be the best of the four quarterbacks the Bills started. The Patrick Mahomes effect is real. Playing with an NFL MVP at quarterback that can stress the defense all over the field is going to make life on McCoy easier.

Also take into account that the next best offensive weapon for the Bills was Zay Jones. That gives McCoy almost no wiggle room as a runner, as almost no defense had any respect for the Bills passing game.

A hunch tells me that won’t be the case in Kansas City. In the Chiefs offense, the defense has to account for the likes of Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman. McCoy will hardly be the focus of the defense week in and week out.

Another thing to consider is the play of the Bills offensive line. PFF ranked the Bills line as the 26th unit in the NFL in 2018. The Chiefs came in at 13th on that same list. When looking at their run blocking grades, it gets even clearer LeSean is going to a better situation. The Bills graded as the 31st running blocking unit in 2018, and the Chiefs came in all the way at number nine.

That is a dramatic upgrade from just a pure talent standpoint. Pro-Bowler Eric Fisher and All-Pro Mitch Schwartz will ankle the tackle spots. Right Guard Laurant Duvernay-Tardiff probably would’ve been Buffalo’s best lineman last year, and he returns from injury to shore up the interior for the Kansas City Chiefs. Simply put, LeSean is going to benefit from bigger holes from line play alone.

Lastly, let’s just consider coaching. Buffalo Bills head coach, Sean McDermott, is a defensive minded head coach. Andy Reid might be one of the brightest offensive minds the game of football has ever seen.

McCoy will also benefit from offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy’s history as a running backs coach. McCoy also has a history of success in this system. Simply put, McCoy just went from one of the worst situations in the NFL for a running back to one of the best.