Kansas City Chiefs

Written by Rich Arleo Edited by Marc Caviglia To help better prepare you for your upcoming 2013 fantasy football drafts we have has decided to take a close look at each team’s depth and predict how each players role will play out during the 2013 NFL season. These fantasy football depth charts will cover every position, however the main focus will be on the running back and wide receiver positions, since fantasy football owners have the toughest time projecting these positions. Keep in mind our NFL Depth Charts are fantasy football specific. ::UPDATED: MAY 25, 2013 Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart QB1: Alex Smith | QB2: Chase Daniel | QB3: Tyler Bray RB1: Jamaal Charles | RB2: Knile Davis | RB3: Shaun Draughn | RB4: Cyrus Gray WR1: Dwayne Bowe | WR2: Donnie Avery | WR3: Dexter McCluster | WR4: Jon Baldwin TE1: Travis Kelce | TE1: Tony Moeaki | TE2: Anthony Fasano K: Ryan Succop 2012 In Review It was another rough year for the Kansas City Chiefs. One of the worst offenses in the league was anchored by a struggling Matt Cassel before he was hurt. Brady Quinn failed miserably filling in for him and the entire offenses faltered because of it. Dwayne Bowe struggled to put up numbers for fantasy football owners, but it wasn’t all his fault. He finished with 803 yards and only three touchdowns (the only receiver to score more than once). Dexter McCluster was second with 452 yards and one touchdown and tight end Tony Moeaki had almost identical numbers as the top tight end. Star running back Jamaal Charles was able to produce all by himself, however he was inconsistent as an RB1. He finished with over 1,700 total yards and seven touchdowns. Peyton Hillis failed to do much of anything as his counterpart while Shaun Draughn showed he’s basically as valuable as Hillis. Kicker Ryan Succop didn’t have many scoring chances but was able to nail some long kicks. What to Expect in 2013 The Chiefs made a big move this offseason bringing in Alex Smith and he should make the Chiefs offense somewhat respectable. Smith can be a decent QB2 and will help the fantasy football value of every other key offensive player…especially Bowe. The veteran Bowe can again be drafted with confidence and should return to the high end WR2 form he had back when Cassel at least had a respectable year. Donnie Avery as the second wide receiver should also help Bowe. Avery probably won’t be as valuable as he was last year with Andrew Luck , but he could be roster worthy. McCluster and Jon Baldwin will get looks here and there, but they will be few and far between. Charles should also be able to score more as the offense will actually move the chains. Hillis is gone, so Charles will have basically all of the carries to himself, though the Chiefs did invest a draft pick on Knile Davis. Davis is explosive, tough to tackle and will spell Charles the majority of the time. Draughn has good hands and may be able to see some touches through the air with Smith under center. Moeaki could improve a bit but the Chiefs also brought in Anthony Fasano and drafted Travis Kelce in Round 3. None of the tight ends are fantasy relevant in re-draft leagues as of now, though Kelce is a solid late round pickup in fantasy football dynasty leagues and is fairly advanced despite being a rookie. Don’t be surprised if… ...Smith becomes a very good QB2 and Bowe is a very solid WR1 all year. Bowe is too talented to be kept out of the end zone as much as he was last season, and Smith should thrive with a top-flight receiver and great running back behind him. Plus the selection of Eric Fisher at No/ 1 overal helps bolster the offensive line. AFC EAST DEPTH CHART: BUF | MIA | NEP | NYJ AFC WEST DEPTH CHART: DEN | KCC | OAK | SDC AFC SOUTH DEPTH CHART: HOU | IND | JAC | TEN AFC NORTH DEPTH CHART: BAL | CIN | CLE | PIT NFC EAST DEPTH CHART: DAL | NYG | PHI | WAS NFC WEST DEPTH CHART:

The QB's quotes throughout OTAs speak to his strengths as a leader

It occurred to me yesterday I haven't written anything of any kind in a while. So it's time to end that streak. BUT... I also have nothing on my mind that feels pressing enough to write a column. Either that or I'm lazy. It's definitely one of the two. At some point I'll have to make more lists and make some predictions, due to the interweb law that such columns must be written by football blogs at least 100 times every offseason. But instead, how about I just take a break from all that thinking and let you come up with the topics? Best Chief, worst argument and more lists Since everyone's ranking everything, I'm going to join the fun. Also, I'm giving an internet (and thus eternal) shout-out to Isabelle Grace, who was born last Saturday and managed to completely steal this guy's heart in the span of a minute. Daddy loves you, Isabelle! And I'm really sorry to 16-year-old you who reads this and realizes that Daddy was still really, really immature when you were born. (Also, dear future Isabelle, please know that when you say, "I love him and there's nothing you can do about it," you're completely wrong. I'm (hopefully still) a public defender, sweetheart. That means there are meth-heads who owe me favors. It sure would be a shame if that d-bag got himself stabbed in the eye. I feel as though we've wandered past the line, though...) Anyway... MOAR MAILBAG!!!! Given the extraordinary talent that Jamaal Charles possesses (which Andy Reid) absolutely cannot be oblivious to), do you see AR using JC differently than he typically uses his RBs? sowndschopitup That's a tough question to figure out. First of all, it's a completely overhyped meme that Reid never runs the ball. As Bill Barnwell talks about in his exceptional discussion on Reid's legacy with the Eagles here, Reid's offenses passed the ball (on average) 57% of the time. NFL offenses last year passed the ball 56.4% of the time. So... yeah. It's not as though we're suddenly going to arena league football here. It's a notch above what you'd see in the average NFL offense. Pretty sure that leaves plenty of chances for JC to run the rock. LeSean McCoy ran the ball a shade under 17 times per game last year. That sounds just about right for JC) Second of all, I WANT Reid to use JC similarly to how he used Shady. Dude was targeted by Reid's QBs 5.5 times per game last year. I've been DYING to see that with JC. The guy is deadly fast, has great hands, and is a natural playmaker. I want to see him getting passes in the open field as part of the game plan, not just as a desperation dump-off on 3rd and 25. Let's make DC's sweat a little bit wondering what we're going to do with our All-World RB. All that said, I can see Reid going a slightly different direction with his offense this year. It just makes sense given the personnel that we have. Considering the heavy focus on TE's and FB's (as well as the drafting of a RB in the 3rd round) it seems (at least on the surface) there is a possibility we'll see more of the running game. I expect to see JC getting roughly 16-20 carries per game, with 5 or so passing targets on top of that. And I think he'll have a career year in that scenario. So I guess what I'm saying is... who cares if Reid uses JC the way he used Shady? Not this guy! Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports MN, so there's a zombie apocalypse. Hold up a second. Let me just pause right here before we get to the rest of the question. I absolutely, always, without a doubt, under every circumstance, will put a question that begins with the phrase "zombie apocalypse" in the mailbag column. It's like leading off with a home run. Great stuff. Anyway, back to the question... You have the option of getting into a late-90s Honda Civc sedan, or a late-90s Chevy Silverado pickup, but obviously you can't drive both. The Silverado has more zombie-squishing torque, but the Civic has better gas mileage, breaks down less, and has a bet

Jan. 11, 1970; New Orleans, LA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Kansas City Chiefs receiver Otis Taylor (89) scores a touchdown past Minnesota Vikings defensive back Karl Kassulke (29) during Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium. The Chiefs won the game, 23-9. Mandatory Credit: Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports Part of being a successful wide receiver is having good hands, which Gilyard says is a message he’s heard from a very early age. “As a receiver, you’ve heard it all the time,” Gilyard said. “They tell you on TV, they tell you in college, elementary or little league, whatever, ‘That guy has good hands;’ they always tell you that to be a good receiver you have to have good hands, because if you catch it with your hands, you can do so much after that.” Another factor in being a productive wide receiver is having great players with you on the field, and in Gilyard’s case, off the field, as well. “(Dwayne) Bowe, he’s become a big brother to me,” Gilyard said. “I’m over at his house every day; me and him literally wake up and talk to each other about what’s going to go on with the day. We come in, we’re a couple lockers down from each other and just his work ethic, how he carries himself on and off the field, he shows you how to be a true pro and he’s been successful at it.” KCChiefs.com Chiefs free safety Husain Abdullah backpedaled with the receiver, recognized the route, broke on the ball and deflected the pass thrown by rookie Tyler Bray. Abdullah pounded his hands in frustration at not making the interception. After spending a year away from football while on a religious pilgrimage, he knows every play counts in his NFL comeback, so he had to be satisfied with merely breaking up the pass. “To get back out here and to have a second chance, not a lot of people get one,” Abdullah said after one of the Chiefs’ offseason workout sessions this week. “So this is a blessing.” Abdullah, a practicing Muslim, elected not to return to the Minnesota Vikings last season and instead took his wife, parents and two older brothers on a monthlong spiritual journey to Saudi Arabia last October. Miami Herald “I think the offense is very friendly for a tight end,’’ said Fasano, signed from Miami as a free agent. “You can tell they’re becoming a very valuable position in this offense. We ultimately determine (how many passes they catch) by how we play, if we make plays, exploit mismatches. The tight ends have a good opportunity in this offense.’’ The Chiefs will need big receiving numbers from the tight ends this year because, other than Dwayne Bowe, they have little in proven ability at wide receiver. This marks a change for the Chiefs, who since trading Tony Gonzalez before the 2009 season got 46, 61, 35 and 44 catches from their tight ends in the four years since. KC Star

Throwing To The Tight End Is Back In Chiefs' Offense Under Andy Reid from KC Star The Chiefs first signaled their intent to improve at tight end in recent months when they acquired Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce to go along with the injured incumbent starter, Tony Moeaki. Since then, the Chiefs have revealed plenty of two-tight end formations during their offseason program and spent plenty of time at least trying to throw the ball to both Fasano and Kelce. The signs are everywhere that the tight end as a pass receiver is back in the Chiefs offense under new coach Andy Reid. Chiefs OL Learning New System Twice As Fast from The Mothership While ultimately being responsible for protecting Chiefs QB Alex Smith and paving lanes for Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles and company, the team's o-line is currently embracing what is for many of them, a new system. "It's gone well, so far," Chiefs T Geoff Schwartz said. "We've put in a lot of offense; it's new for a lot of guys and our defense definitely flies around a lot, so, we're getting used to communicating, making the right reads and doing the right thing." Mardy Gilyard: "We Have The Best Job In The World" from The Motherhip One of coach Culley's wide receivers this season is Mardy Gilyard, who spent a brief time with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, under then-head coach Andy Reid and coach Culley, primarily as a punt returner. Fast forward to Feburary of this year, when the Chiefs signed Gilyard, hoping he can help stretch the field with his speed, while also demonstrating his ability to catch the football. Gilyard is off to a great start, for among many reasons, a familiarity with the team's offense. "I'm the only receiver in this receiving corps that been in this offense for a while," Gilyard said. "So, on my end, I try my hardest to get all of our guys to be on the same page, the little nuances that I know that coach doesn't like or want." Chiefs Will Study AFC West And Early Opponents During Next Week Of Offseason Practice from KC Star Teams usually don't spend much time on matching up with strengths and weaknesses of specific opponents at least until training camp. But Reid indicated he believed it would help the Chiefs to at least start to get familiar with the Raiders, Broncos, Chargers and some of the early-season opponents. The Chiefs will see plenty of new early in the season. Their opening-game opponent, Jacksonville, has a new coach in Gus Bradley. KCChiefs.com Video: Coach Reid Likes The Attitude Of His Team KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Live! Defensive Position Batles KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: OTA Practice 5-23 KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Foto Friday USA Football Malcolm Bronson Signs FA Contract With Kansas City Chiefs from SportsNOLA Former McNeese football standout Malcolm Bronson has signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs this week making him the third Cowboy player to do so this spring. Huge Prospect: Rams Undrafted Free Agent Terrell Brown Checks In At 6-10, 403 Pounds from SportingNews In case you're wondering, the tallest player in NFL history is Morris Stroud, a 6-10, 255-pound tight end who played with the Kansas City Chiefs from 1969-74. When opponents would try long field goals, the Chiefs would place Stroud under the goal posts and have him try to block the attempts. Big Oak Ranch Founder John Croyle Writes Book, Grooms Ex-NFL QB Son Brodie To Take Over The Ranch from AL.com Croyle will always be known as an All-American football player who played defensive end for the University of Alabama and Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He's also known as the father of former Alabama and NFL quarterback Brodie Croyle. But Croyle says his most important role in life has been helping to raise nearly 2,000 kids dropped off at the Big Oak Ranch, many of whom had parents who gave up on them. Former NFL GM Says Urlacher Is Not A Hall Of Famer from Windy City Gridiron Now the first player

December 21, 2011; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebackers coach Bob Sutton watches during practice. Mandatory Credit: Tim Farrell/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports The Kansas City Chiefs defense sent four players to the 2012 Pro Bowl. The overall defense sat near the bottom of the league last season at 20th overall, giving up 356.5 yards per game and nearly 27 points. By most standards, that’s not very good. Giving up close to four touchdowns per game isn’t a way to win footballs games, especially when your offense isn’t producing enough to maintain that pace. And the Chiefs’ 2012 offense definitely didn’t produce four touchdowns per game. But that’s a whole other topic. To be fair to the Chiefs’ defense, they played most of the season from behind. One only had to watch any Chiefs game from week one until they scored against the Carolina Panthers in week 13 to know that they didn’t have a lead the entire season. While that falls on the offense for not putting points on the board, the defense didn’t exactly hold their own, either. Still, four players of the eleven starters made the NFL All-Star game in Honolulu. Many considered former Chiefs’ head coach and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to be somewhat of a defensive genius. I’ll admit, I fell into that category like most everyone else. However, the more I watched the Chiefs’ defense and compared it to other defenses, say like from the Pittsburgh Steelers or Chicago Bears, it was easy to see why the nay-sayers to the Crennel philosophy of “bend don’t break” was wearing thing with Chiefs’ fans. Even as horrible as the New York football Jets were last season at just about everything they did, their defense was ranked 8th overall in total yards allowed. That bodes well considering the man who devised that system, Bob Sutton, now calls Kansas City home. But what’s the difference? Terms have been thrown around this offseason like “Attacking 3-4” and “Block Sucker.” (Okay, I made that second one up.) I don’t claim to be a defensive guru in any way, shape or form, but I like the idea of the team using their players to their utmost strengths. The Chiefs have, perhaps, one of the more dynamic pass rushing duos in the NFL. While it’s been a couple of seasons since Tamba Hali, we’ll call him “Batman” in this scenario, has gone off in the sack department, it wasn’t long ago that he led the AFC in putting the opposing quarterback down. “Robin” (aka Justin Houston) is a young stud that works the other side of the field and led the team in sacks last season with ten. Many who claim to know more than me about defensive schemes, will say the success Hali and Houston have had is due to the genius of Crennel and the fact that the Chiefs linemen sucked up all the blockers and allowed Batman and Robin to reach the Joker unabated. Of course those same defensive Einsteins also lament – generally at great length – of how much a disappointment defensive linemen Tyson Jackson and the recently departed Glenn Dorsey were because they didn’t get the sack count many thought they would out of college. It would seem to me that this is a case of having your cake and eating it too. So what does this all mean? Where am I going with all this? I believe the Chiefs’ defense will be a top five squad this season. I think they have the potential to lead the league in sacks and they could very well turn into the powerhouse “offensive defense” similar to the Chicago Bears of last season. This is why: Bob Sutton runs an “Attacking 3-4.” While we don’t know exactly what that means quite yet, it will most likely involve much more aggressive blitz packages and using the defensive linemen to do much more than just absorb blocks from the offensive linemen. Sutton will have Jackson, Dontari Poe and newly acquired lineman Mike DeVito trying to get to the quarterback just as hard as Hali and Houston. And oh, by the way, he may throw a wrinkle in there and bring packages where perhaps Brandon Flowers or former

Denny Medley-USA Today Sports The Kansas City Chiefs are lauded by many experts as having the best offseason of any team in the NFL. KC has received an offensive injection by hiring Andy Reid as head coach and dealing for quarterback competency in the name of Alex Smith. Vegas has responded kindly as well, boosting the Chiefs’ two-win effort in 2012 up 5.5 games for the 2013 win total line. I’m a bit torn on whether choosing the over or under seems most logical, but it’s hard to imagine them repeating as the No. 1 selection in next year’s draft. The Chiefs were a chic pick among experts as AFC West champs last year before falling well short of the postseason, but retain much of a roster core that has been rightly lauded for the many talented components there. Outside of defensive line and maybe wide receiver, KC is probably above average at all positions. The horrible play from Matt Cassel, Tyler Palko and Brady Quinn at the single most important position in professional sports held KC back primarily. Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston give them one of the league’s best linebacking corps, but they have suffered from poor play ahead of them. Dwayne Bowe has given them one of the most underrated No. 1 receivers in the league, and yet the quarterback lowers the ceiling here too. The Chiefs are getting 60-to-1 Super Bowl odds, tied with the division rival San Diego Chargers in that regard. The two are also knotted in AFC West title odds as +650, with the Oakland Raiders far behind at +2000. Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

The Chiefs have revealed plenty of two-tight end formations during their offseason program and spent plenty of time at least trying to throw the ball to both of their new tight ends, Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce. The signs are everywhere that the tight end as a pass receiver is back in the Chiefs offense under new coach Andy Reid.

Memorial Day weekend is here! Exactly how much BBQ and/or adult beverages do you plan to consume during the next few days? Tell us about your Memorial Day weekend plans, or discuss whatever comes to mind in Friday's open thread.

Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports Tyler Bray left the Tennessee Volunteers last year after a disappointing season in which Tennessee, home to one of the most explosive passing offenses in the country, didn’t even make it to a bowl game. The Volunteer defense was terrible, and some bad decisions down the stretch led to Tennessee’s poor performance. Bray left the Volunteers expecting to be picked in the 2013 NFL Draft. He wasn’t, but the Kansas City Chiefs signed him as an undrafted free agent. There isn’t a better quarterback that was drafted this year; just remember what he did to David Amerson at the beginning of last year. Amerson, who in the preseason was expected to be the top cornerback, was torn apart and never recovered after leading the NCAA in interceptions the previous year.  He can throw the ball as long and as accurately as any quarterback who was picked in the draft this April. His major flaws are his decision making skills when he’s not passing well and his work ethic. Both of these flaws are things that other NFL players can work with him on to make better, and Kansas City knew that when signing him. The Chiefs will start Alex Smith at the start of the season, but Smith isn’t the top caliber quarterback that Kansas City needs to be in playoff contention. Unfortunately for Smith, if the Chiefs start playing poorly he will be benched. Bray will get playing time sometime this season, and he will prove that he was overlooked. The Chiefs’ receivers are fast, and Bray has a huge arm. If Dexter McCluster and Dwayne Bowe can get behind the defense, he can get the ball to them every time. The Chiefs are built to let a young quarterback achieve great things. Kansas City has an outstanding running back and offensive line, both of which are essential for a successful young quarterback. This will take some of the pressure off Bray’s decision making since he will be handing it off much of the time. Expect Bray, if he gets playing time early in the season, to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He just has that much raw talent, and Kansas City has such skilled players that would be around him.