Dynasty Capsule: Kansas City Chiefs

Ken Kelly Posted On March 10, 2014

As part of the premium content package, we’re again unveiling dynasty capsules for every team in the NFL leading up to free agency and the NFL Draft. This year, we’re again going to do a follow-up on all the teams after all the free agency and NFL Draft movement to assess the impact of any players teams have gained or lost. Since these capsules are always done as a simple snapshot in time, we figured that was the best way to tackle the off-season and provide ultimate value for our subscribers. All in all, we’ll have close to 500 player profiles found in these capsules over the off-season.

The Chiefs roared out to a hot start last season, but faded down the stretch. Still, the first season under Andy Reid was a success considering they were the worst team in the league the year before. Let’s take a look at the roster and see what kind of dynasty gems we can find.

Quarterbacks

Alex Smith

If you were to put a picture above the caption that reads, “Some players are better in reality than they are in fantasy,” Smith’s picture is the one you’d see featured. Since you only get points for production and not for wins, Smith is sadly nothing more than a QB2. He does a great job of managing an offense, but he’s just not asked to put up big numbers for the Chiefs. In his first year at the helm for Andy Reid, Smith posted 3,313 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also added 431 rushing yards and another score to end the season right around the QB11-QB14 in most leagues. Smith makes sound decisions, rarely forces a throw and keeps the chains moving – it’s not an exciting brand of offense in fantasy or reality, but it’s hard to argue with the results.

Moving forward, Smith is best served as the backup for your high-end QB1. He can do enough in games to keep you in your fantasy matchup each week, but he’s far from a player you could build a team around. The Chiefs will undoubtedly add some weapons in free agency or through the draft that could help Smith’s outlook, but he is what he is. If you expect anything more than what you received last year, you’re likely asking for too much.

Chase Daniel

Of all the quarterback prospects out there, Daniel may get the least respect. However, he’s now learned the game under Sean Payton and Andy Reid. Daniel may get released in a salary cap move here soon, so keep an eye on where he may land. He’s been pretty effective in short stints and few remember just how good he was when he played at Missouri. Daniel should be a roster stash as a flyer in deep dynasty leagues.

Tyler Bray

Bray stands tall at 6’6″ and 215 lbs. If Daniel moves on, this former Tennessee Volunteer would likely ascend to the backup role behind Smith. While not a threat to Smith in any way, shape or form, Bray could find himself on the radar as Reid has a history of grooming young signal callers. His dynasty value is tied to that of Daniel. At this point, there’s no reason to own him.

Running Backs

Jamaal Charles

Many believe Adrian Peterson should be the poster child for ACL recovery. If that’s so, it should come with a mini poster of Charles. You could make a case for Peyton Manning or Jimmy Graham as the fantasy MVP last year, but Charles should also be in the discussion. He exploded for 1,287 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging five yards per carry last season. When you tack on 70 catches for 693 yards and seven more scores, you had not only THE Chiefs offense, but also THE RB1 last season.

Now 27 years of age, Charles is squarely in his prime years as a fantasy contributor. There are concerns about his workload, but there’s no doubting his talent. Charles is one of few players in the league who are a legitimate threat to score each and every time they touch the football. With an ADP hovering around 4.3, Charles is easily one of the best assets in all of dynasty leagues. If you’re truly a rebuilding team with no chance to compete in the next two or three years, you could look to move him for equal value in a receiver who may be a bit younger, but that’s really the only conceivable situation to look at being a seller.

With Charles, sit back and enjoy.

Knile Davis

Two. That’s the biggest statistic you need to take from Davis’ rookie season. Yes, he had 242 rushing yards, 75 receiving yards, 81 touches and four touchdowns, but two is the only number that matters – that was total number of fumbles he had last year. After major ball security issues created a precipitous fall in both the NFL and rookie drafts, Davis responded with newfound ball security ability. Moving forward, Davis seems to be the solid handcuff to Charles owners and that means something, especially in Andy Reid’s offense. He should have little problem recovering from the fractured fibula and sprained knee he incurred in the brutal playoff loss to the Colts last season.

Cyrus Gray

The former Texas A&M Aggie was once a nice dynasty sleeper, but he just hasn’t produced when given opportunities. He can safely be released in all but the deepest of dynasty leagues.

Joe McKnight

Remember when he was all the rage at USC? Yeah, me too.

Wide Receivers

Dwayne Bowe

Sigh.

It’s not often where a winning team’s WR1 is a WR3 in fantasy leagues, but that’s where we’re at with Bowe. After re-signing with Kansas City last off-season, he had an awful year with just 57 catches for 673 yards and five touchdowns. For much of the year, he was an afterthought in the offense. In fact, he failed to have a 100-yard game all season until the playoff loss where he posted eight catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, to which his collective owners shook their heads and cursed at their televisions. It’s unfair to point the finger at Bowe as Alex Smith was notorious for failing to take chances, but that doesn’t change the reality that his potential is really capped in Kansas City. At 29 years old, it’s likely too late to expect any type of late career resurgence as well. Perhaps they’ll bring in another playmaker to take some attention away from him, but as long as Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles are healthy, expecting the 2010 Bowe who scored 15 of his 44 career touchdowns to re-ermerge somehow is a fool’s folly.

AJ Jenkins

Jenkins was a former firsts round bust of San Francisco who was dealt to Kansas City for fellow first round bust Jon Baldwin last season. On the year, Jenkins posted a modest 17 catches for 130 yards, but he did have seven of those catches in the final regular season game, showing at least a glimmer of hope. Jenkins belongs on deep rosters as a stash, but expecting a breakout is being pretty optimistic. On the plus side, the Chiefs have been saying lots of great things about him of late. What the Chiefs do in free agency and the upcoming draft will tell us all a lot about how they really feel about Jenkins’ future. Talk is cheap, but those actions (or inactions) will speak volumes.

Donnie Avery

Avery was a sneaky pickup last off-season as the Chiefs handed him the starting job opposite Bowe. His season was mostly a disappointment outside of a seven-catch 141 yard effort against the Eagles in week three. On the season, Avery posted just 40 catches for 596 yards and two scores. With the Chiefs looking to upgrade at the position this off-season, there are rumblings Avery could be released. While that could be good news for Jenkins, it seems like that would be one of a number of moves Kansas City would need to make to rebuild their receiving corps. In short, Avery is simply not the top flight prospect he was when he came into the league with St. Louis. Believe it or not, he’ll be 30 years old before next season starts.

The Rest

Jerrel Jackson, Junior Hemingway, Rashad Ross, Weston Dressler, Frankie Hammond and Fred Williams make up the rest of the underwhelming receiving corps in Kansas City. It’s possible a sleeper emerges from that group. If you can determine which one of them really emerges as a viable option, I have a writing position available for you.

Tight Ends

Travis Kelce

Kelce was the 63rd overall pick in last year’s draft and was a chic pick in rookie drafts everywhere. Unfortunately, his season was derailed before it began with microfracture surgery on his knee. The former Cincinnati Bearcat fits the prototype of a “move” tight end and should be perfect for Andy Reid’s offense. If he can get back to 100%, there’s some appeal here, especially with the tendency of Alex Smith to find check down targets. Kelce could emerge as a TE2 as soon as this season and is clearly the tight end to own on the Chiefs.

Anthony Fasano

Fasano battled knee, ankle and head injuries during his first season with the Chiefs. When he did play, he was semi-productive with 23 catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns in his nine games. Truth be told, Fasano just isn’t the player he was in Dallas or Miami and he’s a backup at best at this point in his career. Fasano belongs on the waiver wire as there are a bevy of tight ends you can get who would be equally effective in spot duty.

Sean McGrath

McGrath has a sweet beard, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, you likely don’t play in a fantasy beard league. In real fantasy leagues, McGrath was a decent fill-in as he posted a 26/302/2 line filling in for Kelce and Fasano when they were injured. He’s not a fluid athlete and could have value if injuries occur again, but he’s not worthy of a valuable roster spot on your squad this season.

Author
Recent Posts

Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK