Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 5/30

Chiefs Announce Player Personnel Staff Promotions from The Mothership

Chris Ballard will now serve as the team's Director of Football Operations, Mike Borgonzi and Brett Veach have been elevated to Co-Directors of Player Personnel...

Chiefs to Host Fantasy Camp on August 25 and 26 from The Mothership

First, on Tuesday, August 25, the event kicks off with an evening cocktail reception for you and a guest to meet members of the Chiefs organization and an opportunity for you to draft a Chiefs great as captain of your team.

Then, on Wednesday, August 26, you'll huddle up with former Chiefs greats and spend the day with your captain—breaking down film, gearing up at the locker room and taking the field at Arrowhead Stadium.

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Best of OTAs Week One

KCChiefs.com Video: Three Takeaways from OTAs

Takeaways from first week of Chiefs OTAs from Chiefs Digest

Excitement for the upcoming season is more than fine, but the biggest areas to always consider every offseason are the timeframe and setting.

First, it's May.

Second, these are offseason workouts, meaning there is zero hitting allowed and players are in shorts and helmets before training camp in late July...

...Bottom line during OTAs: Temper enthusiasm when viewing photos and videos.

While they offer insight on a player's progress, save the true excitement for when pads come on during training camp and contact is allowed

Three key defensive backs absent for Chiefs in offseason practice from ESPN

The Chiefs are going through offseason practice without Berry, Peters and Nelson, three players who would be starting or challenging for playing time. Berry recently finished treatment for lymphoma. Peters, their first-round draft pick, and Nelson, a third-round choice, are sitting out because their college semesters have yet to conclude.

Don't read too much into Chiefs' OL experiments in May from FS Kansas City

May is a rehearsal without the costumes. In May, the director and cast are walking around with scripts still in hand, changing lines as they go. May is for blocking, in both the stage and football sense of the term.

Things ... happen. Last August, they happened here. Stephenson got slapped with a suspension and stuck in the doghouse. Allen got hurt. The Andy Gang was forced to retool and improvise on the fly, and it took several weeks for things to finally gel. The preseason was a disaster in the trenches; Week 1 at home to Tennessee was only slightly better.

May is about working on hypotheticals, even the crappy ones. Is there life on the blind side without Fisher? Could Fulton make all the calls if forced to play center in a pinch? May is when you tinker to try and find out.

Offseason grade of 'B' sounds about right for Chiefs from ESPN

But the Chiefs did what they reasonably could the past few months, particularly given their salary-cap limitations. These types of rankings are usually skewed toward teams that spend a lot of money in free agency. Sure enough, the high-spending New York Jets were the only team to receive a grade as high as an "A" by Sando.

That's why a grade of "B" for the Chiefs' offseason moves sounds about right to me.

Jeremy Maclin gets some work as a punt returner from ESPN

"We just want to make sure he is ready,'' Reid said. "You have limited numbers that you can dress on game day, so you don't know what rotation you are going to have there with the receivers and returners. So it gives you an opportunity to keep him fresh. We don't work him every day like the other guys. It's kind of an every other day deal, so just to make sure that he's okay and can still do that, but he's not going to be the primary guy doing it right now."

Chiefs' Chris Ballard elevated to director of football operations from Chiefs Digest

Ballard, who has 14 years of experience in NFL personnel, joined the Chiefs in 2013 and his name has surfaced around the league in the past two offseasons as a prime candidate for open general manager spots. The Chicago Bears interviewed Ballard in early January 2015 for the then-vacant general manager position.

Of note, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey served one year as the Green Bay Packers director of football operations in 2012 before being hired by to his current position.

Waco ISD hosts football clinic with Louis Fite, Derrick Johsnon from The Waco Tribune-Herald

The Sky's the Limit Skills Clinic, put on by former Waco High and BYU star Margin Hooks, will cost $30 and provide drills and instruction intended to get players ready for college football.

PERFECT FIT FOR PLAYER AND COACH from Warpaint Illustrated

I'll go on record right now and state that franchise futility of a year ago ends in the season opener against the Houston Texans.

In signing Maclin, the Chiefs posses a legitimate top shelf receiver on the field. The fact Kansas City managed to bring him to the heartland in the prime of his career has to be the biggest move this franchise has made since Reid arrived.

Sure Quarterback, Alex Smith, was a solid move but the jury (at least within the fan base) remains this teams most debatable issue. Yet with the addition of Maclin, Smith could have a career year that includes a post-season victory.

D'Brickashaw Goes Behind the Pads from NewYorkJets.com

As a veteran player in the National Football League, I've had the opportunity to meet and interact with very talented players. Gus Granneman, equipment manager for 22 years with the New York Jets, has seen even more. I sat down with Gus in his office to talk a little Jets history.

I was curious about when Gus started working as the equipment manager with the Jets and how it all came about.

"One of my good friends from high school, several years older than me, was equipment manager for the high school football team," he said. "He continued that in college and then he went on to the Kansas City Chiefs. So while I was in college, I would come and help the Chiefs on the road."

I learned Gus had also been a Chiefs ballboy while in college and then became a high school football coach. But he quickly realized something was missing for him.

Andy Reid claims nothing's wrong with Eric Fisher from ProFootballTalk

Reid is trying to put a positive spin on it, but the reality is, when you spend the first overall pick on a player, you hope he's so firmly established as a starter by his third year that the idea of him taking second-team reps at OTAs would sound silly. With Fisher, it sounds reasonable. He hasn't played like the franchise left tackle Kansas City wants him to be.

Frederick: Cowboys 'not close' to best O-line ever from NFL.com

Early '00s Kansas City Chiefs: The best offensive line I have witnessed this century, generating outstanding production from Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson. Left tackle Willie Roaf and right guard Will Shields are already in the Hall of Fame. Left guard Brian Waters went to the Pro Bowl six times. Right tackle John Tait and center Casey Wiegman were solid starters. This group was poetry in motion, giving Holmes the three steps he needed for "flawless synchronicity" off the snap.

2015 fantasy football draft kit: Bargains from NFL.com

Chris Conley, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Another diamond in the rough, Conley has a bunch of things going for him. He's a HUGE Star Wars fan, having written and directed a 30-minute fan film dedicated to the light sabers and such. He's also a physical freak. Conley looked liked a kid in a podracer running a 4.35 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. And Conley may have been wearing Boba Fett's jetpack when he flew up and recorded a 45-inch vertical. After 18 reps on the bench to boot, Conley suddenly caught scouts' attention.

2015 fantasy football draft kit: Players to avoid from NFL.com

Jeremy Maclin, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: Maybe you've heard ... but the Chiefs didn't have a wide receiver catch a touchdown pass in 2014. The likelihood of that happening again this season is almost nil, but it illustrates the hardships of being a wideout in an Alex Smith-led offense. At some point this season, I'd expect Maclin to give Nick Foles a call so they can reminisce about the good ol' days in Chip Kelly's offense.

2015 fantasy football draft kit: Breakout candidates from The Mothership

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: Kelce's 2014 numbers (67 catches, 862 yards) look good on the surface, but anyone who owned him knows he wasn't at all consistent. That should change in 2015, though, as the Chiefs parted ways with Anthony Fasano and will now move Kelce into a more prominent role in the pass attack. A season with 80 catches and 1,000-plus yards is a realistic goal.