Chiefs stock report: Chris Conley, Jaye Howard up, everyone else down

Let’s review the Kansas City Chiefs stock report after their 43-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

Stock up

Chris Conley

Six catches, 70 yards. He looks like a guy that can play physical and win in tight coverage. The best improvement we’ve seen from Conley in 2016 is that he really attacks the ball in the air. Let’s hope his role and productivity continue to grow.

Tyreek Hill

He’s getting a little more action every week. Five catches, one carry and a touchdown that was arguably the only highlight of the game. He had another score called back for a penalty. Sooner or later, one is going to count and it’s going to really help the team. It appears he’s a strong candidate to continue to take snaps from Albert Wilson.

Jaye Howard

Six tackles and a sack out of the big defensive lineman is a solid stat line for Howard, though the team’s overall performance indicate that it wasn’t enough. The Chiefs will be depending on Howard and the rest of the front three to help get the defense back on track.

Others improving their stock this week: That’s it. I can’t think of another player that impressed.

Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images

Stock Down

Ron Parker

This could actually be ALL of the Chiefs safeties and the coaches who put them in the positions they were in. After Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown had their way with the KC secondary this week, the whole group needs to play better. There were blown coverages, corners like Steven Nelson left one on one with Brown, and a lack of anything that resembled a big positive play for the defense. Parker offered no resistance to Brown’s short TD pass, but also shouldn’t be counted on in man to man coverage against the best receiver in the league. Parker has been great up until this week, so I expect he’ll bounce back.

Andy Reid

Once again, the team got off to a slow start, hurt themselves with turnovers and the play calling looked abysmal. Play calling always looks bad when you’re trying to come back from 3-4 scores in the rain ... but come on. The vertical passes worked on the rare occasion they could call one and get the throw off. The screen plays were predictable and the team looked sloppy and unable to execute. The Chiefs weren’t able to respond to any adversity this week. The rain, turnovers, early Pitt lead, and shanked punt seemed to shake them. They looked like they had no response when things didn’t go the way they expected. That’s on Reid. He’ll get it fixed when they play lesser teams, but they can’t be a contender and have games like this when it counts.

Spencer Ware

Three fumbles in three weeks for a guy who never fumbles. No longer a fluke, now it appears to be in his head. His overall numbers weren’t bad with 96 total yards, but his fumble and response to the fumble showed a lot of frustration. Watching him run the ball after that, it was clear he was thinking about ball security more than making a play, which limited his effectiveness a bit. It will be very interesting to see how the Chiefs use Ware and Jamaal Charles after the bye.

DJ White

White will be fine, we think. But he was flat out terrible against the Steelers. The wide open touchdown where he looked lost was embarrassing, but the inability to slow down the Pittsburgh receivers or make any positive plays were more discouraging. The Chiefs really missed Phillip Gaines this week. Let’s hope that Gaines comes back better after the bye, and that this wasn’t his Marcus Cooper-Peyton Manning moment.

The Chiefs offensive line

Another four sack performance where the QB was uncomfortable all day, and there were far too many plays blown up at the line of scrimmage. Expectations were way up this year for the big uglies, and we still believe this is the most talented front line they’ve had in years. They have to be better along with the quarterback and running backs they are supposed to keep clean.

Dave Toub

Another week where penalties and mistakes destroyed field position and erased game changing plays. What is going on with the Chiefs special teams? Tyreek HIll looks like a dynamic returner, but the continued problems with blocking and penalties is troubling. Hill and Knile Davis both repeatedly forget the cardinal rule of returning kicks: don’t go backwards. A missed field goal and a botched punt capped off a frustrating day where the Chiefs lost on all three facets of the game. Toub is thought of as the best special teams coach in the league, but it needs to show on Sundays in order to be true.

Others who struggled this week: Alex Smith, Marcus Peters, Dustin Colquitt, Steven Nelson, Demetrius Harris, Ross Travis, Zach Fulton, and basically everyone else.

Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Stock Flat

Knile Davis

His stock is pretty much flatlined. It would be on the down list if his standing on the team had room to get much lower. He had a poor game this week: one rush for -2 yards, two catches 14 yards, three kick returns for 17 yards, including one where he ran backwards and got tackled inside the 10 yard line. With Charcandrick West out, and Jamaal being eased back into the fold, it would have been nice to see Davis make a contribution. We’re still wondering how long he’ll be on the roster.

Dee Ford

He got a little pressure and a half sack to go along with six total tackles. That seems to be about par for the course for the former first round pick. He looks like an average player, which is either disappointing or fine, depending on your expectations. It’s reasonable to expect him (and the Chiefs pass rush) to continue to survive but not dominate until Justin Houston returns.

Jeremy Maclin

Maclin had the final stat line we’ve come to expect, with five catches for 78 yards. But this was the type of game where the team needed a bigger impact. He and Alex Smith haven’t been on the same page yet this season, so they haven’t been able to take a step forward. Maclin is a very good No. 1 receiver who needs more targets and more impact plays.

Others who were pretty much as expected: Travis Kelce (needs more targets), Albert Wilson (needs fewer snaps)