The Kansas City Chiefs Magnificent Seven: Where are they now?

I was reading through BJ Kissel’s piece on Jaye Howard when he mentioned that Howard was part of the "Magnificent Seven" players that were claimed on waiver wire weekend 2013 when the Chiefs owned the top waiver wire spot.

So I thought, whatever happened to the Magnificent Seven?

Six of them are still in the league. Four of them are still with the Chiefs. Two of them have gotten contract extensions with the Chiefs. That is crazy impressive.

Let’s take a look at how they’re doing today:

CB Ron Parker (still with Chiefs)

He came from Seattle and two years later signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the Chiefs. He’s the Swiss army knife of the Chiefs defense, often playing safety but also stepping down and covering the slot. With Eric Berry missing time in 2014 and Husain Abdullah missing time in 2015, Parker has been valuable.

DT Jaye Howard (still with Chiefs): He came from the Seahawks like Parker did and did pretty much nothing in year one. He was one of those players you forgot about. But I could now make an argument he’s the better player than Parker, mostly because it seems like there aren’t as many good defensive linemen as defensive backs. Howard signed a two-year, $10 million deal during free agency, which seemed way lower than many of us had figured he would get. He could still get another big contract after this one.

CB Marcus Cooper (still with Chiefs): What a ride he’s had. The first part of the 2013 season, we thought he was the next great thing. And then he took a fall. A big fall. It sounds like he’s had a good offseason playing corner and safety. He’s on the roster bubble.

LB Dezman Moses (still with Chiefs): It seems like he has some potential but even with injuries to Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, he has zero sacks in Kansas City. The problem with being a backup pass rusher in Kansas City is that if you’re on the field, something has gone wrong. He’s a roster bubble player too but will have a legit shot for some playing time if Justin Houston misses a lot of time.

TE Sean McGrath (Chargers): The Beard! He had a nice surprise season with the Chiefs in year one with over 300 receiving yards. And then he retired. Since then he’s come back and spent time with the Colts and Chargers. He could bounce around the league for a while. The Chiefs have 4-5 tight ends they like more than McGrath.

LB James-Michael Johnson (Dolphins): He was cut by the Chiefs before last season and the Bucs, who had the top waiver wire spot, picked him up. He was a nice role player in KC for a couple of years. They got their bang for their buck by claiming him.

WR Chad Hall (unsigned): He made probably the least impact of all the claims. He was signed and cut a few times during the 2013 season.