ESPN’s Adam Schefter is the most plugged in NFL reporter so when he talks about the Kansas City Chiefs we listen. Schefter joined the Daily Fantasy Edge podcast and talked a little bit about the Chiefs decision to cut Jeremy Maclin. There wasn’t any breaking news here but his explanation was interesting.
“Their leading receiver from last year was Travis Kelce so it reinforces how good Travis Kelce should be this year,” Schefter said of the release. “He caught 86 passes last year so it’s not like I expect him to go to 116 receptions and they could target him that much more. I just think he becomes that much more integral to that offense.
“This reminds me a little bit of the Denver Broncos in the mid 1990s when they got rid of Mike Pritchard and Anthony Miller and people thought what are they doing, the only receivers they have left are Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith, they’re crazy!
“I’m not telling you these young Chiefs receivers are going to grow into that but teams are smart. They pay attention. They know what they’re doing. Do you think Andy Reid and John Dorsey became dumb over night? They saw Jeremy Maclin and they saw his production and they said, basically publicly without saying it, this is not a $10 million per year player for us anymore. We have other young guys, Demarcus Robinson, Albert Wilson, Chris Conley who we believe are ready to take the next step.
“I just think that people are overreacting a bit to releasing Maclin. And yes there are going to be people in that offense that benefit from it of course.”
This sounds like In Dorsey I Trust. He’s right that Dorsey and Reid are very accomplished and frankly they deserve the benefit of the doubt. That doesn’t mean they can’t be questioned. The Chiefs have done OK on some big contracts (Alex Smith, Travis Kelce) but they haven’t done as well on others (Dwayne Bowe, Justin Houston, Maclin) so it’s fair to question their moves.