Chiefs WalterFootball grades the Chiefs Free Agency LOL

**Bufkin** · 03-15-2015, 12:10 AM

Chiefs sign WR Jeremy Maclin (5 years, $55M; $22.5M guaranteed): C- Grade
This move is getting a ton of hype, but it's all unjustified. This is a bad signing - and that goes for both Jeremy Maclin and the Chiefs.

Paying $11 million per year and $22.5 million in guarantees to Maclin is insane, considering his dubious injury history. Maclin finally stayed healthy last year and thrived as a consequence, but he has two bum knees and can't be counted on to have many more healthy seasons. It's also worth noting that Maclin's 2014 stats were inflated because of the number of snaps he played in Chip Kelly's offense. I'm not saying Maclin is a mediocre player, or anything; on the contrary, if he can stay healthy, he's very effective. He's just not the stellar No. 1 receiver that his 1,318 receiving yards say he is, and that's without even factoring in his health.

As for Maclin, you have to wonder what he's possibly thinking. I can't completely bash him because he's reuniting with his former head coach, but he's effectively sabotaging his career by choosing to play with Alex Smith. Maclin should've consulted Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace, James Jones, etc. about how it feels to take more money to play in a worse offense. All three receivers are regretting their decisions.

Chiefs sign G Paul Fanaika (3 years, $8.1 million): D Grade
Quite frankly, this is not a good move whatsoever. The Chiefs traded for Ben Grubbs earlier today - scroll down for that grade - but they wanted to add another guard. That's fine, but they could've done much better than Paul Fanaika. The former Arizona Cardinal was a dreadful blocker this past season in all regards. He doesn't seem like an upgrade, so it's puzzling that the Chiefs would sign him for nearly $3 million per year, especially when there were so many equal or better guards available, per the NFL Free Agent Rankings list.

Chiefs re-sign S Ron Parker (5 years, $30 million): D Grade
Uhh... did the Chiefs mean to re-sign Ron Parker to a 5-year, $3 million deal? Because that would've made more sense. Parker is barely a starter; he would be better served as a backup. He was decent enough in coverage this past season, but was an abomination in run support. In fact, aside from the injuries, Parker was the primary reason why Kansas City struggled to stop the rush in 2014.

Making matters worse, Parker has been a starter just one season in his 4-year career, so it's not like he even has a proven track record prior to his pedestrian 2014 campaign. I just don't get this signing, but I won't give the Chiefs a Millen grade because other teams were inexplicably interested in Parker's services as well.

Chiefs extend G Ben Grubbs (4 years, $24M; $8M guaranteed): B- Grade
I'm not as big a fan of this extension as I was of the initial trade. Giving away a fifth-round pick for a temporary upgrade at one of the guard positions made a lot of sense, but an extension with $8 million guaranteed isn't as good of a move.

This isn't a terrible extension, or anything, as it won't set Kansas City back very much if Grubbs flops. However, there's a chance that he will continue to regress. He's been a strong player throughout his career, but his play dropped off last year. He just turned 31, so that could continue. He should still be a temporary upgrade, but it's conceivable that Kansas City may want to cut him Year 2 into this deal.

03-15-2015, 12:10 AM	Topic Starter
Bufkin Just here for the Royals Join Date: Jul 2014 Casino cash: $10029260	WalterFootball grades the Chiefs Free Agency LOL Chiefs sign WR Jeremy Maclin (5 years, $55M; $22.5M guaranteed): C- Grade This move is getting a ton of hype, but it's all unjustified. This is a bad signing - and that goes for both Jeremy Maclin and the Chiefs. Paying $11 million per year and $22.5 million in guarantees to Maclin is insane, considering his dubious injury history. Maclin finally stayed healthy last year and thrived as a consequence, but he has two bum knees and can't be counted on to have many more healthy seasons. It's also worth noting that Maclin's 2014 stats were inflated because of the number of snaps he played in Chip Kelly's offense. I'm not saying Maclin is a mediocre player, or anything; on the contrary, if he can stay healthy, he's very effective. He's just not the stellar No. 1 receiver that his 1,318 receiving yards say he is, and that's without even factoring in his health. As for Maclin, you have to wonder what he's possibly thinking. I can't completely bash him because he's reuniting with his former head coach, but he's effectively sabotaging his career by choosing to play with Alex Smith. Maclin should've consulted Greg Jennings, Mike Wallace, James Jones, etc. about how it feels to take more money to play in a worse offense. All three receivers are regretting their decisions. Chiefs sign G Paul Fanaika (3 years, $8.1 million): D Grade Quite frankly, this is not a good move whatsoever. The Chiefs traded for Ben Grubbs earlier today - scroll down for that grade - but they wanted to add another guard. That's fine, but they could've done much better than Paul Fanaika. The former Arizona Cardinal was a dreadful blocker this past season in all regards. He doesn't seem like an upgrade, so it's puzzling that the Chiefs would sign him for nearly $3 million per year, especially when there were so many equal or better guards available, per the NFL Free Agent Rankings list. Chiefs re-sign S Ron Parker (5 years, $30 million): D Grade Uhh... did the Chiefs mean to re-sign Ron Parker to a 5-year, $3 million deal? Because that would've made more sense. Parker is barely a starter; he would be better served as a backup. He was decent enough in coverage this past season, but was an abomination in run support. In fact, aside from the injuries, Parker was the primary reason why Kansas City struggled to stop the rush in 2014. Making matters worse, Parker has been a starter just one season in his 4-year career, so it's not like he even has a proven track record prior to his pedestrian 2014 campaign. I just don't get this signing, but I won't give the Chiefs a Millen grade because other teams were inexplicably interested in Parker's services as well. Chiefs extend G Ben Grubbs (4 years, $24M; $8M guaranteed): B- Grade I'm not as big a fan of this extension as I was of the initial trade. Giving away a fifth-round pick for a temporary upgrade at one of the guard positions made a lot of sense, but an extension with $8 million guaranteed isn't as good of a move. This isn't a terrible extension, or anything, as it won't set Kansas City back very much if Grubbs flops. However, there's a chance that he will continue to regress. He's been a strong player throughout his career, but his play dropped off last year. He just turned 31, so that could continue. He should still be a temporary upgrade, but it's conceivable that Kansas City may want to cut him Year 2 into this deal.
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