It’s not even fair at this point.
The Kansas City Chiefs offense is one of the best in the league — but it just got even better with the addition of Le’Veon Bell.
Bell decided Thursday to join Kansas City after his release Tuesday from the New York Jets, revealing a lot about his mindset and what direction he wants to go with his career.
What’s most important to him? Individual stats? Winning? Or money?
Reports surfaced Thursday morning of Bell’s narrowed list of landing spots: Buffalo, Kansas City, and Miami. Those reports also said Bell was looking for a winning team and a place he could have a cornerstone role in the offense. Buffalo and Kansas City sit at 4-1, but Miami is 2-3, likely eliminating the Dolphins because of their record.
Buffalo could formulate an offense around Bell. The Bills’ rushing game is one of the worst in the league, plopped at 28th in total rushing yards per game while ranking 25th in attempts. That explains a lot about why the Bills sit in the middle of the pack when it comes to total offense and offensive points per game.
On the other hand, Kansas City doesn’t need a cookie-cutter “running back” in the traditional sense. They’re not a team looking to run the ball 30- 35 times a game.
Yes, the Super Bowl champs’ running game has taken a step back from last season with the loss of Damien Williams opting out due to COVID-19, but Bell or any running back for that matter was never going to be a feature piece in Kansas City’s offense.
Kansas City could use Bell for goal-line scoring and maybe 3rd and short or fourth and short situations where Bell can forcefully get the ball across the line — which is a different role than Bell is accustomed to playing.
Sure, Bell is one of the biggest running backs in the league at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, but he’s used to play-action situations and being used in the slot.
Kansas City’s playstyle, letting the ball coast down the field and completing drive after drive, shows there isn’t a need for a prolific running back. However, I’m sure Kansas City doesn’t want Pat Mahomes throwing the ball over 40 times a game for them to have a chance to win.
I think Bell’s assessment of both of these teams five games into the season and where he decided to go reveals two things.
The money isn’t that important big picture, which is a different stance from Bell than two years ago, when he sat out the entire 2018 season because he wanted a better extension in Pittsburgh.
And two, winning is more important than anything else. He knows the way Kansas City will use him is very different from the Jets and Steelers. He won’t be the foundational piece of the offense and he doesn’t care.
Bell’s been doing a lot of losing the last two years, and the Jets have shown little desire to reverse that.
He wanted to get as far away from losing as possible with his one-year contract with the reigning Super Bowl champions.
With a dynamic running back like Bell, I’m sure Kansas City will not let a talented guy like him languish. They will find some plays to feature him.
Either way, if they use Bell’s maximum ability or they don’t, it’s pretty clear that Kansas City is a dangerous team and is headed for another deep run in the postseason.
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