Chiefs: Six-time Pro Bowl pick McCoy will be another option in the backfield
The Kansas City Chiefs are under no preconceptions that the LeSean McCoy they officially signed Monday is the same running back that was a two-time all-pro with the Philadelphia Eagles.
They don’t need him to be, either.
The Chiefs have a clear-cut starter in Damien Williams and two young, capable backups in second-year pro Darrel Williams and rookie Darwin Thompson. So whatever McCoy can provide this season after his release by Buffalo is gravy, whether that is on-field production or locker-room leadership.
“I’ve known him a long time, obviously,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “There are not a lot of 31-year-old running backs running around, but he still has great feet and the vision.”
Reid was responsible for drafting McCoy when he was with the Eagles, and the six-time Pro Bowl pick wound up playing his first four seasons for him. McCoy played two more seasons in Philadelphia after Reid was fired and landed in Kansas City, then spent the past four seasons in Buffalo.
McCoy was released over the weekend when the Bills decided to look toward the future with younger options in their backfield. Several teams immediately expressed interest, but the relationship Reid and Chiefs general manager Brett Veach had with McCoy — and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus — made for a relatively quick negotiation, and McCoy was in the Chiefs practice facility to sign his contract Monday.
Now, the trick will be to get up to speed in time to offer some help Sunday in Jacksonville.
“We’ll see what he can pick up in a short period of time, how comfortable he is with it,” Reid said. “He’s a pretty sharp kid. He’s been practicing and playing, so conditioning is not an issue.”
McCoy should have some familiarity with terminology from his days with Reid in Philadelphia, but the coach acknowledged his offence has changed dramatically. The Chiefs run more run-pass options and cater to the strengths of MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“There will be some familiar things,” Reid said, “but we’ll just see how it goes. I won’t put him out there in a bad situation without knowing the plays. We have other guys who can play, too.”
That is where McCoy might just be the most valuable.
The Chiefs signed Carlos Hyde in the off-season with the hope he could provide a veteran presence in the backfield. But he was unproductive in the preseason and was traded to Houston last weekend, leaving a big experience void among the four running backs the Chiefs kept on the roster.
Damien Williams has the most experience, but that’s just 74 games over parts of five seasons and a total of 733 yards rushing. Darrel Williams has appeared in six games. Thompson and second-year pro Tremon Smith have never appeared in a game at running back — Smith is a converted cornerback.
McCoy alone has played in 67 more games than the rest of the Chiefs’ running back group. Eight times McCoy has run for more yards in a single season than the other four running backs have in their entire careers combined. He’s reached the end zone 69 times on the ground, 10 times the number of TDs that the rest of the Chiefs’ backfield has scored.