Chiefs: The Degrees of Kelvin Benjamin

Chiefs: The Degrees of Kelvin Benjamin

by Laddie Morse | December 21, 2018

On December of 6th, about two weeks ago, the Kansas City Chiefs signed 6-foot-5, 245 pound wideout, Kelvin Benjamin. At the time, many were wondering why would HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach even consider a guy with his record. Yes, Benjamin had a breakout rookie year in 2014 with Carolina collecting over one-thousand yards receiving (1,008). He was lost to injury for his entire second season and then had 63 receptions for 941 yards in his third season. However, Benjamin has been injured and in and out of the game ever since his rookie year so you have to wonder what the Chiefs really have… will the degrees of Kelvin Benjamin amount to anything worthwhile?   

Before we go much further, you should know, if you don’t know already, fans have had mixed emotions about Benjamin:

So, there really were caution signs flashing before Reid and Veach stepped in to sign him. While Benjamin sat out during his first week with the Chiefs — which is par for the course with Andy Reid and new players — he was on the field for 12 snaps, or 20% of the team’s offensive snaps. Twenty percent. He was targeted twice and made one reception for 17 yards. It’s the 12 snaps that interests me. It indicates that Andy Reid, who also serves as the team’s Offensive Overlord… uh, I mean, Coordinator… has in mind for this 6-foot-5-inch behemoth?

The Chiefs offense has taken its hits this year. Gone is their All-star RB, on IR is their starting Right Guard (Laurent Duvernay-Tardif),  their Center Mitch Morse has missed what has seemed like half the year (he’s appeared in 9 games), Kick Returner/WR De’Anthony Thomas is on IR and out for the season with a broken leg (a second leg fracture in two years), and of course wide receiver “extraordinaire” has been out for over a month and has taken Eric Berry’s eternal position on the “day-to-day” list. So, you can see why Reid and Veach might be interested in bringing in someone big and strong who might produce on offense.

There’s a good chance the Chiefs have caught lightning in a bottle. While Benjamin has had a record of being on the field then off the field then on the field then off the field… ad nauseum… and he’s jumped from the Panthers to the Bills twice already, by signing him to a one-year deal he could see this as a seminal moment in his career: a make-or-break situation. Why? Because it is.

Although no one knows for sure when WR Sammy Watkins is returning yet, you can bet Reid is aiming for a playoffs bing-bang-boom. That’s why he allowed Eic Berry to return in week 15… to give him time to ramp it up and get into game-shape. So, I’d be surprised if Watkins is not back on the field in week 17. One game is enough time to get him back into the swing of things (it’s different for a WR than it is for a Safety who calls all the defensive backfield alignments).

Why is that important? Although Reid is going to continue to rely on his running-back-by-committee to provide those ground and pound yards, he wants ot make sure he can run his “unseen” sets with the passing game. Reid is known for tailoring every offense around the skills of the players he has on his roster… so with a Goliath like Benjamin, you can expect to see some plays that call upon his height… perhaps in the red-zone… because Reid likes to mix it up. Signing a player with Kelvin Benjamin’s size and skillset at this time of year is actually perfect for a creative coach like Reid.

Who knows if he Chiefs really have anything in Kelvin Benjamin… but I wouldn’t bet against Andy Reid putting him in a position to succeed over the next month. In fact, he will likely put in in a position to win when all the chips are on the line. It’s just what Reid do… yes he do… and he knows how to do it.

You might see a little bit of Benjamin in the next two games, but if I’m right about Reid’s plans for him, the degrees of Kelvin Benjamin will be much hotter come playoff time.