Jeremy Maclin, Former Missouri Tigers Receiver, To Join Kansas City Chiefs

How’s this for a homecoming? Former Missouri Tigers wide receiver Jeremy Maclin has elected to return to his home state to pass catch for the Kansas City Chiefs. By joining the Chiefs, Maclin reunites with his former coach, Andy Reid, who drafted him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

Maclin, who graduated from Mizzou after breaking records in Columbia, caught 85 catches for 1.318 yards in 2014, which followed an ACL tear that sidelined him for the 2013 season. Maclin will reportedly make $11 million per year in KC, a huge jump from the 5.5 he made in his final season in Philadelphia.

Maclin is a household name for Mizzou fans, who watched him soar as a college player while playing under head coach Gary Pinkel. He is considered the first of many solid wide receiver recruits to make a huge impact at Mizzou in the last five years. Tiger fans will for sure enjoy seeing Jeremy Maclin back in the show-me-state.

This move makes sense for best parties. Maclin, who was not going to make the money he wanted in Philadelphia, has a chance to be the leading offensive power on the Chiefs’ roster. And Kansas City, who will be looking to rebound and return to the playoffs behind 2013 pro-bowl quarterback Alex Smith, desperately needs pass catching help. The chiefs can now put more attention on the offensive line position.

Former Missouri Tigers wide receiver Jeremy Maclin will now catch passes for the Kansas City Chiefs. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Reid drafted the St. Louis native to Philadelphia as a big time draft pick, and he was expected to improve the Eagles’ offense immediately, and he did.

His rookie season, he started his first NFL game on the opening game of the year, coincidentally against the Kansas City Chiefs. He caught 56 catches that season for 773 yards from quarterback Michael Vick and helped lead the Eagles to the playoffs. There he had one of his most notable games against the Dallas Cowboys. He became the youngest player in the history of the NFL (21 years) to score a touchdown in a playoff game, and he broke the record for the most yards in Eagles history for a post season game– a record which still stands.

In the past few seasons, Maclin has proven his worth as a wide receiver, improving his reception numbers and yardage totals each year and making a dramatic jump to 10 touchdowns in 2014. The one outlier year, 2013, he missed all 16 games with the knee injury. Some predicted that the torn ACL may affect the deal he got for this year, but that clearly isn’t the case.

Last season, Jeremy Maclin was one of the more dynamic pass catchers in the league, and flies under the radar doing so.

With Kansas City, he gives the Chiefs a lead target, helping them make cap room by parting ways with Dewane Bowe, who underachieved a year ago and was set to cost the Chiefs $14 million against the salary cap last year.

In one of the more bizarre stats in the NFL in recent memory, KC receivers failed to record a touchdown in 2014. With Maclin, that certainly looks to change.

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