Kansas City Lands LeRon McClain: The End of Thomas Jones?

Earlier this Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs quietly made another signing.

Le'Ron McClain comes to a team that has been deprived of good fullback play since Tony Richardson was laying crushing blocks for Priest Holmes in the early 2000s. Mike Cox and Tim Castille have been subpar at best. Neither can do the two things you really need out of a fullback: run blocking and running the ball. Luckily, this is what Le'Ron McClain excels at.

McClain does an adequate job in pass protection, something that Kansas City really needs to improve from, especially at the fullback position (though the right tackle is usually to blame). In terms of run blocking, McClain is one of the few in a dying breed who can seal off the corner and lay out linebackers to clear space and make seams for his running back. While the Chiefs may have suffered in pass protection last year, they were an above-average run blocking team, and McClain will only propel them further.

However, the most significant thing to note is McClain is a good short yardage back. At 260 pounds and an even six feet, McClain can run in between the tackles and get the tough yardage.

So the question really is, what becomes of Thomas Jones? Jones started the season off quite well through the first eight games, averaging 4.17 yards per carry for 570 out of his final 896 yards. He slowed down incredibly, ending up averaging 3.7 yards per carry by the end of the year. Jones still brought versatility; however, he could catch the ball out of the backfield and was pretty good in pass protection. But when it comes down to it, the same thing happened to Jones that happened to Tomlinson for the Jets: age.

It is possible that McClain might take over Jones short yardage duties this year, or at least take carries that Jones would get away from him. In reality, it's not only good for the Chiefs, it's good for Jones. The less wear, the less tear, and the more productive Jones will be.