When people mention the Kansas City Chiefs, very rarely do we hear about their passing game, especially in fantasy football talk. With Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis demanding most of the attention recently, it's easy to forget that the team has arguably one of the most consistent receivers in the league in Dwayne Bowe. In the five years he's been playing, Bowe has notched three 1000-yard seasons and has shown he can score just as much as Calvin Johnson when he posted 15 touchdown catches in 2010. Plus he's durable, having played all 16 games every year outside of 2009, where he was served a four-game suspension after testing positive for a diuretic.
Unfortunately for Chiefs fans, it looks like 2012 could be the last time they will see Bowe wearing the Chiefs uniform. Yet to sign his franchise tender, it's clear Bowe doesn't want to be in Kansas City and I am sure the feeling is mutual with the team not having made much progress in trying to sign their star receiver to a long-term deal before the deadline for franchise players passed. Last year's first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin is also chomping at the bit to overtake Bowe's starting job. As it stands right now, Bowe has no-showed in training camp, but it's believed that he will eventually sign his $9.5 million tender, play out the 2012 season and all will be fine and dandy for the time being. That's good news for redraft owners.
But what about Bowe's future in 2013 and beyond? If I was a dynasty owner and had Bowe on my roster, I would be on my hands and knees praying that the Chiefs don't have a change of heart and wind up bringing Bowe back. I believe Bowe could easily be a top-10 fantasy option at receiver, but inconsistent play from Matt Cassel has stunted his numbers. So if Bowe can put up 1100 receiving yards with Cassel throwing to him, imagine what he could do on an offense that has a top-10 quarterback? Or even top-15?
This was one of the questions I threw at my co-host Jim "Taz" Day on our POWER HOUR radio show. One of the teams that he tossed out was the Saints. Imagine Bowe as a Saint with Drew Brees throwing to him? One could only hope. But with Marques Colston around, that idea might be more of a pipe dream. Tennessee could also be a destination if the team decides they've had enough of Kenny Britt and his off-field problems. Dwayne Bowe hooking up with Jake Locker is something I'd love to see. But at this point, I'd like to see Bowe anywhere other than Arrowhead.
At any rate, if Bowe gets his ass into training camp in time to learn OC Brian Daboll's playbook and can squeeze out at least one more 1000-yard season as a Chief, the free agent market should be just as good for him as it was for Vincent Jackson this previous offseason. And that's GREAT news for his dynasty value.