Micheal Lombardi of NFL.com gave out Red Chip and Blue Chip Rankings for each potions in the NFL.

Definition of a blue-chip player
» Player demonstrates rare abilities and can create mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game
» Is a premier player in the league and a weapon on the field
» Combines competitiveness and skill to have a consistent championship-level performance
» Rates in the top five at his position in the league

Definition of a red-chip player
» Player has abilities that can create mismatches vs. most opponents in the league
» Is a featured player on the team and has impact on the outcome of the game
» Player can't be taken out of the game in one-on-one matchup
» Has a consistent level of performance each week
» Plays at a championship level performance
» Rates in the top 10 at his position in the league


He gave some love to a few Chiefs that I thought was nice. A few that would be Expected, and a Few that were a surprise (the average analyst usually bypasses love for these players)

We only had 1 Blue Chip Recipient : Eric Berry
and Lombardi had this to say " The top two players here were easy to pick (Reed & Palomalu). Berry might be moving into that group if he has another season like his rookie year."

And a handful of Red Chip Recipients : Tamba Hali, Jamaal Charles, and Brandon Flowers (who I was presently surprised to see on this list because he usually doesn't get much love when the conversation of top DB's in the league come up)

Dwayne Bowe fell just short, but Lombardi did make this comment "Dwyane Bowe of the Chiefs was the hardest omission. He had 10 touchdowns last season, but it never felt like he could take over a game." (There was actually a typo because Bowe had 15 TD's)

Overall I can agree with most of these rankings! I think with one more year we could see Bowe move into a Red Chip Role, and Charles and Hali move into a Blue Chip Role. Nice to see our boys getting some love!