KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For more than two months, the Kansas City Chiefs have been haunted by the thought that their offseason began prematurely. There’s some merit to that belief. They beat both Super Bowl teams last season. They had the NFL’s top pass rusher in Justin Houston and one of the top defensive teams. They had a premier back in Jamaal Charles, an up-and-coming tight end in Travis Kelce and an efficient, if not spectacular quarterback in Alex Smith.

But the Chiefs’ failure to reach the playoffs was of their own doing. In building their 2014 team, they didn’t take their inadequacies at wide receiver serious.

The Chiefs aren’t allowing that to happen again this year. If they fall short of the postseason, it won’t be because they didn’t see the importance of having big-play receivers.

They made that clear with the news they would be signing Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin when the free-agent signing period begins at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.

The Chiefs couldn’t design a receiver who fits not only their needs, but coach Andy Reid’s offensive system better than Maclin, who is fast and a big-play receiver. He is coming off the best of his five NFL seasons, catching 85 passes for 1,318 and 10 touchdowns.

That, by the way, is 25 catches, 564 yards and 10 touchdowns more than any wide receiver the Chiefs had last season. Maclin’s 2014 stats match up well with those of all the Kansas City wide receivers combined.

Maclin will be 27 in May, so he should have several good seasons ahead. He knows Reid and his offense, having played his first four NFL seasons with the Eagles. He caught a combined 189 passes for 2,596 yards and 19 TDs for Reid.

Signing Maclin is about more than numbers and fit, though. It’s about making the strongest effort possible to fix what has ailed the Chiefs' offense.

The Chiefs haven’t had a true No. 1 receiver since Dwayne Bowe became ordinary after the 2011 season. In the three seasons since, Bowe has averaged 59 catches, 743 yards and three touchdowns. Decent numbers, but not nearly adequate for a player the Chiefs needed to be great.

The Chiefs not only have their No. 1 receiver now but Maclin was the best of the free-agent options available.

Don’t expect the Chiefs to stop at Maclin, either. They may come close to turning the position over by the time next season rolls around. Bowe will almost certainly be released to make room for Maclin. Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins are already gone.

So the Chiefs can take on more receivers and it would be disappointing if they don’t select at least one more in a draft deep with receivers. It’s possible that only Albert Wilson and De'Anthony Thomas, both rookies in 2014, will return from last year’s group.

That’s a very good thing. The Chiefs are trying to right a wrong. Regardless of how Maclin turns out, they deserve some credit for that.