KC Chiefs in 2013: 7 roles for 7 key Chiefs

Enforcer: Justin Houston

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Could've gone with Tamba Hali here but Houston just feels like more of an enforcer. Maybe that's because he doesn't talk very often and the only thing we know about him is that he's becoming very good at sacking quarterbacks. You just kind of assume that he's this mean dude who just sacks quarterbacks all day.

Houston's role in 2013 and beyond will be critical because it's hard to take that next step as a defense without two legit pass rushers. Tamba Hali is already there. Houston's shown the last two seasons that he's not far behind.

Brain: Andy Reid

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The brain is usually the quarterback. For the Chiefs, we don't exactly know who that will be. But whoever it is it will be up to Andy Reid to get the most out of him. Folks have credited Reid for some of his work with quarterbacks in the past so the Chiefs are going to be counting on Reid to develop that guy.

To me, this is reason No. 1 Andy Reid was hired. Get the most out of the most important player.

Technician: Branden Albert

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Yes, the technician. Albert has come a long ways in his time in the NFL. I remember a time when we weren't sure if he was going to be the answer at left tackle and now here we talking about him as arguably the biggest offseason decision.

Albert's situation is a little different because the Chiefs can quite easily let Albert walk and still pick up a player with a better longterm outlook than him in Luke Joeckel.

But in order for the Chiefs to best allocate their resources, Albert remains to become a key part of the Chiefs in 2013 and beyond.

Loose cannon: Dwayne Bowe

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You see "loose cannon" next to Bowe's name and think it fits, which is a good example of how hard it is to shake labels.

When was the last time Bowe did something bad? 2009 suspension? Importing comments?

Motivator: Andy Studebaker

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He's now a veteran member of the Chiefs joining before the 2009 season. Studebaker isn't the best player on the field but he's a strong locker room leader. There will always be a debate over whether you need guys like that but the Chiefs have lost a lot of veteran leadership over the last few years.

And he happened to be on an Andy Reid-coached team before joining the Chiefs. So there's that.

Prankster: Dustin Colquitt

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Seems like a Chief I would want to hang out with. He's been here since 2005, does his job very well and played the position well enough to the point where Chiefs fans actually recognize the punter.

Muscle: Dontari Poe

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

It's gotta be. Poe has to continue to grow. I talked earlier about having two pass rushers taking you to the next level as a defense. That's all under the assumption that you have the nose tackle position fixed. Poe played a lot in his rookie year, more than I thought he would. He has to build off that momentum and take another big step.