The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t get a lot of production out of their rookie class in 2011.  But they have a nice upside.  Here is a look at how the Chiefs’ rookies did in 2011:

22-year old WR Jonathan Baldwin was the Chiefs’ first round pick in 2011.  He got off to a late start to his 2011 season after losing a locker-room fight with veteran RB Thomas Jones which resulted in Baldwin having a broken thumb.  This got him into head coach Todd Haley’s Dog House right away.  Baldwin played in 11 games for the Chiefs last year and he caught 21 passes for 254 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Despite his rough rookie season, Baldwin has a nice upside.

22-year old center Rodney Hudson was the Chiefs’ 2nd round pick last April.  Hudson played in 16 games (1 start) for the Chiefs last year.  He projects to be a starter for the Chiefs in the very near future.

23-year old OLB Justin Houston was a 3rd round pick last April.  Houston played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 4 passes defensed.  Houston has a huge upside as he got better with every single game that he played in 2011.

22-year old DE Allen Bailey was also a 3rd round pick last April.  He played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 10 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  Bailey will likely see increased P.T. as his career goes on.

24-year old CB Jalil Brown was picked in the 4th round last April.  He played in 14 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 8 tackles.  Brown will likely start to get more P.T. next year for the Chiefs.

24-year old QB Ricky Stanzi was a 5th round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  Stanzi could be the QB of the future down the road for the Chiefs, but you have to wonder why they didn’t give him a chance instead of Tyler Palko.

24-year old OLB Gabe Miller was a 5th round pick of the Chiefs.  He spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List.

24-year old NT Jerrell Powe was picked in the 6th round by the Chiefs.  Powe played in 1 game for the Chiefs last year but he didn’t have any tackles.

22-year old fullback Shane Bannon was a 7th round pick of the Chiefs.  He was cut before the season even began.

GRADE FOR 2011:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B+

22-year old rookie OLB/DE Justin Houston fell all the way to the third round last April’s NFL Draft despite being a highly thought of player out of Georgia.  It looks like that slight has inspired him so far in the pre-season.  Houston has played in both pre-season games for the Chiefs so far and he has 7 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery.  The Chiefs will find a spot in the rotation for Houston if he keeps up his level of play the rest of the pre-season, as they could use help chasing QBs down in 2011.

The Chiefs added four players for the offense and five players for the defense last April.  WR Jonathan Baldwin came to the Chiefs in the first round of the NFL Draft.  He might have been a little bit of a reach, but, he was just what the doctor ordered for the Chiefs.  They needed a speedy WR opposite of Dwayne Bowe and they now have one.  C/G Rodney Hudson could be a starter for a long time on the interior of the Chiefs’ O-Line starting in 2011.  QB Ricky Stanzi gives the Chiefs a nice developmental QB for the future.  OLB Justin Houston, DT/DE Allen Bailey, CB Jalil Brown, OLB Gabe Miller and NT Jerrell Powe give D-Co-ordinator Romeo Crennel more weapons for his D.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Chiefs selected fullback Shane Bannon out of Yale in the 7th round of the NFL Draft (#223 overall).  The Chiefs went off the board with this pick as not many experts thought Bannon had any chance of getting picked.  It will be up to him to reward the Chiefs for picking him.  He played in 7 games last year and he didn’t carry the ball while catching 13 passes for 122 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Bannon has nice size at 6’3″, 245 pounds so he could wind up being a solid lead blocker while earning most of his money on special teams.

The Kansas City Chiefs took 24-year old DT Jerrell Powe out of Mississippi with the 199th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Powe is a huge man at 6’2″, 330 pound and he plays a big man’s game as he can demand a double team.  He isn’t much of a pass rusher though, so he’s likely going to be a 2-down player.  The only reason that Powe slipped as far as he did in the draft is because of his smarts.  He defintely is not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  Powe played in 12 games (all starts) for Mississippi last year and he had 27 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 batted down ball and he forced 1 fumble.  Powe played in 37 games (22 starts) in his three years with the Rebels and he had 69 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, 1 batted down ball and 2 forced fumbles.  The Chiefs are hoping that Chiefs’ Defensive Co-Ordinator Romeo Crennel can get the best out of Jerrell Powe.

The Kansas City Chiefs picked 23-year old QB Ricky Stanzi out of Iowa with the 135th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Stanzi is 6’4″, 221 and he runs a 4.8 40.  Stanzi is a tough guy who was a team leader at Iowa.  He also has a strong arm and he played in a pro-style offense at Iowa.  Sometimes he throws into coverage too much (15 INTs in 2009) but he cut his pickoffs down big time in 2011 when he only threw 6 of them.  Stanzi played in 13 games (all starts) for Iowa last year and he completed 221 of 345 passes (64.1%) for 3,004 yards with 25 TD passes and 6 INTs.  Stanzi played in 39 games (35 starts) in his four years with the Hawkeyes and he completed 542 of 907 passes (59.8%) for 7,377 yards with 56 TD passes and 31 INTs.  This was a excellent pick for the Chiefs as Stanzi will backup Matt Cassel for now and maybe down the road replace him as the starting QB.

The Chiefs took 23-year old cornerback Jalil Brown out of Colorado in the 4th round (#118 overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Brown is 6’0″, 202 pounds and he runs a 4.47 40.  Brown is a solid overall corner and he plays on a lot of special teams.  He doesn’t make many plays on the ball and he does get burnt deep quite a bit.  Maybe the Chiefs’ coaching staff will be able to get Brown on the right path.  Brown played in 12 games (all starts) for Colorado last year and he had 46 tackles, broke up 5 passes, had 3 interceptions and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Brown played in 49 games (28 starts) in his four years with the Buffaloes and he had 177 tackles, broke up 24 passes, had 6 interceptions, forced 3 fumbles and he recovered 4 fumbles.  Brown might eventually develop into a starting corner for the Chiefs but it’s going to take some time.

The Chiefs picked 22-year old DE Allen Bailey out of Miami (FL) with the 86th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Bailey is 6’3″, 278 pounds and he can run a 4.75 40.  Bailey is strong enough to kick inside to tackle once in a while.  Bailey plays hard all the time and he’s a very strong player.  Bailey played in 13 games (all starts) for Miami (FL) last season and he had 45 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks and he batted down one ball.  He played in 50 games (24 starts) in his four years with the Hurricanes and he had 107 tackles, 31 tackles for a loss, 19 sacks, batted down three passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  Bailey will give the Chiefs a very solid pass rush and he could win a starting job early on in his career.  I really like this pick for the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs picked 22-year old outside linebacker Justin Houston out of Georgia with the 70th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Houston is 6’3″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40…so he’s a pretty solid athlete who can also play DE a little if the Chiefs need him there.  Houston isn’t that good against the run, so he might not be an every down player with the Chiefs.  Houston played in 13 games (all starts) at Georgia last year and he had 67 tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, be broke up 2 passes and he had 1 interception.  Houston played in 36 games (24 starts) in his three years with the Bulldogs and he had 125 tackles, 38 tackles for a loss, 20 sacks, broke up 5 passes and he had 1 interception.  The Chiefs needed pass rush help and Houston should be able to give it to them, starting in 2011.

The Kansas City Chiefs have picked 22-year old center Rodney Hudson out of Florida State with the 55th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Hudson is on the small side at 6’2″, 291 pounds so he will likely be used only at center despite having a lot of experience at guard.  Hudson is very good when pulling as he’s fast and can hit moving targets.  He played in 14 games (14 starts) for the Seminoles last year and he has played in 51 games (48 starts) in his four years there.  Hudson might not be the starter at center this year, as it depends on if the Chiefs bring back 37-year old Casey Wiegmann.  Even if the Chiefs do bring back Wiegmann, Hudson will be learning from one of the best until replacing him down the road.  This was a solid pick for the Chiefs.