The Kansas City Chiefs selected NT Dontari Poe out of Memphis with the #11 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Poe is a mountain of a man at 6’3″, 335 pounds and the Chiefs plan to start him over the center in 2012.  Poe played in 12 games (all starts) for Memphis last year and he had 33 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, batted down three passes and he forced 1 fumble.  Poe played in 35 games (30 starts) in his three years for Memphis in which he had 101 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 3 batted balls and 4 forced fumbles.  Having Poe as an anchor in the middle of the D-Line should help free up the inside linebackers to make plays.  I like this pick for the Chiefs.

QB Steve DeBerg was a nomad as he played for a lot of teams in his NFL career, but his best year by far came in 1990 when he played with the Kansas City Chiefs.  DeBerg played in 16 games (all starts) for the Chiefs in 1990 and he completed 258 of 444 passes (58.1%) for 3,444 yards with 23 TD passes and only 4 interceptions (96.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 21 times for -5 yards (-0.2 ypc) in 1990.  DeBerg led the Chiefs to an 11-5 record in 1990 and he helped lead them to the playoffs.  The Chiefs fell just a tad short in their only playoff game, losing 17-16 to the Miami Dolphins.  DeBerg completed 17 of 30 passes (56.7%) for 269 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (83.9 QB Rating) in the playoff loss to the Dolphins.  DeBerg played in 57 games (52 starts) in his four years with the Chiefs and he completed 934 of 1,616 passes (57.8%) for 11,873 yards with 67 TD passes and 50 INTs (81.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 74 times for 2 yards (0.0 ypc) with 1 TD run for the Chiefs.  DeBerg was 31-20-1 (60.8%) as the Chiefs’ starting QB during the regular season.

The Chiefs are going to be looking for physical players in the 2012 NFL Draft.  I have them drafting defense early in the draft and offense late.  Here is a look at who I see the Chiefs getting in my mock 2012 NFL Draft, which can be found on bloglockers.com:

1. (11) Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College

2. (44) Kendall Reyes, DT, Connecticut

3. (74) Billy Winn, DE, Boise State

4. (107) Trevin Wade, CB, Arizona

5. (146) Orson Charles, TE, Georgia

6. (182) Austin Davis, QB, Southern Mississippi

7. (218) Marc Tyler, RB, USC

7. (238) Patrick Edwards, WR, Houston

The Kansas City Chiefs have been bringing in talent and retaining it so far in free agency, on both sides of the football.  Here is a look at how the off-season has gone so far:

Offensively:  The biggest move for the Chiefs was using the franchise tag on WR Dwayne Bowe to keep him around for another season.  They also re-signed TE Jake O’Connell, who is backup material.  The Chiefs have signed TE Kevin Boss and RB Peyton Hillis to add some toughness and physicality to the offense in 2012.  OT Eric Winston will also be starting for the Chiefs in 2012 as they signed him as a free agent.  QB Brady Quinn will be the Chiefs’ #2 QB in 2012.

Defensively:  The Chiefs hit quickly in free agency to sign CB Stanford Routt away from the rival Oakland Raiders and he will be starting from Day #1.  The Chiefs also have signed CB Jacques Reeves and safety Kyle McCarthy to help give them depth in the secondary and help on the special teams in 2012.  The Chiefs have also re-signed CB Travis Daniels, LB Jovan Belcher and DT Amon Gordon and they were all solid players in 2011.

GRADE FOR THE OFF-SEASON SO FAR:  A

The Chiefs have re-signed 29-year old CB Travis Daniels.  Daniels played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 14 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 passes defensed.  He has played in 41 games in his first three years with the Chiefs and he has 43 tackles, 3 interceptions and 8 passes defensed.  This was a good move for the Chiefs as Daniels is a decent backup corner.

The Chiefs have re-signed 24-year old inside linebacker Jovan Belcher to a 1-year deal.  Belcher played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last year and he had 87 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Belcher has now played in 48 games in his first three years with the Chiefs and he has 218 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defensed.  This was a good move for the Chiefs as Belcher is a pretty good run thumper inside.

The Chiefs have signed 27-year old QB Brady Quinn.  Quinn last played in a regular season game back in 2009 with the Cleveland Browns.  Quinn has played in 14 games (12 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  Quinn also has carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Quinn is going to be a HUGE improvement over Tyler Palko as the Chiefs’ backup QB in 2012.

The Chiefs have signed 28-year old OT Eric Winston to a 4-year, $22 million dollar deal.  Winston played in 16 games (all starts) for the Texans last year.  He has now played in 92 games (87 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  This was a good move for the Chiefs as Winston is a good run blocker and he should also help keep Matt Cassel a little more clean than he was in 2011.

The Chiefs have signed 28-year old TE Kevin Boss to a 3-year, $9 million dollar deal.  Boss played in 14 games for the Raiders last year and he caught 28 passes for 368 yards (13.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Boss has now played in 72 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 147 passes for 1,968 yards (13.4 avg) with 21 TD grabs.  This was a good signing for the Chiefs as Boss will team with Tony Moeaki to give the Chiefs a rock solid tandem at TE in 2012 and beyond.

The Chiefs have signed 26-year old RB Peyton Hillis to a 1-year, $3 million dollar deal.  Hillis played in 10 games for the Browns last year and he carried the ball 161 times for 587 yards (3.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 130 yards (5.9 avg) last year for the Browns.  Hillis has now played in 52 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 512 times for 2,161 yards (4.2 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  Hillis has also caught 101 passes for 805 yards (8.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career so far.  This was a good move for the Chiefs as Hillis will be the thunder in the running game in 2012 with Jamaal Charles being the lightning.