Kansas City Chiefs 2010: Reasons Eric Berry Can Make the Pro Bowl

When the Kansas City Chiefs selected Eric Berry with the 5th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft they were expecting big things from the former University of Tennessee star.

The man nicknamed as "The Fifth Dimension" has been labeled by some football experts as the best safety prospect to come out of college football in the last ten years.

Many have also stated that Berry has a great chance to make an immediate impact on the Chiefs defense and could be a Pro-Bowler as soon as his first year in the league.

For this feature, I have examined how Mr. Berry could make his first Pro Bowl for the Red and Gold this coming season.

5. Solid against the run

Berry was an absolute beast against the run throughout his entire three-year career at Tennessee. He was consistently found behind the opposing offenses' line of scrimmage and was a difficult man to game-plan a rushing attack against due to his ability to be all over the field.

He recorded 17.5 tackles for loss during in his 39 games for the Vols, while collecting 10.5 tackles behind the line during his sophomore season in 2008.

Berry was also well known around the SEC for his devastating hits on running backs, such as the one in this picture on former Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno.

4. Ball-hawking safety

Berry showed his superior ball-hawking skills many times while at Tennessee. He knocked away passes at will and became a pest to opposing quarterbacks who were just trying to find the open receiever.

With Eric back there in the secondary, there was little margin for error on every throw as he would almost invent new ways to knock the ball away from would be receptions down field.

For his collegiate career, he broke up an amazing 17 passes, and got his hands on many other balls as well, which did not show up in the box score at the end of the day.

3. Intelligence on the field

Possibly the most underrated aspect of Eric Berry's game is his high level of football intelligence.

There is a reason that he only committed only one penalty during his three-year career at Tennessee.

His high football IQ was on display many times during his college career as he could immediately diagnose offensive plays and at times it could have felt like

Berry was in the opposing offenses' huddle when he was out there. This is also one area that Berry can really utilize to help him outsmart his future NFL opponents, starting this season.

2. Leadership qualities

Berry was a team captain for his sophomore and junior seasons at Tennessee and was a well-respected leader in the locker room and on the field for the Vols.

In many instances, he would call many of the different plays and sets that the Volunteer defense would be running and he wasn't afraid to call out a teammate or two if they were under-performing at their position.

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli referred to Eric Berry being "mature beyond his years" due to his high character and strong leadership capabilities.

1. Playmaking ability

EB was an instinctive play-maker at the collegiate level and he was a force to be reckoned with from the opening kickoff to the final gun in many of the games he played in.

He picked off an incredible 14 passes in a 39 game tenure at Tennessee while taking three back for touchdowns and collecting 241 total tackles during that span.

A big reason why so many people have been high on him since his arrival at Tennessee three years ago, has been because of his uncanny ability to make plays over and over again.

If he can translate some of these plays he made in college to the NFL, he will be a for sure Pro-Bowler this season.