NFL Draft 2012: Making the Case for Luke Kuechly as the Chiefs' First-Round Pick

Unlike many other teams, the Kansas City Chiefs didn't have many weak spots on defense this offseason.

One of those weak spots was at inside linebacker.

Fourth-year man Jovan Belcher manned that position last year, and ended up having a decent, but unspectacular year at that spot on the field.

He finished the season with 87 tackles and a pass deflection in 16 starts.

Although he did make some nice plays against the run, the University of Maine product failed to be the play-making ILB that this defense needs to free up star linebacker Derrick Johnson.

In his three seasons with the team, Belcher has yet to become the thumper that this linebacking corps needs from week to week during the regular season.

Although the Chiefs recently re-signed Belcher to a one-year deal, it's still unclear whether he will be a starter on this defense next season.

There are still other options at his position that Kansas City could pursue this offseason.

One of those options is former Boston College star Luke Kuechly.

Kuechly is arguably the best ILB prospect in this year's draft class, and will likely get a long look by the Chiefs in the first round, considering that they will have the 11th overall pick in the draft.

Although, there could be many other intriguing options for this pick, including Stanford G David DeCastro or Memphis DT Dontari Poe.

However, drafting Kuechly would make sense on many fronts for the Chiefs.

He is very versatile at inside linebacker, as he is solid against the run and can also defend the pass well for his position.

The Cincinnati, Ohio native also has a non-stop motor and is known for giving it his all on nearly every down that he plays on defense.

Best of all, he is an instinctive playmaker and could instantly make this Chiefs defense better, including the entire KC linebacking corps and defensive line.

It would seem that if Kansas City were to select Kuechly in the first round of April's draft, the pick would have Chiefs GM Scott Pioli's hand-prints all of it, due to his versatility and his blue-collar type of play at linebacker.

In just over four weeks, we will find out exactly how the Chiefs feel about taking Kuechly with their first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, assuming that he's still on the board when their turn comes up.

Until then, he remains a strong possibility for Kansas City's first round pick in April.