Kansas City Chiefs: 5 Players Who Should See Their Roles Expand in 2012

Last season, KC saw many players throughout the team have their roles expanded.

With all of the young talent still in place on the current roster heading into the 2012 season, there will be a new crop of Chiefs that will see more action on the gridiron this year.

Here are five Chiefs that will see their roles expand in 2012.

DE Allen Bailey

Last season, Allen Bailey's play was sort of like a solar eclipse: He wasn't on the field a lot, but when he was, he made some pretty big plays for this defense.

I expect for Romeo Crennel to plug Bailey into his defense more often this season in order to take advantage of the versatility that he will provide the team.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bailey is able to pick up at least seven sacks and become another solid pass-rushing threat on this KC defense in 2012.

WR Jonathan Baldwin

Many were expecting big things out of rookie wideout Jonathan Baldwin last season.

Instead, he ended up with just 254 receiving yards and one touchdown in just three starts for the entire year.

This season should be a different story for the former University of Pittsburgh star.

Assuming that he can stay out of any locker room fights with teammates this year, he should be starting opposite Dwayne Bowe in Week 1 and will likely make a much bigger impact with the Chiefs in his sophomore campaign.

C Rodney Hudson

When the Chiefs drafted center Rodney Hudson back in 2010, they had hopes that he would one day take over that position on a permanent basis.

After serving as a backup last season, Hudson appears to be the heir apparent to aging center Casey Wiegmann.

All signs are pointing to Hudson being the Week 1 starting center for KC, which will obviously give him a much larger role than his one start he received as a backup in his rookie campaign.

The former first-team All-American was one of the best offensive linemen in Florida State history and is now ready to make his mark on the NFL.

LB Corey Greenwood

Corey Greenwood has been one of the better special teams players for the Chiefs over the past two seasons.

Unfortunately, he has yet to see any action at his inside linebacker position in the 3-4 base defense that KC currently runs.

However, I expect that to change this year.

After Kansas City recently re-signed the Concordia University product to a four-year deal earlier this offseason, I could see Greenwood getting some playing time on defense, especially when the Chiefs are playing in the nickel.

DT Jerrell Powe

Jerrell Powe is easily the biggest question mark out of any of the players on this list.

Last season, he played in just one game and did absolutely nothing for this defense.

Once regarded as a first-round talent, there is still a good chance that Powe will see his role expand this season, considering how thin the Chiefs currently are at the nose tackle position.

He might not be anything more than a rotational-type player this year, but that would still be a big step up from his rookie season in 2011, when he was inactive for nearly every game.