Kansas City Chiefs: 5 Things to Watch for in OTAs

With OTAs now underway, NFL teams have now begun their official workouts for the upcoming '12 season.

After a relatively busy offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs and new head coach Romeo Crennel have many question marks and things to look forward to in the team's organized team activities this year.

Here are five things to watch for during KC's OTAs over the next few months.

Dontari Poe's Progression

When the Chiefs selected DT Dontari Poe with the 11th overall selection in last month's draft, they saw a player that could one day make an impact in the middle of their defense.

However, they also knew that he was a bigger project than many of the other players that were drafted in the first round this year.

There's no doubt that he will be closely watched by the Chiefs and many of their fans during the rest of this offseason, as he should be.

Fortunately for Poe, he will have the luxury of getting coach by one of the best defensive minds in the league in Romeo Crennel.

How the Rest of the Rookies Fare

Other than Dontari Poe, the Chiefs drafted seven other players and have a host of undrafted players that have already started participating in the organization's OTAs this year.

Two of those rookies are OG Jeff Allen and OT Donald Stephenson, who are pictured in this slide.

OTAs are very critical for every NFL rookie's progression, considering that it's the first real action of their pro careers against veteran competition.

That being said, it will be interesting to see how each of the 23 new rookies perform against better competition in the coming weeks and months.

The New Offense

For the fourth time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs will have a new offensive coordinator.

This time, it will be former Miami Dolphins OC Brian Daboll.

Daboll is known to be very creative with his play-calling in the past, and he will have plenty of offensive weapons at his disposal to work with in KC this year.

With Daboll at the helm, the new and improved offense—featuring new wideout Devon Wylie, running back Peyton Hillis and tight end Kevin Boss—should be interesting to monitor during OTAs.

How Quickly Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki Can Get Back to Speed

When this talented trio was lost by week two of last season, it put a gaping hole in both the Chiefs' offense and defense for the rest of the year.

Since their injuries, Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki have each been re-habbing with one another and have all been progressing very well.

Even though they might be ahead of schedule, none of them have fully participated in any of the team's OTAs as of yet.

This needs to change sooner rather than later, as KC desperately needs all three of these impact players practicing with the team every day.

The overall progression of this trio over the course of the next few months could either make or break Kansas City's chances to take back the AFC West crown this season.

How Much Better Will This Defense Be?

The Chiefs currently possess one of the youngest and most talented defensive units in all of football.

They have one of the best secondaries in the league, and also possess an elite linebacking corps with Pro Bowlers Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and budding star Justin Houston.

Earlier this offseason, they added free agent CB Stanford Routt via free agency, and NT Dontari Poe via the draft.

This year's OTAs should give us our first glance at how good this defense could potentially become in 2012.