Branden Albert Is Ready for the Pro Bowl

In last year's draft, the Kansas City Chiefs moved up to the 15th pick in the first round and draft Virginia product Branden Albert. This was a move the Chiefs sorely needed to make as selecting this left tackle would help improve their bad offensive line.

Branden went on and started 15 games in his rookie season, as he missed one game due to an elbow injury. All in all, Albert had a very successful first season in the NFL. Sure, the Chiefs had their struggles early on, but as the season came along, Albert provided good protection for Tyler Thigpen to throw the football.

Upgrades in the Offseason

The Cardinals' old offensive coordinator and new Chiefs head coach Todd Haley continued to revamp the O-line this offseason. By adding Mike Goff and Eric Ghiaciuc to the team, he has truly brought a strong veteran presence on board.

Guard Mike Goff comes over from the San Diego Chargers, where, for the last five seasons, he did not miss a start in the team in powder blue. He also played a full 16 games for the Bengals the season before he became a Charger.

Center Eric Ghiaciuc comes over from the Cincinnati Bengals, where he also did not miss a start last season.

Having these "healthy" vets on the team will help take pressure off of Brandon Albert and the rest of the offense, as the Chiefs look to compete once again.

Albert Takes It Up a Notch in Camp

The info out of Kansas City is that head coach Haley asked Albert to have his playing weight down to 305 pounds for this season. At that time, March Brandon was a massive 341 pounds and it looked like dropping that kind of weight would be a tall order.

But sure enough, as we start July and get ready for camp, reports are out that Brandon as already dropped the weight and is ready to go for '09.

Not only has he dropped the weight but he is leading the team when it comes to running drills for O-linemen on the team.

This commitment in such a short time has to make the offensive line coaches Joe D'Alessandris and Bob Bicknell very proud. Seeing a young player not only have the talent but put the work in to back it up is every coach's dream.

Fantasy Football Information on the Chiefs Offense

Right now Larry Johnson's value is low because he's had two very bad season in a row. But to be honest (outside of the off-field issues) one should have seen this coming. The Chiefs lost Will Shields and Willie Roaf to retirement and losing stars like that was going to make things tough for the offense.

When an offensive line can't open holes, a running back has a tough time having success at any level. Things were no different for LJ, as he was not the same player for fantasy owners.

Now things are different and as long as LJ can keep his head on straight, he should find success this season.

As far as the passing game goes, I still want to see Matt Cassel show up for one more year before I say he's for real. With the line much better, he will have every opportunity to show he can get it done. If he should falter, then Tyler Thigpen will take over and do well, just like last year.

Dwayne Bowe needs to show that he can have consistent success without soon to be hall of fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.

Look for Larry Johnson somewhere around the fourth to sixth round of your fantasy draft this season. He will still be a feature runner and there just aren't too many of those around these days.

Matt Cassel is a backup fantasy quarterback this year and Dwayne Bowe is probably a decent No. 2 receiver for your fantasy squad in 2009.