Kansas City Chiefs: Will Dexter McCluster Bounce Back in 2011?

When the Chiefs drafted former University of Mississippi star Dexter McCluster in the second round of last year's draft, it raised many eyebrows around Kansas City and the rest of the NFL.

The word around town was that Chiefs GM Scott Pioli had reached for McCluster, as many believed that he wouldn't have been selected until possibly the third round at the earliest.

He was viewed as a luxury pick to some, and that was about it.

It didn't take long for McCluster to show what he was really about when he got the balls in his hand on the gridiron.

During the team's summer practices, the man also known as "Dex" broke out of his own shoes on several different occasions.

Teammate Brian Waters even commented to the local media that McCluster was one of the fastest players he has ever played with since joining the Chiefs back in 2000 as an undrafted rookie free agent.

After a solid preseason, McCluster was named as one of the team's two return men, along with fellow rookie Javier Arenas.

In game one of the regular season against San Diego, he showed a glimpse of what Waters had been talking about all along in camp the previous summer.

McCluster took the Mike Scifres punt at his own six-yard line, made a couple quick moves, and then raced up the left-sideline for an electrifying 94-yard TD return.

The play made history, as it became the longest punt return for a touchdown by a Chief.

The good times keep rolling for McCluster in game three of the season, as he had another big day by catching three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in a win against the 49ers.

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there for the Largo, Florida native.

He was sidelined for five games with a high ankle sprain during the middle of the season and saw limited action in practices during that time.

Many fans began to wonder if the speedy little receiver's past injury problems had caught up with him again.

Dex finished the season with a disappointing 209 yards receiving and 71 yards on the ground.

With the '11 season coming up in a few months, more pressure will be on McCluster to perform at a high level in his second year in the league.

History shows that many players tend to have better seasons after one year of adjusting and getting used to the increased speed of the NFL from college football.

The Chiefs will need him to step up this season if QB Matt Cassel and the KC passing game is going to be efficient.

After all, he can't do any worse than he did last season, or can he?