Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs: 10 Chiefs to Watch for

The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off their preseason slate of games with a home contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tomorrow night at Arrowhead Stadium.

Coming off of a turnaround season where Kansas City went 10-6 and won the AFC West division title, there are many things to be excited about as a Chiefs fan heading into this season.

Much of this excitement stems from the host of young talent and new players that KC has added this offseason, including veteran wideout Steve Breaston, defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le'Ron McClain.

Many of the team's '11 rookie draft class will be on display as well in tomorrow's game, including first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin and talented linebacker Justin Houston.

Here are 10 players that Chiefs fans should be watching in tomorrow night's preseason opener with the Bucs.

OLB Justin Houston

The former University of Georgia star was drafted by the team to help bolster their linebacking corps this season.

Other than Pro Bowler Tamba Hali, the Chiefs have a limited amount of true pass-rushers, so that is why they are counting on Houston to get the job done in 2011 and beyond.

He has gotten off to a late start to training camp, missing several practices before he finally signed last week.

Many reports from training camp have said that he has been progressing very well, but tomorrow will be a big test for the young rookie.

QB Ricky Stanzi

Stanzi was taken in the fifth round of the year's draft by KC in order to add more depth to the team's stable of quarterbacks.

After two weeks of training camp, Stanzi has yet to take charge in separating himself with journeyman QB Tyler Palko for the backup position behind starter Matt Cassel.

The lights will be shining brightly on Stanzi when he makes his pro debut tomorrow night.

Many NFL experts have said that he has the tools to be a QB in this league, now it's time for him to show why this is the case, and it all starts against the Bucs.

WR/RB/KR/PR Dexter McCluster

The role of second-year wideout Dexter McCluster will be one of the most interesting things to watch in tomorrow night's game.

Last year, he played at RB, WR, KR and PR for the AFC West champion Chiefs.

This season, there have been varying reports of what his role will be, as some will say it will increase, and other say it will decrease due to the addition of receivers Jonathan Baldwin and Steve Breaston.

I expect him to get a long of action in this first preseason game and his explosiveness on the field is always fun to watch when he is fully healthy.

RT Barry Richardson

Many eyes will be fixated on Chiefs right tackle Barry Richardson on Friday night.

Richardson is arguably the weakest player on KC's offensive line, and he will have more pressure on him to perform considering that his team just signed free agent OT Jared Gaither to a contract earlier today.

Gaither primarily played LT in three previous seasons in the league, but that doesn't mean that he couldn't slide over to the right side and take Richardson's coveted starting spot.

B-Rich needs to step it up, and it needs to happen soon if he wants to be the starting RT come the regular season.

DT Kelly Gregg

The longtime Ravens defensive tackle was brought over to help shore up a position that has been a glaring hole on the Chiefs defensive line for years.

He played for the Ravens for the last 12 seasons and was one of the more underrated DTs in the league during that time.

At 34 years old, it's unclear how much Gregg will have left in the tank in 2011.

Tomorrow's game should be a decent indicator of how much of an impact Gregg will have for the Chiefs going forward in 2011.

DE Tyson Jackson

Former first-round pick Tyson Jackson has greatly underachieved in his first two seasons in the league with the Chiefs.

In his rookie season, he manged to only record 38 tackles and zero sacks in 14 starts at his defensive end position.

Last year, he showed signs of life in the Chiefs' regular season opener against San Diego, only to suffer an injury that would hamper his development for the rest of the season.

Beginning with Friday's game against Tampa Bay, Jackson has to start playing better if he wants to be a part of the team's future.

WR Jonathan Baldwin

Heads have been spinning in KC with talk of rookie wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin. At 6'5" and 225 pounds, he has all the physical tools that any team would want out of a play-making wideout.

Although he will likely not start tomorrow night, he will definitely get some much-needed playing time.

It will be great for Chiefs fans everywhere to finally see this kid compete against an actual NFL defense for the first time.

LT David Mims

Mims is the only undrafted rookie free agent that I have on this list, mainly because there has been a lot of buzz around him at camp so far.

The 6'8" 335-pound beast was one of the best offensive lineman in all of Division II football last season.

His immense size and athleticism give him a chance to compete for the backup spot behind current starter Branden Albert.

The former Virginia Union star's first real test comes tomorrow.

RG Jon Asamoah

When the Chiefs released five-time Pro Bowl LG Brian Waters earlier this offseason, it left the door wide open for second-year man Jon Asamoah to take Waters' vacated starting spot on the offensive line.

Asamoah started one game for KC last season, but he will obviously be called upon for a much larger role with the team in 2011.

The former third-round pick of the 2010 NFL Draft appears to be excelling at his new role with the team as he has already shown great progress at training camp this season.

The Jon Asamoah era at left guard officially begins Friday night in the Chiefs' preseason opener  and all eyes will be on this talented lineman.

WR Chris Manno

Newly signed wide receiver Chris Manno might be one of the biggest long shots to make the Chiefs roster.

His speed is something that caught the team's eye after tying Raiders speedster Jacoby Ford's 10-meter-dash at the NFL combine.

Manno is a former AFL player and has been known to play special teams as well as receiver.

It will be interesting to see how this former Arena League wideout transitions to the NFL, beginning with tomorrow's test.