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5 Kansas City Chiefs Veterans Now On the Hot Seat Following 2015 NFL Draft

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Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

5 Kansas City Chiefs Veterans Now On the Hot Seat Following 2015 NFL Draft

Junior Hemingway Kansas City Chiefs
Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs GM John Dorsey knows how to take proper advantage of the NFL Draft, and fans can trust that he gave KC the best possible chances to succeed on Draft Day this season. How will this new, young talent affect the guys previously on the roster who were already fighting to keep their jobs? Here are five returning Chiefs who need to step up their game to avoid dropping down on the depth chart, or dropping off of it altogether.

5. ILB James-Michael Johnson

James-Michael Johnson Kansas City Chiefs
Peter Aiken - Getty Images Sport

5. ILB James-Michael Johnson

James-Michael Johnson Kansas City Chiefs
Peter Aiken - Getty Images Sport

Fourth-round pick Ramik Wilson and fifth-rounder D.J. Alexander will both play inside LB for the Chiefs, if all goes according to plan. The amount of real playing time they'll receive depends not just on their own readiness, but the effectiveness of current ILB James-Michael Johnson. This fourth-round pick from 2012 played in every game over the last two seasons, and started nine games in 2014 after KC lost Derrick Johnson to injury.

4. OL Jeff Allen

Jeff Allen Kansas City Chiefs
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

4. OL Jeff Allen

Jeff Allen Kansas City Chiefs
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Jeff Allen lost virtually all of his 2014 season after going down in Week 1 with an elbow injury. Now he's healthy, but the competition along line is suddenly much tougher. Aside from numerous free agent signings, KC chose Mitch Morse, another versatile lineman, in the second round of this latest draft. Morse could play any of three positions on the line, so Allen needs to come back strong to defend his depth chart position.

3. DB Marcus Cooper

Marcus Cooper Kansas City Chiefs
Jamie Squire - Getty Images Sport

3. DB Marcus Cooper

Marcus Cooper Kansas City Chiefs
Jamie Squire - Getty Images Sport

Marcus Cooper had his ups and downs in KC's secondary over the last two seasons. Cooper often filled in at cornerback in 2013, and he finished that year with three picks. He also finished the year with a lot of frustrated Chiefs fans on his back, after most of the accurate quarterbacks KC faced showed an ability to burn him consistently. 2014. Fans can safely assume that Marcus Peters will immediately be better.

2. TE Richard Gordon

Richard Gordon Kansas City Chiefs
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

2. TE Richard Gordon

Richard Gordon Kansas City Chiefs
John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs selected Illinois State tight end James O’Shaughnessy in the fifth round this year. He may not be Maxx Williams, the No. 1 TE in this year's draft, but it looks like KC found themselves a potentially impactful pass-catching tight end to line up opposite Travis Kelce. Current Chiefs TE Richard Gordon is a reliable, athletically unremarkable, no-frills kind of guy with only four receptions so far in his six-year career.

1. WR Junior Hemingway

Junior Hemingway Kansas City Chiefs
Jamie Squire - Getty Images Sport

1. WR Junior Hemingway

Junior Hemingway Kansas City Chiefs
Jamie Squire - Getty Images Sport

Junior Hemingway made some impressive plays for KC over the last two seasons, both as a wide receiver and a standout special teams technician, but his prevalence in the Chiefs' passing attack will be seriously diminished in 2015. Kansas City picked up Chris Conley in the third round and Da'Ron Brown in Round 7 to help improve their passing game, and the immediate effectiveness of these young wideouts will have a big impact on Hemingway's career.

Doug LaCerte is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DLaC67, “like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.

Doug LaCerte is a writer for RantSports. Like him on Facebook.
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