Kansas City Chiefs: Six Players Make PFF’s Top 101 Of 2013

Dec 2, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston (50) celebrates a tackle against the Carolina Panthers in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won the game 27-21. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Number 21, OLB, Justin Houston.

Houston was poised to have a breakout season in 2013 and he didn’t disappoint. Set aside the time he missed for his subluxed elbow, and we could be talking about him as defensive MVP. There is a feeling in KC that Houston is on the brink of being down right special. PFF writes,

"Houston would finish the year our top-ranked 3-4 outside linebacker, with the only thing keeping him from going higher in this list are the five games he missed at the end of the season. Before that (and when he returned for the playoffs) he was phenomenal, grading negatively just twice (and no worse than a -0.4) and being the kind of all-around playmaker that teams crave from a 3-4 outside linebacker."

Best Performance: Week 11, KC @ DEN, +9.4

Key Stat: Would finish with the fifth-best Pass Rushing Productivity and Run Stop Percentage scores of all 3-4 outside linebackers.

Houston, like Poe, took a tremendous step forward as a professional. He was on a terror the first half of the season before dislocating his elbow against San Diego. Justin is a freak athlete and was one of the biggest draft steals in Chiefs history. I’m gonna love watching this guy play for the next few years.