Who/What Can Dexter McCluster Be?

Dexter McCluster finished the season with the Chiefs as a complete enigma. Drafted for his versatility, he displayed the traits of a game changer early on in the season, but then dropped off after coming back from a five-game hiatus in which he was injured. So, what McCluster are we going to get next season?

Let me explain myself. McCluster was drafted in the 2nd round, 36th overall, as a running back out of Mississippi. He's 5'8" and 170 lbs. Clearly undersized as a pure running back for the NFL, the Chiefs weren't shy about how they were going to use him. Running back, wide receiver, punt returner, kick returner. He was going to be a speedy variable for the Chiefs offense and special teams.

At times he looked like the best offensive player on the field during training camp last summer. He could run, he could catch, and he was fast. This continued into the regular season, when on Monday Night Football against the San Diego Chargers, McCluster had 2 receptions, one rush, and 100 punt return yards including a franchise long 94 yard return for a touchdown. That score put the Chiefs up by two scores and ended up being the deciding points in the Chiefs upset win.

Then, during a big win over Jacksonville, McCluster was injured. He would then go on to miss the next five games. Season durability questions arose, as they should, but what most were concerned about during this time was how the offense and special teams would do with his absence. This concern was intensified after the Chiefs lost back-to-back division games against the Raiders and Broncos.

When McCluster came back from injury for the second go-around with the Broncos, many things were expected out of him. However, he went the remainder of the regular season never catching more than two passes a game, and he wasn't as effective in the running game as he had been before the injury.

In the playoff game against the Ravens, with Dwayne Bowe being blanketed all day, the Chiefs needed McCluster more than ever. And although he had four receptions on the day, he also had a costly fumble on our own side of the field. Overall, the last half of McCluster's rookie season was underwhelming.

Now, what we are left with is questions. Questions about if McCluster can be that player we all thought he could at the beginning of last season. Questions about if McCluster can stay healthy over an entire season. Questions about who and/or what McCluster can be.

I'm going to concentrate on that lest set of questions (it is the name of the post after all).

Who and what McCluster can be can be answered in the same example. And the example I am going to use is of a Chief that has recently been in the news.

Ed Podolak. Probably on of the most versatile player in the history of the Chiefs, Podolak was also taken in the second round by the Chiefs as a running back in 1969. As most of the older Chiefs fans out there know, Podolak was much more than just a running back. Podolak had four consecutive seasons with over 1,000 all purpose yards between rushing, receiving, punt and kick returns.

Although Podolak was more of a true running back than McCluster (6'1", 201 lbs), the versatility is quite similar for both. The Chiefs don't ask McCluster to be a full-time running back (we don't even do that with Jamaal Charles), they don't ask him to be a full-time receiver, what they do ask of him is to be a difference-maker.

I do think that McCluster can be that type of player; maybe not with the same kind of numbers that Podolak had, but with the same kind of effect that Podolak had on changing a game. He can line up in the slot, he can line up in the backfield, he can catch passes, break big runs, be a variable (I hate using the term X-factor ever since Dante Hall popularized it) that defenses hate planning and playing against.

Is McCluster our answer at the wide receiver position? Of course not. But he can be the answer at the all-important position of game-changer.