By: Kurtis Seaboldt
With the NFL Draft coming up on Thursday, I thought I’d see how the Chiefs had done at various spots in the first round. Of the 32 spots, there are 7 the Chiefs have never used on a pick (#8, #9, #12, #17, #29, #30). Keep in mind, the first round had 26 picks from 1967-75, 28 picks from 1976-94, 30 picks from 1995-99, 31 picks from 1999-2001 and 32 picks since 2002.
#1 Eric Fisher, T (2013)1-time Pro Bowler.
#2 Neil Smith, DE (1988) 5-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro. Others: Art Still (1978), Mike Bell (1984)
#3 Tyson Jackson, DE (2009) The only player the Chiefs have taken with this pick. Chiefs traded this pick to Detroit in 1988 to move up and take Neil Smith. Lions used it to take DB Bennie Blades.
#4 Derrick Thomas, LB (1989) 9-time Pro Bowler, 2-time All-Pro. Pro Football Hall of Famer was the dominant outside linebacker of the 1990s.
#5 Eric Berry, S (2010) Pro Bowl 5-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro. Others: Bill Maas (1984), Glenn Dorsey (2008)
#6 Ryan Sims, DT (2002) Note: Chiefs traded the #6 pick and DT Curley Culp to Houston for DT John Matuszak in 1975 in one of the worst trades in franchise history.
#7 Todd Blackledge, QB (1983) Other: Brian Jozwiak (1986) As notorious as Blackledge is, he’s a stud compared to Jozwiak.
#8 None. Chiefs traded this pick to Dallas in 2002 when they traded up to draft Ryan Sims at #6. Cowboys used it to take S Roy Williams.
#9 None. This is the only spot the Chiefs have never had.
#10 Patrick Mahomes, QB (2017) 2-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro, MVP. It took a great player to push three-time Pro Bowler Gary Green to second place. But, ya know, Mahomes.
#11 Dontari Poe, DT (2012) Others: Brad Budde (1980), Anthony Hancock (1982)
#12 None. Chiefs traded this pick to St. Louis in 2001. Rams used it to take DT Damione Lewis.
#13 Tony Gonzalez, TE (1997) 10-time Pro Bowler, 5-time All-Pro. Other: Percy Snow (1990)
#14 John Tait, T (1999) Others: Rod Walters (1976), Willie Scott (1981)
#15 Derrick Johnson, LB (2005) 4-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro. Ethan Horton (1985), Branden Albert (2008)
#16 Elmo Wright, WR (1969) Didn’t do much more than his only competition but Wright did invent the TD dance. That’s enough. Other: Woody Green (1974). Chiefs traded #16 to Pittsburgh in 2003. Steelers used it to take S Troy Polamalu. Yeah.
#17 None. Chiefs traded this pick to Detroit in 2008, moving up to take Branden Albert at #15. Lions used it to take T Gosder Cherilus.
#18 Marcus Peters, CB (2015) 2-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro
#19 Mo Moorman, G (1968) Other: Paul Palmer (1987)
#20 Dale Carter, CB (1992) 4-time Pro Bowler. This was the closest battle on the list with Carter’s consistent brilliance outweighs the longevity of 5-time Pro Bowler Tamba Hali (2006).
#21 John Alt, T (1984) 2-time Pro Bowler. Others: Sylvester Hicks (1978), Harvey Williams (1991)
#22 George Daney, G (1968)
#23 Jim Marsalis, CB (1969) 2-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro. Pretty loaded pick with three Pro Bowlers. Others: Jeff Kinney (1972), Steve Fuller (1979), Dwayne Bowe (2007), Dee Ford (2014)
#24 Gene Trosch, DE (1967)
#25 Greg Hill, RB (1994)
#26 Sid Smith, C (1970) The first 1st round pick the Chiefs had after winning the Super Bowl was used on a center who started four games. And it was still better than the one they used on WR Jonathan Baldwin in 2011.
#27 Larry Johnson, RB (2003) 2-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro. One of the most dominant two-year stretches in NFL history in 2005-06. Other: Victor Riley (1998). This is also one of the picks the Chiefs traded to Buffalo to move up and take Patrick Mahomes so it gets residual love.
#28 Jerome Woods, S (1996)
#29 None. Chiefs traded this pick to Seattle as part of the Frank Clark trade in 2019.
#30 None. Chiefs traded this pick to Detroit in 2004. Lions used it to take RB Kevin Jones. Chiefs traded down to #36, where they took Junior Siavii.
#31 Trezelle Jenkins, T (1995)
#32 Mike Elkins, QB (1989) This was a second-round pick at that time. They’ve never had #32 as a first-round pick. Until this year.
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