Kansas City has had some great selections in the NFL draft over the years, but rather than look back at the 60-plus seasons worth of draft picks by the Chiefs, I thought it’d be fun to judge how the current coaching regime has faired in the draft over the past eight seasons.
That’s right, this is a particular look at the Andy Reid era (2013- the present) alone. Although some of the draft selections on this list were made by former Chiefs GM John Dorsey, while others were by current GM Brett Veach, the Andy Reid era in Kansas City has been plentiful when it comes to stocking up on talent through the draft.
However, before we kick things off, I want to note that no players from 2019 nor 2020 draft classes will be mentioned here because they deserve a chance to build up a resume before their careers can be objectively analyzed.
So for argument’s sake, we’re sticking with the first six draft classes of the Andy Reid era in Kansas City, and these are the top five draft picks that reign the best so far.
#5. Eric Fisher – OT – Selected 1st Overall in 2013 out of Central Michigan –
Coming off an abysmal 2-14 season in 2012, the Chiefs entered the 2013 NFL Draft with the first-overall pick. This would be the first time in the franchise’s history to have the top selection in the first round. That selection would go on to be Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan. The 2013 draft would be the first time that an offensive tackle would be selected 1st-overall since Jake Long was drafted by the Mami Dolphins in 2008.
Fisher spent eight seasons in Kansas City and was one of the first building blocks that was used to stabilize the roster when Andy Reid first arrived. At 6-foot-7-inches and 315-pounds, Fisher began his career playing on the opposite side of the offensive line, at right tackle, during his rookie season. Though he played well, Fisher would move back to his natural spot at left tackle following the loss of Branden Albert in 2014.
Since then, Fisher has been a regular on the Chiefs’ o-line and has made a living protecting the quarterback’s blindside. Playing in 117 games and starting 113 of them, Fisher made two Pro Bowl appearances in 2018 and 2020. He also helped carry Kansas City to three AFC Championship appearances and its first Super Bowl victory in five decades.
Fisher wasn’t the biggest nor the most dominant tackle in the entire league, but he was an important and integrated part of the puzzle that was Kansas City’s championship roster in 2019.
Fisher was recently released by the Chiefs after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon late last season and is currently a free agent.
#4. Chris Jones – DT – Selected 37th Overall in 2016 out of Mississippi State –
In the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Chiefs used the 37th selection to pick up a defensive tackle that has become their centerpiece along the defensive line. Standing at 6-feet-6 inches and weighing 310 pounds, Chris Jones was a physical specimen coming out of Mississippi State.
Jones played three seasons for the Bulldogs, registering 102 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He was the fifth defensive tackle and tenth d-lineman taken in the ‘16 draft and has since become one of the top playmakers in the league at his position.
Jones began his pro career as a defensive end in Bob Suttons’ 3-4 defensive scheme as the replacement to veteran Mike DeVito, who retired following the 2015 campaign.
Though his rookie season was nothing to ride home over — 28 tackles, 10 QB hits, and 2 sacks — Jones finally came into his own during the 2018 campaign registering a career-high 40 tackles, 29 QB hits, and 15.5 sacks. The Chiefs made the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1993 that season and Jones was a lone bright spot of a defensive unit that ranked 31st in the NFL.
While he never came close to matching his career numbers over the previous two seasons, Jones was selected to make the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020. However, he never appeared for either one because he was in the Super Bowl both seasons.
After helping Kansas City win its first championship in five decades, Jones finally inked a long-awaited four-year contract worth $80 million, with $60 million guaranteed on July 15, 2020. Afterward, Jones helped the Chiefs run it back to the Super Bowl — which they lost to Tampa Bay — and will look to keep the new winning tradition going in Kansas City for the seasons ahead.
#3. Tyreek Hill – WR – Selected 165th Overall in 2016 out of West Alabama –
In the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Kansas City spent their 165th pick on a player that caught them a lot of heat by fans and multiple sports media outlets. Thanks to reports of domestic violence and punching his pregnant girlfriend at the time, Tyreek Hill was the guy who 31 teams were staying away from.
Aside from his off-field character, Hill was the kind of talent that shouldn’t have slipped all the way to the sixth round. Classified as a wide receiver and kick return specialist, Hill possessed a world-class speed that comes once every generation. While the league had already previously seen some incredible kick returners, Devin Hester and Dante Hall, for example, in the past, Hill was something different.
Hill played one season of Division-I football in 2014 at Oklahoma State as a do-it offensive player. Receiving snaps as a running back, wide receiver, and kick returner, Hill showed that he could do it all. On the ground, he rushed for 534 yards and 2 TDs on 102 attempts. Through the air, he caught 31 passes for 281 yards and a TD. And on Special Teams, Hill returned 57 kicks for 996 yards. At the end of the 2014 college football season, Hill was ranked second in the nation as a return man and eleventh nationally in all-purpose yards.
Unfortunately, domestic violence reports surfaced in 2015, and Hill was kicked out of Stillwater and was forced to finish his college career playing Division-III football at West Alabama. When he was picked up by the Chiefs the following season, a lot of question markers swarmed around One Arrowhead Drive for the decision to select a player that carried such a dark past.
However, the choice to give Hill a second chance may have been one of the best ones Andy Reid and the Chiefs organization have ever made. Not only has Hill been a class act both on and off the field, but he’s also been an elite weapon unlike any other that Kansas City has had before.
Arguably the biggest play of Hill’s pro career came when he was on the receiving end of the infamous ‘Jet Chip Wasp’ play during Super Bowl 54 that helped the Chiefs convert a third and long. Kansas City would go on to beat the 49ers for the Lombardi trophy.
Today, Hill is regarded as the fastest and one of the elite pass catchers in the NFL. In five seasons, so far with Kansas City, Hill has registered a combined 7,407 all-purpose yards and 58 scores as a receiver, runner, and returner. He’s not a guy many defensive backs can defend against and isn’t someone opposing teams look forward to playing.
Without a doubt, Tyreek Hill is one of the best picks under Andy Reid and arguably one of the greatest draft-day steals in NFL history.
#2. Travis Kelce – TE – Selected 63rd Overall in 2013 out of Cincinnati –
In the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected tight end Travis Kelce out of Cincinnati with the 63rd overall pick. Kelce was a big guy that was thought to have the potential to be another hybrid tight end that could run and catch like a wide receiver.
Now going into his eighth season with the Chiefs in 2021, the former Cincinnati Bearcat was everything as advertised and perhaps even more so. With an NFL record 5-straight 1,000-yard seasons since 2016, Kelce is the Chiefs’ second all-time leading receiver and is just over 3,000 yards shy from surpassing Tony Gonzalez for the all-time lead.
Kelce actually missed his entire rookie campaign due to a knee injury he suffered in training camp. But since his sophomore season in 2014, Kelce has developed into one of the best tight ends of his era. In 104 games started, Kelce has caught 612 passes for 7,881 yards and 48 touchdowns for his career thus far. Last season, Kelce led the league in receiving with a career-high 1,416 yards.
Since being drafted, Kelce has become a six-time Pro Bowler, a 3-time First-Team All-Pro, a Super Bowl Champion, and was named to the NFL 2010’s All-Decade Team.
In 2020, Kelce inked a five-year contract extension that keeps him in Kansas City through the 2025 season so, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to continue adding to his resume before he’s due for another extension or calls it a career.
#1. Patrick Mahomes – QB – Selected 10th Overall in 2017 out of Texas Tech –
When the Chiefs traded two first-round picks and a third-rounder to Buffalo for the 10th overall selection to get Patrick Mahomes, it was met with a lot of criticism.
At the time, many analysts felt the pick was a major reach for a QB, they believed, would never be ready for the NFL spotlight. After all, Texas Tech was not known for producing pro-ready quarterbacks, and many air-raid QBs that came before Mahomes never transitioned into everyday starters.
The main consensus on Mahomes was that he was a developmental project that was a freak of an athlete with a cannon for an arm but had below-average accuracy and no footwork. But unlike the TV pundits, Andy Reid saw potential in the young QB, and since the Chiefs already had Alex Smith locked in as the starter at the time, there wasn’t any rush for the gunslinger to make an NFL debut. Instead, Mahomes spent his rookie campaign on the bench, learning from Alex Smith and understanding Reid’s playbook.
In 2018, Mahomes proved every pundit and TV analyst wrong by throwing for over 5,000 yards and 50 TDs and advancing Kansas City to the AFC Championship game. Mahomes earned MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors that season and made the Pro Bowl.
The following two seasons, Mahomes was nothing short of spectacular.
The following season after winning MVP in 2018, Mahomes took it a step further and guided Kansas City back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969, defeating the San Francisco 49ers and becoming the MVP of Super Bowl 54.
In 2020, Mahomes cashed in on a mega-contract extension that makes him the richest athlete in pro sports before leading the Chiefs to back-to-back AFC Championships and a second-conservative Super Bowl appearance.
In just three seasons thus far, Mahomes has thrown for 14,152 yards, 114 touchdowns, and only 24 interceptions. He’s a three-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro, and has had the fastest-growing success out of any NFL quarterback since Kurt Warner. To say the least, Mahomes is, without doubt, the greatest draft pick the Chiefs have made during the Andy Reid era and arguably the franchise’s history.
