Laddie Morse
For most Kansas City Chiefs fans, the 2017 NFL Draft was the greatest draft ever. For most of the rest of the NFL, it was the 1983 NFL Draft. Seven (7) Hall of Fame players were taken in the first round that year and let’s not forget that K.C. took CB Albert Lewis in round three with pick #61 and Lewis was a perennial pro bowler.
Of course the pick everyone remembers from that year was the year was a huge miss, when K.C. took QB Todd Blackledge. K.C. selected him at #7 bypassing on four other Hall of Famers (not to mention 14 other players who made the Pro Bowl). The HoF players the Chiefs missed on were namely: OT Bruce Mathews, QB Jim Kelly, QB Dan Marino and CB Darrell Green.
For K.C., the unforgivable choice was at QB that year. However, many NFL fans were focused on the drama being played out at the top of the draft. With John Elway saying he would not play for the Baltimore Colts and then their owner stepping in — and over ruling his GM — to force a trade with the Denver Broncos, essentially because Elway said he would just go play baseball instead. The drama was elevated by two other teams stepping in including the Chargers and the Raiders. The Broncos got their man, and the rest is history, as they say. and all of that set up the pick of Patrick Mahomes in 2017, some 34 years later (13:21).
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The six QBs taken in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft was a record all by itself until — 2024 — this season. However, the trade for Elway didn’t happen for six whole days. That’s enough drama to put a crying baby donkey to sleep.
34 years later, Chiefs Kingdom was pining in arrears for a Dan Marino more than most will admit and John Dorsey pulled the strings on a trade up from pick #27 to pick #10 to take Patrick Mahomes. Many believed that K.C. would take DeShaun Watson, but the final pick was in and it was Mahomes. Thank God!
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One of my favorite recent drafts for the Chiefs was the 2022 draft. This is what it looked like:
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Adapted from Pro Football Reference – Photo Credit
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I recall being excited most about Skyy Moore and thinking he’d be the Chiefs WR#1 by year’s end. Boy was I wrong. While were still waiting for Moore to breakout, many other’s from this draft class have risen to the top like cream in a milk bucket, and CB Trent McDuffie is among those. Bryan Cook, Leo Chenal, and Isiah Pacheco stand out while both CBs Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson are doing an impressive job. Every single one of these drafted player could end up playing a huge role in the 2024 season. For third year players, that’s exactly what you hope for.
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* Note: OT Darian Kinnard was signed off of the Chiefs Practice Squad by the Philadelphia Eagles right after the most recent Super Bowl.
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Since my favorite draft for K.C. was in 2017, here’s a video offered by Good Morning Football (GMFB) earlier this year (1:54):
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Rich Eisen invites Ian Rapoport to his show to break down what the Chiefs plan on doing with Patrick Mahomes in year one.
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What about Andy Reid? When was he sold on Patrick Mahomes?
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There were a lot of other people sold on Mahomes too. Like…
… Rich Gannon (can we please get a Hallelujah for Mr. Gannon!):
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Do you have a favorite NFL Draft for the Chiefs?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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