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Top 50 Kansas City Chiefs

The story of the Kansas City Chiefs begins in Dallas where they were a charter member of the American Football League as the Dallas Texans and in their third year of existence, they won the title, which coincided as being their final year in Dallas.

Relocating to Kansas City and redubbed the Chiefs they would win the AFL title again in 1966 and that was the year of Super Bowl I, where they would represent the league against the Green Bay Packers.  They didn’t win, but they would win the final AFL Title in 1969 and this time they would beat their NFL counterpart, the Minnesota Vikings to win Super Bowl IV, though that would be their last title for decades. 

After 1971, it would be 15 years before they would return to the playoffs and by the 1990’s they would do well making the playoffs seven times that decade, although they never went deep into the postseason.  The 2000s would see more of the same with multiple trips to the playoffs, but it felt like they were perpetually slotted in the second tier.  This would all change with the arrival of Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

The electric QB led the Chiefs to a win in Super Bowl LIV, and they appeared in the big game the following season, though they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  In the 2022 Season, the Chiefs would win their third Super Bowl, on the strength of the Patrick Mahomes/Travis Kelce combo.

This list is up to the end of the 2022 regular season.

Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics and post-season accolades.

In terms of overall Games Played in Professional Football, Abner Haynes is not in the top 50 in regards to the Kansas City Chiefs but he certainly made the most of his time there.After being drafted from North Texas, Haynes would become a dominant star in the American Football League and he was their Rookie of the Year winning the…

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Brian Waters was undrafted out of North Texas but the big man from Waxahachie would be picked up a year later after a failed attempt to crack the Dallas Cowboys roster.  Waters would slowly improve and by 2002 he was the starting Left Guard.  In 2004 he elevated his play so much that in a game where the Chiefs would…
Exceptionally quick and tall, Albert Lewis had a really good career that was capped by four straight (1987-90) Pro Bowl seasons for the Chiefs.  The Cornerback would seemingly improve every season throughout the 80’s culminating in First Team All Pro Selections in 1989 and 1990.  Lewis would secure 38 picks for the Chiefs and was also adept on Special Teams…
Art Still was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection who would also be chosen for a pair of Second Team All-Pro nods (1980 & 1984).  The Defensive End was the second overall pick in 1978 from the University of Kentucky and he developed into an excellent pass rusher on the NFL level.  Still would twice have a 10 Sack season, with…
Tyreke Hill had his share of off-field trouble when he was a star at Oklahoma State, and he had to relocate to Western Alabama.  Nevertheless, concern about his domestic violence arrest cost him draft spots, which dropped the talented Wide Receiver to the Fifth Round, where he was chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs. Hill had 860 Yards from Scrimmage and…
Jack Rudnay may have earned a Super Bowl Championship in his rookie season, but he never played a game due to injury.  Still, we have no problem putting him on this list of the Top 50 Kansas City Chiefs of all-time based on what he did after.
Priest Holmes had a 1,008 Yard rushing season for the Baltimore Ravens in 1998 however in the next two seasons he did not get past 600 so it was safe to say that Ravens fans may not have been that concerned when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs before the 2001 season.  As it turned out they would have…
John Alt was a 1st Round Draft Pick from the University of Iowa in 1984 and he would eventually lock himself as the team’s starting Left Tackle.  By the early 1990s, he would establish himself as one of the best at his position and he would be rewarded with two Pro Bowl Selections (1992 & 1993) though he arguably made…
Berry was drafted 5th overall in 2010 from the University of Tennessee and the former SEC Defensive Player of the Year did not disappoint.  A Pro Bowl selection as a rookie, he would sit out almost all of the 2011 season only to come back better than ever in 2012 returning to the Pro Bowl.  He would do it again…
Drafted by the Dallas Texans in 1961, Fred Arbanas would establish himself as one of the top Tight Ends of the American Football League immediately.  Arbanas was named an AFL All-Star in his rookie year and he would be named that honor another four times with the Texans/Chiefs.
E.J. Holub, the first man who would have his number retired at Texas Tech would make professional football history as in the 60s, he was a rare player to start at two different positions (Linebacker and Center).  WIth today's football climate, we are unlikely to ever see that again.
Chris Jones entered a sweet situation in the NFL in 2016, as he was drafted by a team on the rise (Kansas City) who could use a pass rusher. The former Mississippi State star started more games than not in his first two seasons, and would be named an All-Rookie. Jones was a permanent starter for the Chiefs in his…
Trent Green was a pretty good Quarterback who posted better statistics than you might remember.  Green got off to a rough start in his first season with Kansas City as he was prone to Interceptions but from 2003 to 2005 he would throw for over 4,000 Yards with at least 24 Touchdown Passes.  In those years he was second in…
Sherrill Headrick was not drafted by anyone in either the National Football League or the American League but the former star at TCU would find a home with the Dallas Texans and he immediately became a standout Linebacker in the new American Football League.  Headrick was named an AFL First Team All-Pro in his first three seasons of football and…
The kicking game in professional football is a job that has a fickle fan base for sure but the Chiefs fans were certainly happy with the man who held that position for them from 1980 to 1993.
Jamaal Charles would take over the starting Running Back job when Larry Johnson went down to injury but it didn’t take long for Charles to make Chiefs fans to forget the very capable Johnson.
Playing all 151 of his Games in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs the former Maxwell Award winner from Notre Dame had a very good professional career.  The durable Linebacker started every game he played in after his rookie season (10 seasons) and he was named an AFL All-Star in 1968 while also being named a Second…
The Hall of Fame career of Willie Roaf was more synonymous with the New Orleans Saints but it cannot be discounted just how good Roaf remained when he was traded to the Chiefs for his final four seasons in the NFL.
A Pro Bowl Selection in 1999, Tim Grunhard was drafted in the second round from Notre Dame in 1990 and in his sophomore season was affixed as the starting Center, a position he would hold for the next ten years.  A good player throughout his career, Grunhard was also known for his philanthropic endeavors in the Kansas City community throughout…