Over the past five years, the Kansas City Chiefs have set themselves among the great NFL dynasties. And their current quarterback is all on an all-time great path. So when the time comes to rank the 10 greatest Kansas City Chiefs of all time, recent history will play a major role in the pecking order.
One of the fallacies about comparing today's players with those of yesteryear is the differences in the way the game is played. Patrick Mahomes' passing numbers would likely be completely different if he played in the 1970s. Teams simply didn't pass as often. And he may not have been around very long because the rules didn't protect the quarterbacks much at all.
But here's a shot at the guys who need to be on this list.
Former Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez slots at No. 3
When looking at the body of work by Gonzalez, a case can be made for him to the in the top spot. And it took two extraordinary players to keep him away from it.
Gonzalez may be remembered as the best pass-catching tight end of all time. But he didn't make it to the Super Bowl. Certainly in this organization, that's a prerequisite to the No. 1 position.
10. LB Willie Lanier
Lanier’s consistency and dominance earned him a spot on this list.
Chosen in the second round of the 1967 draft, Lanier turned in an All-Pro performance in 1968. For the next seven years, he had three more All-Pro efforts and made the Pro Bowls in the other seasons.
An every-game guy, Lanier started all 14 games in all but three of his NFL seasons. Additionally, he picked off 27 passes in his career, including five in 1975.
Considered one of the toughest players in the league, the 6-foot-1, 245-pounder was a sideline-to-sideline, high-motor player.
9. RB Jamaal Charles
In his third season with the Chiefs, in 2010, Charles turned into an NFL weapon. He rushed for 1,467 yards and added 468 receiving yards. That gave him his first All-Pro honor.
And from 2012-14, Charles cut loose for three big seasons. He totaled over 5,000 yards from scrimmage and 39 total touchdowns in that stretch. Furthermore, he added two more All-Pro appearances, and captured three Pro Bowl honors.
Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from putting up big-time career numbers. He tore his left ACL in Week 2 of 2011, and his right ACL in Week 5 of 2015. He added only 87 career carries after the second ACL injury.
It’s hard to imagine what a healthy Charles could have done as he still stands as the all-time NFL leader for yards per carry among running backs with his 5.4 average.
8. RB Priest Holmes
After four not-so-exciting seasons in Baltimore, Holmes signed a free-agent deal with the Chiefs in 2001 and became a star. His career enhancement came in the form of three sublime seasons from 2001-03. In that stretch, Holmes dominated.
Rushing for over 4,500 yards, he scored 56 touchdowns. And that included 27 in 2003, which was a then-NFL record and still ranks tied for second today. At 5-9 and 213 pounds, Holmes turned into a beast when healthy.
Also, Holmes performed well in the passing game, catching 206 balls for almost 2,000 yards and five TDs in that same three-year stretch,
He earned three straight All-Pro honors and captured the AP offensive player of the year award in 2002. He finished in the top five of the MVP voting in 2002 and 2003.
7. OL Will Shields
Every organization has a lineman who stands above the rest, and for the Chiefs it was the 6-3, 315-pound Shields.
The right guard’s consistency soared off the charts. From 1995-2006, he racked up 12 straight Pro Bowl performances and earned All-Pro honors six times. Accordingly, some have rated him as one of the best guards in NFL history.
Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon told kansascity.com Shields had immense value.
“Will Shields was one of the most athletic, if not the most athletic offensive linemen I’ve ever played with,” Moon said. “He and Randall McDaniel are in the same category, but Will was a little more athletic.
“(Will) had the whole package. He was one of the best pulling guards I’ve ever seen as far as getting out on the edge, and not just getting out there, but once he got out there, he finds somebody and makes contact. He also had the power to blow somebody off the line of scrimmage in the power running game, and he was a really good pass blocker.”
6. WR Tyreek Hill
Some rankings might not include the 5-10, 191-pound “Cheetah” on the Chiefs all-time top 10 list. But his role in the emergence of Mahomes cannot be minimized.
A fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Hill made All-Pro or the Pro Bowl every season. His first honor came as a kick returner, but each of the other five seasons slotted him at wide receiver. In his first year with Patrick Mahomes under center, Hill had 1,183 yards receiving with seven touchdowns.
He exploded to 1,479 yards and 12 scores in 2018 and had big-time performances in 2020 and 2021. Plus, his ability to thrive as a possession receiver and a downfield threat made him the perfect fodder for Mahomes’ growth into one of the greatest of all time.
Mahomes told foxnews.com the Chiefs lost a lot when Hill was traded to the Dolphins in 2022.
“We lost an all-time great receiver in Tyreek Hill, someone that did a lot of great things for us,” Mahomes said.
5. LB Derrick Thomas
When the Chiefs selected Thomas with the fourth pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, team president Carl Peterson believed the choice could be a difference-maker.
“Derrick was my first draft pick when I came to the Chiefs prior to the 1989 season,” Peterson said during Thomas’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony as reported by arrowheadpride.com. “For the next decade, he was the cornerstone of the success of the Chiefs franchise.”
Thomas had 10 sacks and earned the AP defensive rookie of the year award in 1989. The next year, he finished runner-up for the defensive player of year award, dominating the NFL with 20 sacks. From 1991-97, he earned All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors every year.
The gifted 6-3, 245-pound athlete totaled 126.5 sacks and forced 41 fumbles in his career, which was cut short by a tragic automobile accident in 2000. Thomas was partially paralyzed in the wreck and died two weeks later from a blood clot.
4. Coach Andy Reid
Reid earned plenty of respect during his 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, but his recent success in Kansas City dwarfs anything he did in the City of Brotherly Love.
Over the last five seasons, heading into 2024, Reid guided the Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances — with three victories. Yes, a lot of it has to do with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but Reid put up a record of 53-28 with the Chiefs before Mahomes took over.
His three Super Bowl wins put him in a tie for third on the all-time list with Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs. Only Bill Belichick and Chuck Noll have more.
Furthermore, Reid’s career record in Kansas City stands at 179-128, and he led the team to double-digit wins every season except 2014 — when the Chiefs won nine.
Only nine other coaches in NFL history have taken one team to five conference championship games. Among those on the list are John Madden, Don Shula, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi. Reid has taken two teams to at least five title games, including five straight with the Chiefs. His 26 postseason wins are second only to Belichick.
Reid's coaching style has focused on the West Coast offense. And many of his quarterbacks have posted their best passing statistics under his direction.
3. TE Tony Gonzalez
If you stripped everything away and considered tight ends based only on pure statistics, Gonzalez is the best ever. So how is he ranks behind a player from the same franchise on its all-time greatest players list?
First, consider the fact Gonzalez’ run in Kansas City lasted 12 years. He added quite a bit to his massive career totals over five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, including 4,187 yards and 35 of his 111 career touchdowns.
But despite his 10,940 yards and 76 touchdowns with the Chiefs, the guy who took over for him will likely pass both of those marks very early in the 2024 season.
Gonzalez earned first-team All-Pro honors six times with four other second-team selections. And he made the Pro Bowl every season after his third NFL year except 2009. But he still had 83 catches for 867 yards and six touchdowns that year. Tough crowd, I tell you.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who played with the end-of-career version of Gonzalez, told atlantafalcons.com the tight end was automatic.
“You threw it anywhere around him it was a catch,” Ryan said. “Every time we called this particular play, Y potion, he was going to catch it. Or when we ran another play called ‘Shell', he was going to get open and catch it. It didn't matter what the coverage was or who was guarding him. He was unbelievably consistent and just automatic when it came to making plays. In my opinion, he's the best to ever do it at his position. I was just really fortunate to be a part of it for five years.”
2. TE Travis Kelce
What Kelce has accomplished in nine years is nothing short of amazing. In his first NFL season, he played in one game before succumbing to a microfracture procedure on his knee that repaired an issue related to a bone bruise sustained in the preseason.
Over the next nine years, he racked up numbers that can make wide receivers jealous. His totals of 11,328 yards and 74 touchdowns are staggering. He’s a seven-time All-Pro selection and eight-time Pro Bowl member. He has three double-digit touchdown seasons, matching Gonzalez’s total in a 17-year career.
In the playoffs, he’s been just as good with 1,903 yards in 22 games with 19 touchdowns.
Also, Kelce holds the NFL record for receiving yards in a season with his mark of 1,416 in 2020. And bagging three Lombardi trophies helps as well.
A former great tight end, Rob Gronkowski, told The Ryen Russillo Podcast that Kelce is at the top of the list.
“I believe that Travis Kelce is the best receiving tight end,” Gronkowski said. “He’s the best tight end (ever) in terms of catching the ball. There’s no doubt about it. He’s a great red-zone target. When he’s not out on the field with the Chiefs, which is very rare, they’re not the same team.”
1. QB Patrick Mahomes
There used to be one play in the GOAT conversation: Tom Brady. Now, there are, too. Yes, it’s too early to put Mahomes neck and neck with Brady, but talk started after Mahomes earned Super Bowl win No. 3.
Just for fun, let’s wonder how the nine teams that passed on Mahomes feel these days. Cleveland got Myles Garrett, so that was a pretty good haul as he’s arguably the game’s best pass rusher these days. But what would the Browns have been with Mahomes.
Ditto for the Chicago Bears, who thought Mitch Trubisky would be better. Yikes. Also, San Francisco (Solomon Thomas), Jacksonville (Leonard Fournette), Tennessee (Corey Davis), New York Jets (Jamal Adams), Los Angeles Chargers (Mike Williams), Carolina Panthers (Christian McCaffrey) and Cincinnati (John Ross) all had “better” ideas than drafting Mahomes.
And here are the Chiefs, perhaps considering the purchase of a fancy storage unit to house all of their Lombardi trophies.
Now, to be fair, Mahomes did nothing in his first NFL season. But it was only because the Chiefs wouldn’t let him play. He got the starting nod in Week 17, completing 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards and an interception. Ho hum.
In year two, he found a groove — to the tune of 50 touchdown passes and 5,097 yards. Poor Mahomes was so good that year, he hasn’t been able to duplicate it. However, he did throw for 5,250 yards in 2022, but “only” had 41 touchdown tosses.
In six full seasons, he has thrown for 28,424 yards with 219 touchdowns. Along with that are two MVP awards (2018 and 2022), an offensive player of the year award and two runner-up finishes, and three All-Pro honors.
Mahomes currently holds four NFL records: playoff passer rating, passing yards per game, total yards by a quarterback in a season (with 5,614 in 2022), and he’s tied for most touchdown passes in a single postseason (11).
Also, keep in mind Mahomes will turn 29 years old in September, and Brady played until he was 45.
What others say about Mahomes
NFL great Dan Marino weighed in with kansascity.com about what makes Mahomes special.
“He’s an amazing athlete, first of all,” Marino said. “I was a pretty good athlete, but not the kind of athlete that he is as far as how he runs the ball, makes throws from different levels, creates on his own. He’s a really special player. You can tell his competitiveness. Like you talk about, coming from behind when it’s tough. He makes it happen.”
Tom Brady added, “He’s an incredible competitor and I think it’s on display in the biggest moments. … he always seems to play his best in the big moments. He’s got so many of the intangibles. He wants to go out and play whoever’s the best to see how he matches up.”
Follow Us
Subscribe
