Kansas City Chiefs Draft History

It’s that time of the year again. The 2023 NFL Draft is just a few days away and there is a lot of excitement in the air. The NFL Draft is an annual feature of the league where all the top college prospects hold their breath and wait for their dreams to come true.

The NFL Draft is a way for the franchises to bolster their squads by making useful additions to their team. In general, each team starts off with 7 picks from 7 rounds, although there are multiple trades going around resulting in different scenarios.

Nevertheless, the NFL Draft also offers the weaker teams from the previous year a better chance to compete in the upcoming season by awarding them the top picks in the Draft.

About the Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a historical team in the NFL. The roots of the team go all the way back to 1960 when it was first established. However, back then the team was actually the Dallas Texans and they were part of the American Football League. In 1963, after three years in Dallas, the owner of the franchise - Lamar Hunt decided to shift base to Kansas City and renamed the team as the Chiefs. To this date, the Hunt family continues to be the owners and the current CEO of the Chiefs is Clark Hunt, son of Lamar Hunt. The Hunt family is even more recognized in the NFL as the AFC Championship Trophy is named as the Lamar Hunt Trophy.

The Chiefs play their home games at GEHA Field in Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, Missouri. They play their games on Bermuda Grass. Chiefs fans are known to be one of the loudest bunch of fans in all of the NFL. In fact, in 2014 Arrowhead Stadium recorded the loudest crowd noise at a sports stadium at 142.2 decibels.

In the 1960’s the Chiefs won three AFL Championships and in doing so became the team with the most AFL titles in the AFL’s short history. Continuing their dominance, they won their first Super Bowl in 1969 by defeating the Minnesota Vikings. Since then, the Chiefs have added another Super Bowl win in 2019 after a draught of 50 long years. More recently, they are again the defending champions with their third Super Bowl victory in 2022.

NFL Draft 2023

This year’s NFL Draft is also going to be held in Kansas City, Missouri making this year quite a memorable one for the Chiefs Kingdom. While all eyes will be on the Chiefs picks, there is a ton of potential in this year’s NFL Draft. A quarterback heavy Draft could see as many as 5 quarterbacks going in the first two rounds. There has been quite a bit of chatter and shuffling going around, but nobody is sure who will take the top spot this year.

As for the Chiefs, they have made some free agency moves but will still look to build their squad depth. The one position that stands out right now is an edge rusher. With the departure of Franck Clark, the Chiefs will need to reinforce this position.

There have also been some key departures on the offensive side of the ball with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman both leaving in free agency. Even though Kansas City has options in the receiving department, landing a solid receiver will only add further ammunition for Patrick Mahomes.

The tackle position is another area the management would like to consider. After the departures of Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, the team could use a capable O-lineman to add more protection up front.

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History of Kansas City Chiefs Draft Picks

The Kansas City Chiefs were established in 1960 and since then they have had only one first overall pick in the NFL Draft. In 1961’s NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Center E. J. Holub as their first ever player in a draft. Like most of the other teams in the league, there have been some standout signings while many have also missed the mark.

One of the first really good picks in the Chiefs history came in 1963 when they selected Buck Buchanan in the first round. At 6 feet 7 inches and 270 lbs, Buchanan was a dominant defender and a member of the Chiefs first Super Bowl win. Of course, more recently, their 2017 first round signing of Patrick Mahomes can be considered as their best draft pick in franchise history. In just 6 years into the league, Mahomes’ NFL resume already puts him into the league’s pantheon.

Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable draft picks over the years for the Kansas City Chiefs:

The above table just represents a handful of selections. There have of course been many other noteworthy performers throughout the years. As the 2023 Draft is upon us, the Kansas City Chiefs will be hoping to find another gem to add to their history.