In this special offseason series, we analyze the best players in Kansas City Chiefs history to wear every single uniform number. Here’s No. 17.
We recently bought a house, which meant moving endless amounts of boxes, new and old. l’m not sure what your moving process is, but we moved all of the boxes into the garage and then immediately got to work on what we wanted in the house. Necessities were unloaded followed by books and art and the kiddo’s toys and so on.
Then, when we hit a wall and the house felt functional, we just stopped. Now a few months later, a fairly large amount of boxes are still left unopened in the garage. We’re pretty sure of what is in them, so there’s no need to bring them out. Then again, no one is even going to check.
If I had to guess, the boxes in the garage are filled with keepsakes. In fact, it’d likely be fun to go through them because the emotions would likely be amplified feelings of what I felt going through No. 17 for the Chiefs.
Oh, I totally forgot about him.
Man, I remember that guy.
Memories of players mean quite a bit because your own story is tied to them. Thinking about Christian Okoye (who did not wear No. 17) running the ball is meaningful to me because it’s not just about a running back on the field. It’s the flood of emotions I recall from being 10-years-old again. It’s the memory of falling in love with the game of football, of falling in love with the Chiefs, the beginning of a love affair that’s still going strong 30 years later.
Looking at No. 17, for one reason or another, made me think back a bit. Maybe I should get to those boxes.
The Others
Chris Conley is the current No. 17 for the Chiefs.
Donnie Avery was also No. 17.
Before both of those players (LONG before) was Elmo Wright.
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All three are/were wide receivers. All three have enjoyed/did enjoy some decent production for the Chiefs for a few years. All three are often looked over for the sake of other players. Chiefs fans certainly hope Chris Conley will outplay those others and become the player he was projected to be, but similar things have been said in previous decades about similar players.
Consider Wright. He was a first round choice of the Chiefs in ’71. He had the pedigree and the hype and he ended up with 1,070 receiving yards in 4 seasons to show for it, his best year bringing in 528 yards and 3 touchdowns during his rookie season. The best seasons from both Avery and Conley were 500-600 yards and that was much higher than any other season.
Here’s hoping Conley doesn’t become a footnote a la Elmo Wright, but history says there’s a lot of these guys and they’re easily forgotten.
The Runner-up: Dave Krieg
If the selection of Todd Blackledge in ’83 is viewed as the Chiefs’ attempt to date seriously and put themselves out there, then the resulting run of veteran quarterbacks that followed has to be the result of a broken heart.
For a long, long time, the Chiefs refused to let themselves be burned by the draft or even a young, unproven talent at the game’s most important position. Starting in 1988, the Chiefs would turn to Steve DeBerg (see below) then Dave Krieg then Joe Montana then Steve Bono then Rich Gannon then Elvis Grbac then Trent Green.
It was a run of nearly 20 years before the Chiefs would allow another young quarterback to even have a real chance at starting a handful of games. (And that was a poor move known as the Brodie Croyle era).
Krieg was one of a long line of quite nice veterans who came in and did a solid job for the Chiefs under center. He went 13-8 as a starter over the course of a season and a half with 22 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He inherited the torch from DeBerg and passed it to Montana without letting it blow out. Might not sound like much, but some franchises can’t even get that right.
The Winner: Steve DeBerg
If it wasn’t for the shadow of Joe Montana coming in just two seasons later, we might remember Steve DeBerg much more fondly than we do as the same sort of player: a veteran import who righted the ship at quarterback and provided a level of play the Chiefs hadn’t seen for well over a decade.
During his Chiefs career, which ran from 1988 to 1991, DeBerg won 31 games and lost only 20, and it’s important to note that he was 33-37 years old during that time. In fact, at the age of 36, DeBerg put together a stellar season for K.C. in which he threw 23 touchdowns and threw only 4 interceptions. He was Alex Smith before we had Alex Smith. He even added an opening round playoff win over the Oakland Raiders in ’91 (before losing to the Bills dynasty in the divisional round).
DeBerg only won 53 of his 140 career starts in the NFL, but 31 of those came with Kansas City. He was the right man at the right time in the right system under Marty Schottenheimer.
Next: The Best to Wear It: No. 16
Congratulations to Steve DeBerg for being the greatest Chiefs player to ever wear the No. 17 on his uniform!