In this special offseason series, we analyze the best players in Kansas City Chiefs history to wear every single uniform number. Here’s No. 25.
Here’s to the under-appreciated players.
In this chapter of our search for the best Kansas City Chiefs player to ever a specific uniform number—this round being No. 25—the list of eligible players include several names who deserved a bit more acclaim when they played. At least we can notice them after the fact.
We know there are only so many awards to go around, and it doesn’t help that Kansas City hasn’t exactly been one of the NFL’s winningest franchises of all time. It’s also a smaller market which can make it more difficult to promote a player (just see how popular Travis Kelce is compared to what he would be in New York or Los Angeles). So we’ll do our best here, to raise a glass to those who could use a toast in their honor.
Let’s get the party started by acknowledging these Chiefs.
The Others
Two guys specifically are worth mentioning here among “the others” because they’ve enjoyed long NFL careers without ever getting a single Pro Bowl nod between them. While the Chiefs were only one chapter of several for each player in the pros, the reality is that they were both good or even great, at times, in the secondary for their respective teams and it was surprising to see that neither really earned any major accolades.
Mark Collins spent the majority of his career in the Big Apple with the New York Giants after they selected him in the second round in ’86. However, after 8 years, he landed in K.C. for another 3 years and was a fixture at free safety where he even had 6 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and 91 tackles in his final year with the team in ’96 at the age of 32. In total he started 147 games in the NFL with 27 total interceptions and ended his career in ’98 with little fanfare despite being one of the most reliable defensive backs during his career.
Reggie Tongue didn’t have as much of an impact as Collins, but even after he left Kansas City in 2000 after four seasons, he went on to enjoy his best years with the Seattle Seahawks and then the New York Jets. Overall he played 10 years, started 116 overall games with 15 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles.
The Runner-up: Greg Wesley
Speaking of under-appreciated, we need to spend enough time with Greg Wesley to remind you that he’s better than you likely remember him. Wesley was the Chiefs third round pick in 2000 as a small-school prospect from Arkansas-Pine Bluff and played 8 NFL seasons, all with K.C.
Wesley was a reliable starter in the secondary for his entire career, making the NFL’s all-rookie team during his debut and finishing in the Top 10 in interceptions on three separate seasons. Yet he never once made the Pro Bowl, even as an alternate. Wesley finished his career with 580 tackles, 29 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 52 passes defended.
Wesley was a rock solid starter for nearly a decade yet he’s never mentioned among the franchise’s greats because honestly this team has had a lot of great defensive backs, from Emmitt Thomas to Eric Berry. But let’s be clear that Wesley was an underrated player for a long time and should be remembered as a solid contributor.
The Winner: Jamaal Charles
You will say, “I saw him play,” and when you do, it will be a point of bragging to a new generation of Chiefs fans.
The reality is that the NFL, past or present, has rarely seen an athlete like Jamaal Charles. In a league where to even make the cut for an active roster, you must be one of the best all-around packages of size, speed, strength and agility, Charles was still a man apart.
In the future, it will be important to say that you saw him when because it will be hard for people to truly understand unless you did see him up close. The vision. The elusiveness, The shiftiness. The ability to make not just the first defender miss but the second, third and fourth as well. Give him any open space and he’s off to the races.
Charles is the all-time franchise leading rusher. He ended his Chiefs career with 64 touchdowns, 44 of them coming on the ground. He’s also a four-time Pro Bowler who will one day be enshrined by the team in their Hall and who deserves at least some dialogue about the bigger Hall in Canton, Ohio.
Next: The Best to Wear It: No. 24
Congratulations to Jamaal Charles for being the greatest Chiefs player to ever wear the No. 25 on his uniform!