The best Kansas City Chiefs to ever wear the uniform: No. 39

In this special offseason series, we analyze the best players in Kansas City Chiefs history to wear every single uniform number. Here’s No. 39.

One of the most exciting draft hauls in Kansas City Chiefs team history has to be the 2008 NFL Draft—Carl Peterson’s outgoing swan song, if you will. The Chiefs had an incredible 12 selections and brought them all home, introducing a draft class remembered for its quantity and quality.

In the end, not every player was a hit and the first overall pick, Glenn Dorsey, was certainly a disappointment. But even Dorsey played in the NFL for nearly a decade and the Chiefs also grabbed Branden Albert in that same first round, solidifying the left side of the line for the next several years.

As for the rest of the draft, it begins with a franchise-best running back in Jamaal Charles and also includes a pair of rookie cornerbacks who would turn heads immediately and lock themselves in as rookie starters from the outset. They were known as the Brandons and today we celebrate one of them as we seek to find the single best player to wear each jersey number for the Chiefs.

The Others

Several players have worn No. 39 in Chiefs history, and rookie cornerback Tremon Smith is the latest to sport the jersey. The sixth round pick is the only young addition at cornerback the Chiefs have made this year, outside of undrafted free agents, so it’s understandable why many Chiefs fans are excited about such a late round selection. We will wait and see.

Other memorable Chiefs to wear No. 39 include running back Bam Morris, who could have doubled as a professional wrestler with that name. Longtime corner Ray Crockett ended his 14 year career in Kansas City. Short lived players like RB Mark Bailey and DB Bruce Pickens also wore the number.

The Runner-up: Husain Abdullah

It’s a shame Husain Abdullah walked away when he did, although it’s certainly understandable.

Abdullah retired after the 2015 NFL season after suffering his fifth concussion. In an announcement for his retirement, he cited personal health as the primary reason to walk away. Before that, Abdullah had been a versatile force in the secondary who brought strong character to the locker room and steady play to the field.

Abdullah’s talent and work ethic did the work for him on the field as he climbed the Minnesota Vikings depth chart as an undrafted free agent. He played for Minnesota for four seasons but took off the full year of 2012 when he completed Hajj as a practicing Muslim. Upon his return from the pilgrimage, new Chiefs general manager John Dorsey gave him a call and he returned to be a impact player in the secondary for the Chiefs.

Abdullah played in 43 games for the Chiefs over three seasons, with 22 starts in that span. He had 131 total tackles, 17 passes defended and 2 interceptions in that time, both returned for touchdowns. Even more important, Abdullah had 2 more interceptions in the postseason, both during a loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Winner: Brandon Carr

Brandon Carr was the second Brandon taken in the aforementioned 2008 NFL Draft, three rounds after the Chiefs took cornerback Brandon Flowers. Carr was a longer shot to make the roster coming out of Grand Valley State. Fortunately, his talent lived up to the buzz and Carl Peterson turned out to be right in ushering in a new rookie tandem to start at cornerback.

Carr has started 160 games in 10 seasons in the NFL since he was taken and remains a starter for the Baltimore Ravens even today. That’s an impressive ironman streak to even stay healthy, let alone a contributing starter, for a full decade in the NFL. He played that role for the Chiefs during his first four years in the league, but the Dallas Cowboys ponied up the big bucks in the spring of 2012 that made it impossible for the Chiefs to keep him. It also helped that K.C. was changing their needs at the position.

Carr would spend five seasons in Dallas before landing with the Ravens in 2017. Surprisingly Carr has never made the Pro Bowl despite being a quality starter all these years. He ended his K.C. tenure with 63 passes defended and 8 interceptions in 64 starts.

Next: The Best to Wear It: No. 38

Congratulations to Brandon Carr for being the greatest Chiefs player to ever wear the No. 39 on his uniform!