Top 10 all-time draft picks by Kansas City Chiefs
12. Jamaal Charles
The Chiefs selected running back Jamaal Charles out of Texas in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Believe it or not, he was the ninth running back selected in that year’s draft. Now, there were a handful of quality backs but it’s hard to say any of them were more dynamic than Charles. What’s even more shocking, relative to today, is that five running backs went in the first round.
Charles was a smaller back who had a prolific career in Austin running the football. In his final season with the Longhorns, Charles rushed for 1,619 yards and 18 touchdowns. For his college career, he averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Since 1996, Charles is 20th in rushing yards in the Big 12 and 24th in total touchdowns.
After being drafted by the Chiefs, Charles didn’t take long to become a household name. In only his third season he had 1,935 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns. He was voted to his first Pro Bowl and was a First Team All Pro selection.
Unfortunate injuries derailed Charles in three of his nine seasons with the team, but he still finished with an impressive resume. In total, he had 9,717 yards from scrimmage 63 total touchdowns. He was also voted to the NFL’s Top 100 players list five out of six years from 2011 to 2016, making it as high as eighth overall after the 2014 season.
Charles checks in at number 12 on the list of top draft picks, according to the variables. He was an absolutely transcendent runner and made other great athletes look mediocre on a regular basis.
His main hurdle, which plagued him his whole career, was multiple devastating injuries. He was still incredible, and it’s likely if he had not had the injury bug he would be extremely high on this list. He ended his time with the Chiefs as the franchise’s all time leading rusher and an all time fan favorite in the hearts of Chiefs’ fans.
ANNUAL IMPACT SCORE: 18
11. Justin Houston
The Chiefs got a steal in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft when they selected DE/OLB Justin Houston out of Georgia. Houston received a grade of 8.18 from the 2011 NFL Combine, which implied he had a chance to be a perennial All Pro in the NFL. Simply put, he was a stud in college.
The only reason that Houston ended up falling to the Chiefs was because of off the field issues. Surprisingly, given how clean Houston has stayed during his time in the league, he failed a drug test during the combine. Given that players know they will be tested beforehand, this likely took him off several teams’ draft boards. Hence, the Chiefs got lucky and Houston fell to them.
Houston was an absolute force during his time in with the Chiefs. In his eight years with the team he was invited to four Pro Bowls and given one First Team All Pro nod. Had it not been for injuries, he would likely have a couple more Pro Bowls and All Pro selections. He was also voted to the NFL Top 100 players five straight years from 2013 to 2017, making it has high as 26th overall after the 2016 season.
What Chiefs’ fans will likely remember most from Houston’s time with the team is his absolutely dominant 2014 campaign. During that year, Houston broke the Chiefs’ franchise sack record previously held by Derrick Thomas with 22 sacks, and came within a half sack of breaking Michael Strahan’s NFL record of 22.5 sacks. It was an extraordinary statistical year and a fun one for fans to watch. He currently checks in at No. 4 all time in sacks in franchise history.
Houston checks in at number 11 on this list of top draft picks. He made a huge impact in virtually every single game he played for the Chiefs from his second year on. Unfortunately for Houston and Chiefs’ fans, and similar to Charles, his career with the team was plagued with injury. During his eight years with the team he only played a full season three times. Even still, he’ll be remembered fondly by Chiefs fans and is in the conversation for top 10 draft picks of all time.
ANNUAL IMPACT SCORE: 22