Chiefs third round draft history reveals abundance of hidden gems
Kansas City has had a knack for finding some of the greatest players in team history in the 3rd round of the NFL draft. We look at the top five here.
The Chiefs currently own picks in the first five rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft. In anticipation of making those selections, we’re covering the best picks in Kansas City history by round. We started with round five, and then did round four, and now we’re on to round three.
When we discussed fifth round picks, we noted how disastrous the round had been, by and large. Despite the futility of the fifth round, we discovered in the fourth round that things were even worse.
And the third round? Well in the third round, the fortunes have changed. I counted no less than 12 draft picks who could have been included in the top five and even more that would have easily made the top five in the 4th or 5th round lists.
In total, the franchise has made 65 3rd round picks in its 60 year history. Of those, 12 have made at least one Pro Bowl during their careers, and no fewer than 10 have or will one day be a member of the Chiefs Ring of Honor.
Despite those successes, not every selection has been a home run for the club. I thought many of the names stood out in different ways, and chose to make some lists for consideration with former third round picks.
Like every franchise, Kansas City has had its share of colossal disappointments. A short list of what one could classify in that category from the list of third round picks include the following: Tamarick Vanover, Rashaan Shehee, Snoop Minnis, Keyaron Fox, Donald Stephenson, Keivarae Russell. (Let’s see how many of these names elicit a grumble.)
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Of course there are other third round selections that elicit different (or maybe the same) types of feelings. The third round of the NFL draft also produced fan favorite, though terrible, backup quarterback in Brodie Croyle. On a completely different note, it is impossible to think that fans are not left wondering what could have been with regards to 2017 third round selection Kareem Hunt. One may also be tempted to place a couple of Super Bowl LIV Champions in a tier labeled something like “to be determined”—like a pair of third round defensive tackles in Derrick Nnadi and Khalen Saunders.
In addition to the top five that we’ve selected, numerous other former (and one current) Chiefs also merit consideration as the best third round picks in franchise history. The honorable mention list includes: defensive end, Don Brumm; defensive back Lloyd Burruss; defensive back Gary Barbaro; linebacker Gary Spani; Punter Dustin Colquitt; and pass rushing specialist, Justin Houston. None made this writers top five list, but there is a strong argument for the inclusion of any one of them.
So if none of them made the top five, who did?