The worst 1st round picks in KC Chiefs history

The Kansas City Chiefs have swung and missed on some 1st round picks in a major way throughout their 60 years – who were the greatest disasters?

Voluminous texts have been written dissecting and reanalyzing NFL draft picks since the dawn of the NFL’s annual selection meeting took off as a spectator sport in 1980 with the first televised live NFL Draft.

In that time, every NFL team has garnered praise, been the subject of mass criticism, hit huge home runs and struck out in epic fashion with selections they’ve made throughout the various rounds of the draft. From some of the biggest disappointments like Ki-Jana Carter in 1995 to the biggest steals like Tom Brady in 2000, every draft pick has a story, and hindsight and revisionism are inevitable.

The Kansas City Chiefs are no exception to this rule. We have recently reviewed some of the franchise’s best first round selections, but the Chiefs have not been successful every time they’ve made one of the first few selections in the draft. In fact, they have made some of the biggest errors in judgment and evaluation in NFL history.

But who among the team’s 52 first round selections stand out as the most epically poor choices in the draft’s history?

Honorable mention selections can be given to the selections of defensive end Gene Trosch in 1967, offensive lineman Rod Walters in 1976, offensive lineman Brian Jozwiak in 1986, and linebacker Percy Snow in 1990. None of these players made it more than four seasons in Kansas City or the NFL, and none of these players started in more than seven career games (according to Pro Football Reference).