The Kansas City Chiefs have a long and storied history in the NFL, but when creating a roster of the all-time 55, who are the best of the best?
Of the more than 1,100 players who have ever donned uniforms as part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization, 18 are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (though some for their careers as part of other teams), 49 have been named 1st Team All-Pros (as Chiefs), and more than 100 have been named to Pro Bowl rosters (also as Chiefs).
However, when attempting to build an All-Time roster featuring the best players at each position, it is important to consider how pieces fit together, what roles different individuals can fill, and how they all come together to create to create the most competitive unit. This means having players who are capable of contributing on special teams, rotating in and out of the lineup, et cetera.
For this process, we attempted to utilize players based on their contributions while members of the Chiefs’ organization. (For instance, Joe Montana has the best career over any Chiefs quarterback ever, but is not on the list based on his contributions in Kansas City). We also attempted to consider how players may fit on the roster as a whole, based on schemes and lineups. This was a much easier process on offense than defense because of the interchangeability of formations. On defense, we simply created lineups for different configurations based on what we thought might happen.
Finally, we decided to opt in to the new 55-man roster afforded by the league starting in 2020, which simply let us keep two extra players that we did not want to cut.
Coaching Staff
The coaching staff was the one place on the roster where we considered coaches for positions they never held in Kansas City, based on their careers.
Head Coach: Hank Stram
This was not a particularly difficult choice, primarily because of our decision to use head coaches in other positions, too. Also, statistically, Hank Stram was the best coach in Chiefs history. Under his coaching the Chiefs won three AFL Championships and appeared in two Super Bowls, the most of any coach in franchise history. Stram compiled a record of 124-76-10 with Kansas City, while earning eight playoff wins—both franchise records.
Offensive Coordinator: Andy Reid
Andy Reid is one of the more brilliant offensive minds in the history of the NFL, so it stands to reason that he is also the most qualified to be the All-55’s offensive coordinator. He’ll have a lot of fun putting together packages to take advantage of the many weapons at his disposal.
Honorable Mention: Al Saunders
Quarterbacks Coach: Dick Vermeil
This was a difficult decision because, arguably, Mike McCarthy was a better quarterbacks coach in his career than Dick Vermeil was in his. But Vermeil has a better overall coaching resume, so he gets the nod.
Honorable Mention: Mike McCarthy
Running Backs Coach: Eric Bieniemy
Eric Bieniemy has a great understanding of motivation, team awareness and the nuts and bolts of offensive football. He also has experience as an NFL running back which makes him an excellent player’s coach, making him a solid choice for the team.
Honorable Mention: James Saxon
Wide Receivers Coach: Al Saunders
Before Reid, Al Saunders had been the engineer of the most prolific offense in franchise history under Vermeil in the early 2000s. He was also with the franchise for a decade under Marty Schottenheimer in the 1990s, running a very different kind of offense. The versatility he’s displayed makes him well suited to work with the receivers on the All-55 team.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Joiner
Offensive Line Coach: Mike Solari
Mike Solari was the Chiefs offensive line coach from 1997-2005, and the offensive coordinator for two seasons after. During his stretch as a position coach, the Chiefs assembled one of the greatest offensive lines in the history of the NFL.
Honorable Mention: Irv Eatman
Defensive Coordinator: Bill Cowher
Bill Cowher is one of the most decorated coaches in franchise history, and the only other one (besides Reid and Stram) to win a Super Bowl as a head coach. He is a defensive genius, and will be brilliant in scheming his front sixes and sevens with a bevy of Hall of Fame talent on the All-55.
Honorable Mention: Tom Bettis
Defensive Line Coach: Tom Pratt
Naming Tom Pratt the defensive line coach of the Chiefs All-55 team was an easy decision. He held that position with Kansas City from 1963-1977, and from 1989-1994. Through it, the Chiefs had two of the more dominant defensive fronts in football and Pratt, as the engineer, gets the credit for that.
Honorable Mention: Romeo Crennel
Linebackers Coach: Marty Schottenheimer
Before becoming a defensive coordinator and eventually a head coach in the NFL, Marty Schottenheimer was a NFL linebacker turned linebackers coach. The long time defensive coordinator is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history and is strong-willed enough to keep the mass talent in this linebackers room in check.
Honorable Mention: Gary Gibbs
Secondary Coach: Tony Dungy
This position was the most difficult of all choices on the coaching staff. The Chiefs had three great options here. Emmitt Thomas gets on the team later, so we did not use him; and Tony Dungy was simply a better football coach than Herm Edwards. Dungy’s Super Bowl experience make him a strong choice for the Chiefs’ secondary.
Honorable Mention: Emmitt Thomas, Herm Edwards
Special Teams Coordinator: Marv Levy
Marv Levy was one of the most successful head coaches of the 1980s and 1990s. Prior to his head coaching career, he served as a special teams coach in the NFL. Due to his experience/success as an NFL head coach, he gets the nod here.
Honorable Mention: Dave Toub
Specialists
Kicker (1): Nick Lowery
This was a difficult choice. When we began the research and list formation for the All-55, it was assumed that Jan Stenerud would be the easy choice. He is, after all, a Pro Football Hall of Famer. But, Nick Lowery should be a Hall of Famer and the fact that he is not will not exclude him from this team.
Lowery kicked for Kansas City for 14 seasons. He scored a franchise-record 1,466 points (235 ahead of Stenerud), and made 80% of his field goal attempts (to Stenerud’s 63%). Stenerud is in the Hall of Fame because he won a Super Bowl. (Pro Football Reference lists Lowery’s HOF meter ahead of Stenerud’s).
Honorable Mention: Jan Stenerud
Punter (1): Dustin Colquitt
It is essentially a coin flip when deciding between two punters who played with Kansas City for 15 years apiece. Jerrel Wilson had one more Pro Bowl appearance (3) and played in more Super Bowls (2) than Dustin Colquitt, but Colquitt had a better average, and was so good at situational punting and field position that it was difficult to forget about how important he was to so many Chiefs teams. This is perhaps recency bias, but we’re going with Colquitt here.
Honorable Mention: Jerrel Wilson
Long Snapper: Jack Rudnay
In the good old days, centers could also be long snappers and we did not need to reserve a roster position for just a player to snap punts/kicks. So we let Rudnay (who is the backup on this squad) do this work.
Holder: Len Dawson
He was a holder nearly all of his career, so this one works out well for Kansas City.
Kick Returners: Dante Hall, Tyreek Hill
Punt Returners: Tyreek Hill, Dante Hall
Two of the most dangerous returners in NFL history have played for Kansas City. Here, we’ve decided to have them each focus on one speciality. We can afford the luxury because Tyreek Hill will contribute a great deal on offense, too. Dante Hall is less likely to do so, but he’s also a better kickoff returner than Hill. Coach Levy may decide otherwise, but we’re sticking with this for now.
Offense
Quarterbacks (2): *Patrick Mahomes, Len Dawson
There is no doubt that Patrick Mahomes is the most talented quarterback in Chiefs history. That made this an easy decision. Len Dawson, of course, is the most successful (so far), but we suspect that Reid will push for Mahomes here. With the increase to a 55-man roster, we thought about keeping a third quarterback; ultimately, decided to keep extras elsewhere.
Honorable Mention: Alex Smith
Running Backs (4): *Jamaal Charles, Priest Holmes, Abner Haynes, Joe Delaney
Kansas City’s All-55 roster has an embarrassment of riches at running back. It was difficult to decide how to make the decision on which rushers to keep. We went with multiple eras and styles of backs, which we’re sure Andy Reid will appreciate.
Honorable Mention: Larry Johnson
Full Back (1): Christian Okoye
Christian Okoye was technically a running back but he lined up at fullback often for Kansas City. That gave us justification to put him here, and he adds an incredible weapon for the offense.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Sherman
Wide Receivers (6): *Otis Taylor, *Dwayne Bowe,*Tyreek Hill (slot), Carlos Carson, Chris Burford, Dante Hall
The Chiefs do not have the most decorated wide receiver room in NFL history, but they have plenty of talent here to make some noise. This is especially true when one considers the tight end talent on the team. There is a room for a lot of debate on this part of the roster due in part to its relative parity. As with the running back position, we tried to diversify talent as much as possible.
Honorable Mention: Stephone Paige
Tight Ends (3): *Tony Gonzalez, Travis Kelce, Fred Arbanas
The Chiefs have only three tight ends in history who have ever made the Pro Bowl or All-Pro team: Tony Gonzalez, Travis Kelce and Fred Arbanas. As such, this was not a difficult roster decision and no one else was considered. There are some really interesting two and three tight end sets coming at the All-NFL league this season, with two Pro Football Hall of Famers (yes, Kelce) and a three-time 1st Team All-Pro (Arbanas) on the roster.
Honorable Mention: None
Tackles (4): *Jim Tyrer, *Willie Roaf, Mitchell Schwartz, John Alt
The Chiefs get to field a Hall of Famer (Willie Roaf), and one of the biggest HOF snubs in NFL history (Jim Tyrer) as their starting tackles. To back them up they get Mitchell Schwartz, a future Hall of Famer, and John Alt, one of the more consistent linemen in Chiefs history. Eric Fisher almost makes the team over Alt, but that’s a hot take for another day.
Honorable Mention: Eric Fisher
Guards (4): *Will Shields, *Ed Budde, Dave Szott, Brian Waters
Another Hall of Fame lineman to protect Mahomes makes the roster in Will Shields, one of the greatest linemen in NFL history. Ed Budde takes the other guard spot; he, too, is a Hall of Fame snub. Dave Szott and Brian Waters were also great players for the Chiefs.
Honorable Mention: Billy Krisher
Centers (2): *E.J. Holub, Jack Rudnay
E.J. Holub would have been a Hall of Famer if it weren’t for the 11 knee surgeries he was forced to undergo as a player. In addition to being a great (and versatile) lineman, he was also a linebacker, starting in both Super Bowl I and IV on both offense and defense for Kansas City (the only player to ever do so). Rudnay, too, was a great center for the Chiefs, playing here for 13 seasons.
Honorable Mention: Tim Grunhard
(*) Denotes starting 11
Defense
Tackles (5): Buck Buchanan, Jerry Mays, Chris Jones, Bill Maas, Curley Culp
It is almost unfair (almost) how talented the Chiefs front seven is, regardless of the permutation used on the All-55 team. We decided to keep 10 down linemen, and that makes this a really dangerous group. The five tackles feature two Pro Football Hall of Famers in Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp, a should-be Hall of Famer in Jerry Mays, and the second best defensive tackle in the NFL today in Chris Jones. Bill Maas rounds out the unit, and the two-time Pro Bowler provides nice versatility for the group, though we were close to choosing Dan Saleaumua for this spot.
Honorable Mention: Dan Saleaumua
Ends (5): Neil Smith, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, Art Still, Jared Allen
We may be stretching it a bit here to put Justin Houston and Tamba Hali as defensive ends, however, both are ends in a 4-3 defense and provide significant roster versatility for Coach Cowher. Neil Smith and Art Still are pretty easy choices for the team, and while Jared Allen really excelled for the Minnesota Vikings, he was no slouch for the Chiefs either.
Honorable Mention: Mel Branch
Linebackers (6): Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, Derrick Thomas, Jim Lynch, Derrick Johnson, Sherrill Headrick
Selecting the linebackers for the All-55 Kansas City roster was not that difficult. We gave some thought to Dino Hackett over Sherrill Headrick, but this made the most sense to us overall. What would be difficult, however, is deciding when and where to play this loaded roster group. It is bizarre to think that Derrick Johnson is almost certainly a special teams ace on this roster.
Honorable Mention: Dino Hackett
Safeties (6): Johnny Robinson, Kevin Ross, Deron Cherry, Eric Berry, Tyrann Mathieu, Gary Barbaro
The linebacking corps is really good, the best position group on the roster, but the safeties are really talented, too. Like the preceding group, it was not all that difficult to select the players on this list (although Mathieu may be a debatable selection who gets the nod on Super Bowl hangover bias), but it would be tremendously difficult to decide how to play them. This group is stronger than the cornerback group, so it would not be surprising if Coach Dungy plays Mathieu at corner regularly.
Honorable Mention: Bobby Hunt
Cornerbacks (5): Emmitt Thomas, Dale Carter, Jim Marsalis, Albert Lewis, Dave Grayson
This was a relatively difficult decision, if only because the Chiefs have few standouts at cornerback in their history. We decided on this group largely due to versatility and as a highlight of most eras of Chiefs football. Its notable that no cornerback from the 2000s makes the list; with Marcus Peters only lasting three years in Kansas City, we gave the nod to longer tenured Chiefs with similar resumes.
Honorable Mention: Gary Green
3-4 Alignment: Buchanan, Smith, Still, Bell, Lanier, D. Thomas, Johnson, Berry, Cherry, E. Thomas, Lewis
4-3 Alignment: Buchanan, Culp, Houston, Smith, Bell, D. Thomas, Lanier, Cherry, Berry, Lewis, E. Thomas
Nickel (4-2-5): Buchanan, Culp, Houston, Smith, Bell, Lanier, Cherry, Berry, Lewis, E. Thomas, Robinson
Dime (3-2-6): Buchanan, Maas, Smith, Bell, Lanier, Cherry, Berry, Lewis, E. Thomas, Robinson, Marsalis
Conclusions
The Chiefs have a really good All Time 55-man roster. When evaluating it as a whole, we can reach a few general conclusions. First, they are excellent on the offensive line and the defensive front seven, and they may have the most talented quarterback of all time. Next, the team is good at running back and safety. While these positions are not quite as strong as the others, they are still very good. The team is weakest at wide receiver and cornerback, but they have ample talent to be competitive.
If we compared the Chiefs All-55 roster to that of other franchises, this iteration would likely rank near the bottom of the top 10. There are definitely teams with more talented histories: the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers all come to mind almost immediately. However, the Chiefs would hold their own and certainly be playoff bound in more years than not in an All-Time NFL League.
One of the most interesting elements of this thought-experiment was figuring out how to rectify the generational gaps which produced different eras of football. Travis Kelce is a wide receiver on the 1960’s squad. What position does Derrick Thomas play in the NFL in 1963? 2020? What on earth would Hank Stram do with Tyreek Hill?
These were really interesting to think about and we approached the team-building process assuming the NFL in 2020 (minus coronavirus). Certainly everyone will have their own opinion. Post them in the comments!