Best late round draft picks in Kansas City Chiefs history
5. Tie
As our rankings are a imperfect science, it becomes more and more difficult to rank the further down ones list that it goes. Instead of calling someone the “fifth best”, we simply grouped other strong contenders into an honorable mention category. Amongst those players, the Chiefs have drafted five strong contributors (in chronological order):
Curtis McClinton
In the fourteenth round of the 1961 AFL Draft, the (then) Dallas Texans selected fullback, Curtis McClinton. He was also drafted in the 10th round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams, but chose Lamar Hunt’s ball club instead. McClinton played for the franchise for eight seasons, including being a part of both Super Bowl squads. In that time he made the Pro Bowl three times (1962, 1966 and 1967). He played fullback, tight end and halfback at different times for the team, and finished his career with over 5000 total yards and 32 touchdowns.
Bobby Hunt
A year later, in the eleventh round of the 1962 AFL Draft, the Texans selected a defensive back from Auburn by the name of Bobby Hunt, who went undrafted in the NFL Draft. Hunt burst on to the scene as a starting safety during his rookie campaign, earning All-Pro honors. He played six years with the team before finishing his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition to his All-Pro nod, Hunt earned a Pro Bowl birth and is a member of Pro Football Reference’s All 1960’s Team.
Mike Garrett
In the1966 AFL Draft, the Chiefs selected running back Mike Garrett from the University of Southern California in the 20th round. He was also selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Rams, but chose to play for Kansas City instead. Garrett immediately made his presence felt, earning Pro Bowl honors as a rookie while helping the Chiefs reach Super Bowl I. He earned an additional Pro Bowl birth the following year, and he was also named to the 1st Team All-Pro after amassing more than 1000 yards on the ground in 1967.
Tom Condon
Offensive lineman Tom Condon was selected by Kansas City in the tenth round of the 1974 NFL Draft. While he was never a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro, he did play 11 years for the team including 10 as the starting right guard. All told, he competed in 147 games for Kansas City, including 130 starts.
Dave Szott
In 1990, the Kansas City Chiefs selected offensive lineman Dave Szott from Penn State in the seventh round. Szott was a stalwart for the Chiefs for the entire decade of the 1990’s, starting 135 of 141 games he played in during the decade (of 160 total regular season games played). He was a 1st Team All-Pro selection in 1997, and is a backup guard on Arrowhead Addict’s Chiefs All-Time 55 Man Roster.