Which Kansas City Chiefs rookies had you fooled?

Jon Baldwin, 1st Round, Pittsburgh (2011)

I am sure I am not alone here. In what is known as probably the worst 1st round draft pick for the Chiefs over the last decade, Baldwin stayed in Kansas City for two seasons before being shipped to San Francisco for fellow wideout A.J. Jenkins. When your legacy is about fighting Thomas Jones in the locker room, that isn’t solid for a 1st round draft pick.

At 6’4 and and 228 pounds, Baldwin’s size and speed combo was tantalizing. A highly recruited player, he was constantly praised in college and near the top of most wide receiver boards. Known as a training camp star, he could never put it together during the games. Considering he was out of the NFL a year later, poor quarterback play could not have been the only answer. The size and speed had me hoping of a Calvin Johnson type which was unrealistic, but a kid can dream. He might be the pinnacle of a guy Chiefs fans all thought would be a stud but just didn’t pan out.

Drafting strictly off of being a physical specimen can backfire as we saw here. You can’t teach size, but that alone isn’t enough in the NFL. I am sure most people like me envisioned him as the number 2 next to Dwayne Bowe in an exciting wide receiver group. Unfortunately, just like a lot of players from this era, it didn’t pan out.