Top 10 Kansas City Chiefs achievements of all time
2. Priest Holmes – The 27 Touchdown Season
"“If you aren’t breaking tackles, you aren’t doing anything.” – Priest Holmes"
The tale of Priest Holmes is a true underdog story. An overlooked prospect coming out of the University of Texas, largely because the limelight in Austin was dominated by future Heisman Trophy Winner Ricky Williams, Holmes went undrafted in the 1997 NFL Draft. Fortunately for him, this setback was not a career ender.
Holmes signed with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal worth $133,000. It took him a year to get acclimated to the pace and physicality of the NFL, but in the end the Ravens got value far exceeding his price tag. In his second season with the team he established himself as a starting caliber back by eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark with a respectable 4.3 yards per carry and seven touchdowns.
His time was ultimately cut short in Baltimore, due in part to injury and in part to the Ravens investment in the running back position, leading him to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2001 offseason. Both franchise and running back were in need of a fresh start, and the combination of both would give them just that.
Holmes set gridirons at home and away ablaze over the next two seasons, rushing for a league leading 1,555 yards in 2001 and 1,615 yards in 2002. He added 34 touchdowns over that span including a league leading 24 in 2002. Had he not missed two games due to injury, it’s likely he would have broken the league’s single season touchdown record.
Fortunately, he stepped it up a notch in 2003 which clocks in as the second-greatest individual achievement in franchise history. At 5’9″ and 213 pounds, an undrafted afterthought just six seasons prior, Priest Holmes would break Marshall Faulk‘s 2000 record of 25 touchdowns with 27 of his own. He joined Emmitt Smith as the only two running backs in NFL history with back-to-back seasons of 20 or more touchdowns.
All in all, over a three season span, Holmes would gain 6,566 total yards and score 61 total touchdowns. It still remains one of the greatest stretches for a running back in NFL history and his capstone season of 2003 lands him with the second-greatest individual achievement in franchise history.