The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2012 NFL season with league-worst 2-14 record. This resulted in the dismissal of head coach Romeo Crennel, the hiring of Andy Reid, and afforded the team the number one overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft for just the second time in team history.
Prior to making that selection, though, the team used its second round selection to make a franchise-altering trade as they acquired quarterback Alex Smith from the San Francisco 49ers.
With their new starting quarterback in place, the Chiefs and Reid went about building a new team from the ground up in using their eight remaining draft picks to select what they hoped would be franchise-defining players.
In retrospect, the Chiefs started the Andy Reid era by doing just that, using the draft to alter to future of the franchise. But just how good was the 2013 class? Let’s look back at every selection.
Seventh Round: Mike Catapano, defensive end
Kansas City used their final selection of the draft on Princeton defensive end Mike Catapano (207th overall). During his rookie campaign, it appeared as if the former Ivy League standout would be a part of the Chiefs for many years, after Catapano played in 15 games that first year. However, he was on injured reserve for the rest of the year and then release from the team heading into the 2015 season.
Sixth Round: Braden Wilson, fullback and Eric Kush, center
Kansas City had two selections in the sixth round of the draft. With the second of those selections (204th overall), the Chiefs took fullback Braden Wilson from Kansas State University. Wilson never played in a game for the team, nor in the NFL. It is fair (and easy) to say that the team missed on this pick altogether.
Earlier in the round, however, Reid and the Chiefs selected center Eric Kush from California College. Kush played in three games for Kansas City over two seasons, including a lone start in his rookie year. However, when Kush’s tenure ended with the team, he continued to play elsewhere in the NFL. In fact, other than missing the 2017 season with injury, Kush has been on an active roster every year since being drafted.
Kush is currently a free agent, but has certainly carved out a nice NFL career for himself considering his draft status.