Regrading the K.C. Chiefs 2014 NFL Draft class
Fifth Round – Pick 163 – Aaron Murray, QB, Georgia
Unfortunately for the Chiefs, the best news for the 2014 NFL Draft is essentially all in the sixth round. In the fifth, Kansas City used the 163rd overall pick on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray. The hope was that between having Alex Smith as a mentor and Andy Reid as a coach, Murray could translate some of his college success and raw talent into an NFL caliber quarterback. It never happened.
2014 was the only year that Murray spent with Kansas City; but it was also the only season he spent on an NFL roster at all. He spent 2015 on the practice squad, was cut before the 2016 season, and spent the next nine months bouncing from one practice squad to another before being cut by the Los Angeles Rams in May 2017, his last NFL signing. Teams would certainly like to get more than one season and zero snaps out of their fifth round picks.
Fourth Round – Pick 124 – De’Anthony Thomas, RB/WR, Oregon
De’Anthony Thomas was a superstar for the Oregon Ducks, a player who lit up the NCAA for two plus seasons with blazing speed, incredible agility and elite quickness. When Kansas City took the playmaker with the 124th pick in the fourth round, Chiefs fans were excited to see how Thomas could excel in Andy Reid’s offense, which relied heavily on screens and motions and short passes to make gains at the time.
DAT was fine in five-and-a-half seasons with Kansas City, but he failed to ever really live up to the potential flashed in college. Maybe it was a size issue. Maybe it was a game speed issue. Maybe he could never get the hang of a rather complex playbook.
Nonetheless, he did spend five plus seasons with the Chiefs, but scored just seven total touchdowns in that time. He was a decent punt returner and a serviceable kickoff returner in that time, but it came as no great loss (and no real surprise) when Kansas City cut the former Duck in October 2019. He signed with Baltimore where he saw limited game action for the rest of the ’19 season and he then opted out in 2020. Thomas was cut by the Ravens this past January.
It is difficult to call the selection of Thomas a failure, but it certainly was not a home run, either.
Third Round – Pick 87, Phillip Gaines, CB, Rice
The Chiefs third round selection is another one that is tough to grade. The team used the 87th overall pick in the third round on Rice cornerback Phillip Gaines. Like DAT, Gaines spent several seasons with Kansas City, and even started 16 games over four years for the club. And while that is fine, it also isn’t great—not for a top 100 pick.
And what’s even worse is that Gaines was never really very good, either. His ability to earn so much playing time was more of a reflection on how poor Kansas City’s defensive units were as opposed to how good he was. Point and case? He recorded one interception in 16 career starts for Kansas City and 41 total game appearances. That’s… not a good ratio for a “starting” NFL corner.
Nonetheless, the Chiefs let Gaines walk after the 2017 season and he has managed to stay in the NFL since, spending 2018 with Buffalo and then with Cleveland, and 2019-2020 with the Houston Texans. Gaines is currently a free agent.