As we continue to chronicle the best players and most memorable stories from each number in Kansas City Chiefs history, No. 34 brings us to the home of two incredible defensive backs—one of which received his due only to fly too close to the sun and another who was always hidden in the shadows. There's a case to be made for either as the best to ever wear the number, depending on your preferred angle, but the conversation is worth having all the same.
The complete history of Chiefs players to wear No. 34
The Best: Dale Carter
The impact was immediate.
Dale Carter's arrival as the No. 20 pick in the 1992 NFL Draft was supposed to elevate the ceiling of the team's aging secondary, but few could have predicted just how impactful he would be from the moment he took the field. Carter only started 9 games (while playing in all 16) and came away with a team-leading 7 interceptions (including a 36-yard pick-six) while adding two more return touchdowns on special teams. The end result was a win for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Carter's trajectory was exactly what the Chiefs hoped to see. He blossomed into a perennial Pro Bowler (four consecutive) by year three. He was an All-Pro in year four. He was squarely in the conversation among the NFL's best cover corners through the mid-nineties, but after seven seasons, the Chiefs let him walk in free agency. The Broncos jumped on the chance to poach a rival's top talent—and then they paid the price for it.
One year after signing one of the most lucrative deals ever given to a defensive back, Carter was suspended for a full season in 2000 for substance abuse violations (his fourth). He was never the same after that, with only half-seasons played for the Vikings (2021) and Saints (2022-23) before a blood clot in his lungs robbed him of the 2004 season as well. The Ravens lured him back for a full season in 2005, but at that point, he was a rotational piece at career's end.
The Chiefs maxed out his value and then cut ties at the ideal moment, leaving him the best player to ever wear No. 34
The Overlooked Secondary Star: Lloyd Burruss
It makes sense that Lloyd Burruss goes overlooked in Chiefs history. When a man's fellow starters in the secondary are all Pro Bowlers—including corners like Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross and safety Deron Cherry—it's hard to stand out among them.
That said, Burruss is one of the few players in Chiefs history to ever win the team's Mack Lee Hill Award (ROY, awarded to Burruss in 1981), the team's MVP (1985), and to then become a member of the Ring of Honor (1999). Originally a third-round pick in the '81 draft, Burruss went on to play 145 games (starting 103) in 11 seasons for the franchise while earning a Pro Bowl nod in 1986. Ended his career with 628 tackles, 22 interceptions, 9 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, and 2.5 sacks.
The rare intersection of productive longevity normally yields more appreciation over time, but the Chiefs just happened to be loaded in the defensive backfield during Burruss's tenure with the franchise.
The Electric Returner: Knile Davis
The legacy of Knile Davis is less about his full body of work and more about two absolutely electric plays in team history. In Week 13 of his rookie season (2013), Davis decided to return a kickoff deep in his own end zone against the Denver Broncos and took it back 108 yards. It became the longest play in Chiefs history. Two seasons later, he would do so again in the postseason by running back a 106-yard return for a touchdown against the Houston Texans, giving him the second-longest kickoff return in postseason history. For the record, there was also a preseason 109-yard return against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Davis would only cobble together 1,067 yards from scrimmage in four total seasons in Kansas City, but his 14 total touchdowns in that time represent his big-play ability, especially on special teams, that provided thrilling highlights for fans of his era.Â
Et Cetera
- Mike Cloud, RB: Second-round pick (2009) who never carved out a meaningful role behind Priest Holmes.
- Samaje Perine, RB - One-and-done pass-catching back in 2024 who reunited with Cincinnati after a failed Super Bowl three-peat attempt.
- Travis Daniels, CB - Journeyman defensive back who logged four seasons of depth and special-teams work.
- Darwin Thompson, RB: Former sixth-round pick (2019) who never made good on preseason promise.
- Tyron Brackenridge, DB: Undrafted signing in 2007 who stuck around until before the 2008 season and became a fearsome hitter in the CFL.
- Tanner McAlister, CB: Undrafted FA signing hoping to catch on with the Chiefs in '26.
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