5 draft picks the Kansas City Chiefs gave up on too soon

Marcus Peters

This one is bound to bring some groans, but we're okay with that. For our purposes, cornerback Marcus Peters was given up on too soon by the Chiefs.

Yes, the Chiefs have been fine without him at the position, and fortunately, the team has turned into a cornerback factory with the ability to stay buoyant in the secondary despite tremendous losses in talent year over year—from Tyrann Mathieu to Charvarius Ward to L'Jarius Sneed.

Still that doesn't excuse the front office from failing to find a way forward with Peters on the field. After making him their first round pick in 2015, Peters went on to win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and made his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams with a freshman campaign that led the league in 26 passes defended and 8 interceptions.

From there, Peters went on to intercept another 6 passes in 2016 and made first-team All-Pro as well as another Pro Bowl. In his third and final season in K.C., he forced 3 fumbles, intercepted 5 more passes, and led the NFL in interception yards for the second time.

Despite putting up a ridiculous 24 takeaways in three seasons, the Chiefs decided the mercurial nature was too much to handle and they dealt him away that offseason to the L.A. Rams along with a sixth-round pick for a fourth-round selection and a future second-round pick. That's a pittance for a player who is known for being such a ballhawk who is also on a rookie deal.

Since leaving K.C., he's generated another 20 turnovers in a career that's been about as unstable as most fans would have guessed with short stints with the Rams and Raiders with a longer stay in Baltimore with the Ravens in between. It's too bad both sides couldn't figure out how to stay together, because a healthy marriage could've led to franchise records.