The 10 best quarterbacks in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Kingdom has a historically awkward relationship with quarterbacks.

In this present era, the football gods have bestowed upon this franchise the eternal gift of watching Patrick Mahomes on a weekly basis, a still-young 28-year-old who can already lay claim to being the best to ever play the position. The Chiefs can also lay claim to arguably the single worst starting quarterback ever in Tyler Palko.

For years, the Chiefs refused to make a significant draft investment at the position since the ghost of Todd Blackledge haunted Arrowhead. That failure started a ridiculous run of dependence on veteran quarterbacks akin to the Indianapolis Colts' recent infatuation with the likes of Carson Wentz, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan and so on.

In other words, the quarterback position has largely been either very good or very bad in Chiefs history with a dollop of mediocrity here and there (thanks, Kyle Orton). Here are our rankings of the top 10 quarterbacks in Kansas City Chiefs history.

Criteria for Selection

While wins are a nice statistic to add to a quarterback's bio, it's important not to rely on that too much knowing how many factors play into such a team-oriented game (including coaching). Instead, we looked here at the level of talent around each quarterback, specific statistics and metrics, intangibles, and how that person has generally been remembered (at least in part).

For example, other players might have greater longevity and stronger statistics than the short stint Joe Montana spent with the team, but no one is going to deny the "so much more" aspect he brought to Kansas City. More on that later.

The top 10 quarterbacks in Chiefs history

10. Dave Krieg

Dave Krieg's alma mater no longer exists, a small NAIA school known as Milton College situated in a small town in Wisconsin of the same name. While there in the late '70s, Krieg began his collegiate career as the seventh-string QB, making it a great story that he ever turned a single scout's head in the NFL at all.

Krieg is most associated with his long tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, but longtime Chiefs fans will know that the team's infatuation with importing aging vets at the game's most important position is going to lead to several entries like this on the all-time quarterbacks list. Like it or not, the Chiefs were stubborn about their strategy at the position for y-e-a-r-s.

Still, Krieg deserves credit for a solid showing during his short stint with K.C. in 1992-93. Remember that Seattle was a division rival in those days in the AFC West, so the Chiefs were familiar with what Krieg could do. In his lone year as a starter, he went 10-6 and led the league in yards per completion, but being shut out in the opening round of the postseason was enough for the Chiefs' brass.

Before the following season, the Chiefs traded for Joe Montana, which relegated Krieg to a backup role. Since Montana had various injury concerns, Krieg still ended up playing in several games and went 3-2 as a starter that year (13-8 overall).

9. Bill Kenney

Bill Kenney is a good example of how persistence and patience can pay off in athletics if a player can hold out hope through frustrating circumstances.

The Miami Dolphins made Kenney their 12th-round selection in the 1978 NFL Draft, and he languished on the bench before getting cut and then signed and was cut again in Washington. One year later, he found his way to the Chiefs and sat behind 1979 first-round pick Steve Fuller.

The Chiefs tried drafting a first-round quarterback in Todd Blackledge again in 1983, but Kenney was able to replace the first and stave off the second. From 1980 to 1988, he served as the Chiefs' starting quarterback and directed them to their first playoff appearance in 15 years in 1986.

Kenney ranks No. 5 on the Chiefs' all-time passing list, though no one is quick to bring up his name among the greats. The truth is that the Chiefs' own fearful demeanor of striking out with a young prospect kept his mediocre mix in the position for far too long. Around these parts, that's called No. 9.

8. Elvis Grbac

Most fans were glad to hear the news that Elvis had left the building following the 2000 season.

From 1997 to 2000, Grbac led the Chiefs offense after coming over from San Francisco (yes, there are a lot of former Niners around here), going 26-21 as a starter. The Chiefs punched their postseason ticket twice in his tenure, and a Pro Bowl honor came calling following the 2000 campaign.

Yet that was never enough for the fan base or the team. Grbac was a divisive teammate, and faithful fans felt the same, especially when backup Rich Gannon stepped in and looked every bit like a franchise quarterback in '97 when Grbac was injured. Gannon left for the Raiders in '98 and won an eventual Super Bowl and MVP.

RIght or wrong, Grbac is still worth placing on this list, and we've got him at No. 8.

7. Steve DeBerg

Another veteran with many more to come.

DeBerg was on his fifth NFL team when he joined the Chiefs in a long career that ultimately featured nine total stops—two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As one of the more traveled vets in NFL history, he is familiar to many franchises and, for the Chiefs, was the man under center from 1988 to 1991, the first in a long line of veterans following the Kenney era.

What's amazing about DeBerg is that he enjoyed any real success at all with the Chiefs when his record from 1978 to 1998 was 22-66 when not wearing red and gold. With the Chiefs, however, DeBerg was 31-20-1 and was even sixth in NFL MVP voting in 1990 following a season in which he threw for 3,444 yards, 23 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

From there, the Chiefs tried out Dave Krieg as the next vet-in-line in the hopes of changing their postseason fortunes.

6. Steve Bono

After their first deal with San Francisco worked out so well (see: Montana, Joe), it made sense for the Chiefs to ask for another starting option in Steve Bono. And in many ways it worked as Bono went 21-10 in two seasons as a starter, including a 13-win season in 1995 in which he was voted to his first and only Pro Bowl.

Bono first joined the Chiefs via a deal to bring him in as the primary backup to Montana, a position he'd already held down with the Niners. Despite his success as a starter, however, Bono's miserable postseason showing against the Indianapolis Colts in a 10-7 loss in 1995, plus his advancing age, made the Chiefs look elsewhere after the '96 season.

Bono spent his final few seasons as a backup for the Packers, Rams and Panthers.

5. Trent Green

Now we're finally entering the part of the list that will make every Chiefs fan smile. The memories from here on out are very good.

Trent Green is the first real hero on this list for many Chiefs fans, a beloved figure who remains a good friend of the franchise and a local resident who is known for being a strong civic leader and all-around friendly person. It also helped that he was a great quarterback for the Chiefs for a five-year stretch from 2001-06.

What's amazing about Green's story is that there's also a five-year period in which nothing was happening. The 1993 eighth-round pick of the Chargers, Green sat on the bench for the Bolts and Washington until 1998 (complete with a quick detour to the CFL for a year), when he finally took the reins of a Norv Turner offense and blew everyone away.

Green made two Pro Bowls with the Chiefs in 2003 and 2005 and passed for 4,000 yards during three of those seasons in an era that wasn't quite as pass-happy as today's version. His big arm and infectious smile made him a great team leader on and off the field, and that's why he's ranked No. 5.

4. Alex Smith

John Dorsey could do no wrong in 2013.

When taking over a two-win franchise as general manager, Dorsey set about rebuilding a deplorable roster with anemic talent on the offensive side. With his first three picks in the draft, he selected Eric Fisher as a long-term left tackle, drafted Travis Kelce at tight end, and traded the second-round pick to the 49ers for his new quarterback in Alex Smith.

Most franchises can only wish such changes of scenery would work out as well as Smith did with the Chiefs—a 2005 No. 1 pick who flourished with Andy Reid emphasizing his strengths. Smith averaged 10 wins in five seasons as the Chiefs' starter and went to three Pro Bowls with 102 touchdowns against only 33 interceptions thrown. He was also a threat to run with over 1,600 rushing yards in a half-decade.

Smith's legacy goes far beyond what he did for a franchise in need of a complete rebuild, however. He was a true civic leader and hero who was the perfect face of the franchise. And when his time was finished, with the Chiefs giving him a year's notice after trading up for Patrick Mahomes, he endeared himself even more to Chiefs Kingdom by handling what could have been an awkward exchange with wisdom and grace.

It's a shame for Smith's sake that he wasn't around for a longer period because he was a perfect fit for the Chiefs when they needed a leader most.

3. Joe Montana

Before the first championship in 1970 and the 50 years the Chiefs required to get back to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy once again, there was a single moment to which Chiefs fans could point for at least some taste of glory and national relevance: the Joe Montana years.

It feels disingenuous to call them "years" since there were only two of them, but Chiefs fans relished them all the same—a span of time in which Montana's presence not only made anything possible on the field but also raised the profile of the franchise off it.

Suddenly, the Chiefs were must-watch football. They were on primetime and made magazine covers. Networks wanted to broadcast their games. Fellow players received far more notice from cameras that were originally there to see Montana in action. Colleagues around the NFL even took the franchise more seriously as a free-agent destination. (There'd literally be no Marcus Allen without him, among others.)

It came at a high cost (the team's first-round pick in 1993 for Montana, a veteran safety, and a third-round pick the following year), but K.C. would undoubtedly redo that deal in a heartbeat. The Chiefs were truly relevant, very competitive, and actually fun. And it led to the best Chiefs football since...

2. Len Dawson

The seventh son of a seventh son is a thing, at least in mystic folklore, a man in a lineage who is given special powers based on the birth order of those who came before him. While it sounds silly on the surface, knowing that Len Dawson is such man is enough to at least lend some credibility to the idea.

It feels weird to see a list of Chiefs quarterbacks without Dawson on top for longtime fans, but no one is complaining about this golden era of Chiefs football. That said, the Kingdom owes a debt of gratitude to Lenny the Cool for providing the first cornerstone of franchise greatness as the first true legend at quarterback in team history.

Dawson's story is one of a late-bloomer, a former Purdue product who actually languished on the bench for the Pittsburgh Steelers from ages 22 to 27—five full years with nothing to show for it. Yet from there, after joining the Dallas Texans in the AFL, Dawson began to slowly build his reputation as one of NFL history's most accurate passers while Hank Stram and the Chiefs defense did the rest. it wasn't long before he was a star in the upstart league.

Dawson went on to lead the Chiefs to two Super Bowl appearances, including their first win in an upset over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. He made 6 AFL All-Star teams and one Pro Bowl while holding down his role from 1962-75. From his big-game performances to his longevity, he became the gold standard by which every Chiefs quarterback would be measured for the next five decades.

1. Patrick Mahomes

How much more ink can be spilled at this point? Patrick Mahomes won't hit his 30s until the 2025 NFL season, and a case can be made that he's already the best to ever play the position.

In six NFL seasons, Mahomes has three Super Bowl MVP awards, two regular-season MVP trophies, and six Pro Bowl appearances. He's won 74 of 96 regular-season games and sits in the NFL's top 40 ever in total touchdowns thrown in his career with 219 at age 28 (eighth among active QBs).

But Mahomes is so much more than just numbers or accolades; he's a genuine experience that must be watched to be believed. It's the left-handed passes and shortstop-style throws. It's impossible scrambles and 13 seconds. It's the effortless way he can throw the ball across his body to the other side of the field while being chased by 300-pound defenders.

In short, Mahomes is the single greatest gift ever bestowed upon an NFL franchise, and the braintrust of John Dorsey, Brett Veach, and Andy Reid somehow came together to make it happen—both when deciding on taking Mahomes and how to thread the needle on trading up in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The top 10 quarterbacks in Kansas City Chiefs history by touchdown passes