Re-Grading Kansas City's Past 5 Drafts
The Kansas City Chiefs have had three different head coaches and general managers in the past five years, leading to different interests and philosophies while approaching the draft. Following the final year of the Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards era in 2008, Scott Pioli and Todd Haley, and briefly Romeo Crennel, took over, but only for four seasons.
Now, general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid are getting ready for their third draft with the franchise in hopes of finding young, bright-eyed stars, as that is the goal every year.
As more seasons go on, the more we can fairly grade and be critical of a team's draft once they have played with that group for a couple of years. The Chiefs have had some ups and downs in the past five drafts, and we evaluate and grade those in this slideshow.
2010 Draft
1 of 5
Round 1, 5th pick: S Eric Berry, Tennessee
Round 2, 36th pick: WR/PR Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss
Round 2, 50th pick: CB/PR Javier Arenas, Alabama
Round 3, 68th pick: G Jon Asamoah, Illinois
Round 3, 93rd pick: TE Tony Moeaki, Iowa
Round 5, 136th pick: S Kendrick Lewis, Ole Miss
Round 5, 142nd pick: OLB Cameron Sheffield, Troy
The Chiefs did not have any sixth- or seventh-round picks, as a majority of the players selected in this draft all had starting potential.
Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas had consistency issues, despite both players being in the top two in punt return yards after their NFL debut. McCluster improved drastically under Reid, but was let go after playing for Reid for one season, in which he made the Pro Bowl as a returner.
Jon Asamoah eventually came together as a guard and is regarded as one of the best at his positions right now.
Tony Moeaki had plenty of potential, but injuries derailed his and Cameron Sheffield's careers, which led to their exits.
Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis both started as safeties, but Lewis struggled in coverage and was gone after the 2013 season. But Berry has been one of the best safeties in the league since his arrival from Tennessee. He has been to three Pro Bowls and has improved Kansas City's secondary since he arrived.
Outside of Sheffield, the current regime decided to not retain the rest of the draft class, except for Berry. This class got off to a strong start, but other than McCluster's late improvement, that was as good as it got.
Grade: C-
2011 Draft
2 of 5
Round 1, 26th pick: WR Jon Baldwin, Pittsburgh
Round 2, 55th pick: C Rodney Hudson, Florida State
Round 3, 70th pick: OLB Justin Houston, Georgia
Round 3, 86th pick: DE Allen Bailey, Miami (FL)
Round 4, 118th pick: CB Jalil Brown, Colorado
Round 5, 135th pick: QB Ricky Stanzi, Iowa
Round 5, 140th pick: OLB Gabe Miller, Oregon State
Round 6, 199th pick: DT Jerrell Powe, Ole Miss
Round 7, 223rd pick: RB Shane Bannon, Yale
When Jon Baldwin was taken, many believed he could be the big threat opposite of Dwayne Bowe, after Bowe had caught a league-leading 15 touchdowns. This was a similar approach in the 2007 draft when Peterson and Edwards drafted Bowe to play with Eddie Kennison and Tony Gonzalez, but Kennison was hurt early in the season and never made a full recovery.
Baldwin, however, continued to struggle and was never noticed on the field.
Rodney Hudson spent some time on the sidelines, but once Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja retired as centers, that opened the door for Hudson, who quickly became one of the best centers in the NFL.
Justin Houston came together midway through his rookie season as he formed a strong duo with Tamba Hali. The two were finally noticed across the league, as they both had a huge hand in helping the Chiefs get to a 9-0 start in 2013. Houston came a sack shy of shattering Michael Strahan's record for sacks in a single season this past campaign.
Allen Bailey rarely saw playing time and showed no improvement under Pioli's coaches, but flourished when Reid became the head coach and is now one of the primary defensive ends on the team.
Today, only Houston and Allen remain with the team, but as we all know, Houston is seeking a new deal while currently under the franchise tag.
Not much can be said about the players taken after the third round, as all of those players selected saw very little playing time on the field for the Chiefs.
Had it not been for Houston's emergence and monster performance the past two years, the Chiefs would have received a failing grade.
Grade: D+
2012 Draft
3 of 5
Round 1, 11th pick: NT Dontari Poe, Memphis
Round 2, 44th pick: OL Jeff Allen, Illinois
Round 3, 74th pick, OT Donald Stephenson, Oklahoma
Round 4, 107th pick, WR Devon Wylie, Fresno State
Round 5, 146th pick: CB DeQuan Menzie, Alabama
Round 6, 182nd pick: RB Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M
Round 7, 218th pick: DT Jerome Long, San Diego State
Round 7, 238th pick: WR Junior Hemingway, Michigan
After his first season with the Chiefs, there was little to be excited about when it came to Dontari Poe. But when Reid arrived, Poe turned into the Vince Wilfork-like nose tackle Chiefs fans have been waiting for since the franchise switched to the 3-4 defense in 2009. Poe is one of the top nose tackles in the league and plays a big role in allowing outside linebackers Hali and Houston to invade the pocket and terrorize opposing quarterbacks.
Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson served as fill-in linemen the past couple of years. Both have great potential, but due to injuries and suspensions, their development has been delayed, and 2015 might be the final chance for both linemen.
Cyrus Gray has not had a notable regular season, but his dominant performance in the preseason has allowed him to keep a spot on the team the past couple of years. Junior Hemingway has had some flashes as a receiver and special teams player. Gray and Hemingway have not been great, but they are the few NFL players who have been drafted late and managed to maintain a job with the team that selected them.
While the Chiefs currently have five of the eight players from this class, only Poe is worthy of mentioning. Then again, Poe, along with Berry, has been one of the very select few first-round picks to succeed in Kansas City so far. As long as Kansas City got it right with its top pick, that is good.
Grade: B
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2013 Draft
4 of 5
Round 1, 1st pick: Eric Fisher, Central Michigan
Round 3, 63rd pick: TE Travis Kelce, Cincinnati
Round 3, 96th pick: RB/KR Knile Davis, Arkansas
Round 4, 99th pick: ILB Nico Johnson, Alabama
Round 5: 134th pick: S Sanders Commings, Georgia
Round 6, 170th pick: C Eric Kush, California (PA)
Round 6, 204th pick: FB Braden Wilson, Kansas State
Round 7, 207th pick: DE Mike Catapano, Princeton
It has been a challenging two years for Eric Fisher, who played right tackle his first year, then left tackle in 2014 after Branden Albert left the Chiefs. Whether playing left or right, Fisher has been beaten by defenders, doing very few favors for Alex Smith.
Travis Kelce was forced to miss his entire first year due to a knee injury, but he came together strong in the 2014 preseason, which translated into success into the 2014 regular season, which essentially felt like his rookie season. His blocking, catching, speed and ability to break tackles has quickly turned him into one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
Knile Davis has either been really good or really quiet anytime he has had to fill in for Jamaal Charles. As a returner, Davis has been successful and a lot of that is due to the guidance of special teams coordinator Dave Toub, who also helped develop Devin Hester.
Nico Johnson received a lot of hype due to the fact he won three national titles with Alabama, but the Chiefs quickly gave up on him as he showed no improvement.
Sanders Commings has been limited as he missed the 2014 season due to injury, appearing in just two games so far in his career.
Braden Wilson's time was very brief, but Eric Kush and Mike Catapano have found ways to get a little bit of face time.
Kelce and Davis have done a good job up to this point. If Fisher can live up to his potential, then this draft class will be considered a strong and successful one.
Grade: B
2014 Draft
5 of 5
Round 1, 23rd pick: OLB Dee Ford, Auburn
Round 3, 87th pick: CB Phillip Gaines, Rice
Round 4, 124th pick: RB/PR De'Anthony Thomas
Round 5, 163rd pick: QB Aaron Murray, Georgia
Round 6, 193rd pick: Zach Fulton, Tennessee
Round 6, 200th pick: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, McGill
Dee Ford had an extremely quiet season, mustering 1.5 sacks while playing behind Houston and Hali, and he might do the same thing for a second season in a row.
Phillip Gaines was quickly thrown in as a starter and had a solid rookie season, with the help of a strong front seven, which always helps defensive backs. The Chiefs hope he makes a big step from his rookie season to his second year.
De'Anthony Thomas was the most exciting to watch as he made plays occasionally on offense, despite being third on the depth chart. He came through for the Chiefs as a return specialist, forming a strong return duo with Davis from last year's draft.
Zach Fulton's second season will be interesting as his rookie season was unique. Due to the amount of injuries up front, the door opened for him to start way sooner than expected. With the additions of Ben Grubbs and Paul Fanaika this season, Fulton's role with the Chiefs for 2015 is uncertain.
It is doubtful Aaron Murray sees any playing time soon, with Smith and Chase Daniel currently in front of him on the depth chart. Terrelle Pryor may even have more upside and the ability to do better in Reid's offense.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a project player and his future in Kansas City could be decided in August, depending on his training camp and preseason.
Grade: B
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