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The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference West Division.[6] The team was founded in 1959 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt, and was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL).[7][8][9] In spring 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City, and assumed its current name.[7][8][10] The Chiefs joined the NFL prior to the 1970 season as a result of the AFL–NFL merger.[11][12][13]
The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting",[14][15][16] is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment.[17] The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.[18]
Before the merger agreements in 1966, the AFL directly competed with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues, along with the subsequent drafting of the same player in each draft. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues began holding a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "common draft" simply became the NFL draft.[19][20][21] The first AFL draft was held prior to the start of the 1960 season. The first round of the 1960 AFL draft was territorial selections. Each team received a "territorial pick" which allowed them to select a single player within a pre-agreed upon designated region (the team's "territory"). Teams then agreed on the top eight players at each position, who were subsequently assigned to teams by random draw, with each of the eight teams receiving one of those players. This process was repeated until all 53 roster spots were filled.[22] Beginning in the 1961 draft, the AFL, using the same system as the NFL, began to assign picks based on the previous season's standings.[23]
Since the team's first draft, the Chiefs have selected 61 players in the first round.[24] The team's first-round pick in the inaugural AFL draft was Don Meredith, a quarterback out of Southern Methodist University (SMU); he was the team's territorial selection.[22][25] The Chiefs have held the first overall pick twice, once in the AFL draft, selecting Buck Buchanan in 1963, and once in the NFL draft, selecting Eric Fisher in 2013.[24] In the most recent draft, held in 2024, the Chiefs selected Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy.[26]
The Chiefs did not draft a player in the first round on nine occasions. Four of the team's first-round picks—Buck Buchanan, Tony Gonzalez, Gale Sayers, and Derrick Thomas—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame;[27][28] one of these, Sayers, chose not to play for the Chiefs and joined the NFL instead.[29] The Chiefs used additional first-round picks in the 1960s to select Don Meredith and Ronnie Bull, who also chose to sign with the NFL instead.[30][31]
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| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| † | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| * | Selected number one overall |
| ‡ | Selected number one overall and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Position abbreviations | |
|---|---|
| C | Center |
| CB | Cornerback |
| DB | Defensive back |
| DE | Defensive end |
| DT | Defensive tackle |
| G | Guard |
| LB | Linebacker |
| QB | Quarterback |
| RB | Running back |
| T | Tackle |
| TE | Tight end |
| WR | Wide receiver |
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- Kansas City traded quarterback Cotton Davidson to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for their 1963 first-round selection (No. 1 overall) and the rights to defensive tackle Fred Miller.[43][44]
- Kansas City traded quarterback Pete Beathard to the Houston Oilers in exchange for their 1968 first-round selection (No. 22 overall), quarterback Jacky Lee, and defensive tackle Ernie Ladd.[45][46]
- Kansas City traded their 1973 first-round selection (No. 17 overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for the rights to defensive tackle George Seals.[47][48]
- Kansas City traded their 1975 first-round selection (No. 6 overall) and defensive tackle Curley Culp to the Houston Oilers in exchange for their 1976 third-round selection (No. 79 overall) and defensive tackle John Matuszak.[49][50]
- Kansas City traded their 1979 second-round selection (No. 31 overall) and 1980 second-round selection (No. 38 overall) to the Houston Oilers in exchange for their 1979 first-round selection (No. 23 overall).[51][52]
- Kansas City traded their 1982 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 16 and 73 overall) to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for their 1982 first-round selection (No. 11 overall).[53]
- Kansas City traded cornerback Gary Green to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for their 1984 first- and fifth-round selections (Nos. 21 and 134 overall).[54][55]
- Kansas City traded their 1988 first- and second-round selections (Nos. 3 and 29 overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for their 1988 first-round selection (No. 2 overall).[53]
- Kansas City traded their 1993 first-round selection (No. 18 overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for quarterback Joe Montana, safety David Whitmore, and a 1994 third-round selection (No. 92 overall).[56][57]
- Kansas City traded their 1995 first-round selection (No. 19 overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for their 1995 first-, third-, and fourth-round selections (Nos. 31, 97, and 134 overall) and 1996 fourth-round selection (No. 113 overall).[58]
- Kansas City traded their 1997 first-, third-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections (Nos. 18, 81, 116, and 181 overall) to the Tennessee Oilers in exchange for their 1997 first- and fourth-round selections (Nos. 13 and 110 overall).[59]
- Kansas City traded their 2001 first-round selection (No. 12 overall) to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for their 2001 fifth-round selection (No. 150 overall) and quarterback Trent Green.[60]
- Kansas City traded their 2002 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 8 and 75 overall) and 2003 sixth-round selection (No. 186 overall) to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for their 2003 first-round selection (No. 6 overall).[61]
- Kansas City traded their 2003 first-round selection (No. 16 overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for their 2003 first-, third-, and sixth-round selections (Nos. 27, 92, and 200 overall).[62]
- Kansas City traded their 2004 first-round selection (No. 30 overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for their 2004 second- and fourth-round selections (Nos. 36 and 105 overall).[63]
- Kansas City traded their 2009 sixth-round selection (No. 187 overall) and defensive end Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for their 2008 first-, sixth-, and two third-round selections (Nos. 17, 73, 82, and 182 overall).[64]
- Kansas City traded a 2008 first-, received from the Minnesota Vikings,[R] third-, and fifth-round selection (Nos. 17, 66, and 136 overall) to the Detroit Lions in exchange for their 2008 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 15 and 76 overall).[64]
- Kansas City traded their 2011 first-round selection (No. 21 overall) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their 2011 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 26 and 70 overall).[65]
- Kansas City traded their 2016 first-round selection (No. 28 overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for their 2016 second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections (Nos. 37, 105, and 178 overall).[66]
- Kansas City traded their 2017 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 27 and 91 overall) and 2018 first-round selection (No. 22 overall) to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their 2017 first-round selection (No. 10 overall).[67]
- Kansas City traded their 2019 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 29 and 92 overall) and 2020 second-round selection (No. 64 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for their 2019 third-round selection (No. 84 overall) and defensive end Frank Clark.[68]
- Kansas City traded their 2021 first-, third-, and fourth-round selections (Nos. 31, 94, and 136 overall) and 2022 fifth-round selection (No. 173 overall) to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their 2021 second-round selection (No. 58 overall), 2022 sixth-round selection (No. 191 overall), and offensive tackle Orlanda Brown Jr.[69]
- Kansas City traded wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for their 2022 first-, second, and fourth-round selections (Nos. 29, 50, and 121 overall) and 2023 fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 122 and 178 overall).[70]
- Kansas City traded a 2022 first-, received from the Miami Dolphins,[Y] third-, and sixth-round selection (Nos. 29, 94, and 121 overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for their 2022 first-round selection (No. 21 overall).[70]
- Kansas City traded their 2024 first-, third-, and seventh-round selections (Nos. 32, 95, and 221 overall) to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their 2024 first-, fourth-, and seventh-round selections (Nos. 28, 133, and 248 overall).[71]
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