It’s easy as fans, especially of the Chiefs over the past 20 years, to pick apart every draft pick, free agent signings, and every move your team makes.  But today, I want to take a look at the good and great draft picks that Carl Peterson brought to the Chiefs during his 20 years in Kansas City.  Believe it or not, I had more than 10 good draft picks to choose from, and left off some names like Jerry Ostroski, Jay Leeuwenberg, Joe Horn, Jerome Woods, Reggie Tongue, Greg Wesley, and Dwayne Bowe.

10. Dale Carter-1^st round, 20^th overall, 1992 NFL Draft. 4 time Pro Bowl.

Carter made an immediate impact in the Chiefs defensive backfield, starting nine games and picking of seven passes in his rookie season.  He also returned two punts for touchdowns his rookie year.  It wasn’t too long after that he was considered a true “shut down” corner.  He made the Pro Bowl four consecutive seasons from 1994-1997. The Chiefs let him go after the 1998 season amid personal problems that Carter seemed unable or unwilling to fix.

9.  John Tait-1^st round, 14^th overall, 1999 NFL Draft. 

 Before the 1999 season, King Carl and John Tait dueled it out in contract negotiations, forcing Tait to miss most of training camp and straining relationships between the two.  They were strained so much that when Tait became a restricted free agent in 2004, he really never entertained the thought of resigning with the Chiefs.  He signed a lucrative offer sheet with the Chicago Bears that the Chiefs couldn’t possibly match, and he was gone.  Tait was a part of dominant offensive lines in 2002-2003, teaming with sure fire Hall of Famers Will Shields and Willie Roaf. 

 8.  Donnie Edwards-4^th round, 96^th overall, 1996 NFL Draft.  1 time Pro Bowl.

Edwards came out of UCLA and was taken in the fourth round by the Chiefs.  He lasted that long because of a back injury he suffered during his senior season.  He became a starter for the Chiefs during his second season in the NFL, and was a very good all around linebacker for the team.  He left the Chiefs after the 2001 season, heading to the San Diego Chargers, where he finally made the Pro Bowl following the 2002 season.  The Chiefs have been looking for his replacement ever since.  They’ve tried free agency (Shawn Barber, Kendrell Bell, Napolean Harris) and the draft (Derrick Johnson), but have failed valiantly.  They even tried bringing back an old and aging Edwards in 2007, but he has spent more time injured than on the field. 

 7.  Jared Allen-4^th round, 126^th overall, 2004 NFL Draft.  2 time Pro Bowl, 1 time All Pro.

 Getting Allen in the fourth round was a steal by King Carl.  While he only spent four years in KC, they were very productive, and Carl got his King’s ransom for him when he traded him to the Vikings before last season’s draft.  Allen joined the starting lineup during his rookie season, and was credited with 9 sacks.  Early in his career, Allen was a little small for an NFL defensive end, and teams found they could run on him.  Since then, he’s bulked up, and I think Vikings fans would agree that he is an all around great defensive end now. 

 During his KC days, he amassed 42 sacks, and showing his versatility, also had 25 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He even came in on some goal line offensive plays, and caught two touchdown passes!  After the 2007 season though, there was a heated feud played out in the KC media between Allen and Carl Peterson over getting Allen signed long term.  It ended with the Chiefs trading Allen to the Vikings for a first round pick and two third round pick in last years draft.

6.  Dave Szott-7^th round, 180^th overall, 1990 NFL Draft.  1 time All Pro.

 Szott was one of two cornerstones of the offensive line that the Chiefs got out of the 1990 Draft.  As a 7^th rounder, making the team is a feat in itself, but Szott exceeded expectations and quickly became a starter, starting 11 games his rookie season.  For the next 11 seasons, he teamed up with Tim Grunhard to form a very solid middle of the offensive line for the Chiefs.

 5. Larry Johnson-1^st round, 27^th overall, 2003 NFL Draft.  2 time Pro Bowl, 1 time All Pro.

 When Johnson was taken in the first round in 2003, a lot of Chiefs fans questioned the pick.  They already had Priest Holmes, who was coming off a career year in 2002, so why go running back in the first round?  Well, a couple years down the road, it worked out well for KC.  Halfway through the 2004 season, Holmes went down with a career threatening injury, and Johnson stepped in, producing 581 yards and 9 TD’s, most during the second half of the season. 

 The next two years, Johnson really shined, amassing 3,539 yards and 37 touchdowns, and cemented himself as one of the top running backs in the game.  He was an All Pro after the 2006 season, when he set the season record for number of carries (416), had 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns.

4. Tim Grunhard-2^nd round, 40^th overall, 1990 NFL Draft.  1 time Pro Bowl

 Again, with offensive linemen, it’s hard to substantiate how good they were with statistics.  While Grunhard only made one Pro Bowl in his career, he was better than that.  They only select one center for the Pro Bowl each year, so getting the nod at that position can be very tough. He was the prototypical center for Marty Schottenheimers teams, a big 311 pound run-blocking beast. Over 11 seasons, Grunny started in 164 games for the Chiefs, and was part of some very good offensive lines.

 3. Will Shields-3rd round, 74th overall, 1993 NFL Draft.  12 time Pro Bowl, 2 time All Pro.

 There aren’t a whole lot of stats to show how good offensive linemen are, so lets look at team stats.  Shields was one of the huge pieces of dominant offensive lines throughout his career, with the Chiefs finishing in the top 10 in offense in 1994, 2000-2005, finishing with the top overall offense in 2004 and 2005.  In rushing offense, the Chiefs were in the top 10 in 1995-1997, 1999, 2001-2002, 2004-2006, including the top rushing offense in 1995.  You just don’t get those numbers without great offensive line play, and Shields is a prime example of that.

 2. Derrick Thomas-1^st round, 4^th overall, 1989 NFL Draft.  126.5 sacks, 41 forced fumbles, 9 Pro Bowls, 2 time All Pro, 1989 Defensive Rookie of the Year, 1993 Walter Payton Man of the Year. King Carl hit it big time with his first draft pick.  Thomas was undoubtedly one of the premiere linebackers of his era.  He teamed up with Neil Smith to form an outstanding one-two punch that offenses had to game plan to stop.  His extreme quickness off the edge was difficult for even the top offensive linemen to slow down.  He was a master at not only sacking quarterbacks, but also stripping them of the ball, as his 41 career forced fumbles can attest to.  Tragically, his career and life were cut short when he rolled his SUV in an ice storm in 2000.

 1.  Tony Gonzalez-1^st round, 13^th overall, 1997 NFL Draft.  904 receptions, 10823 yards, 74 touchdowns, 10 Pro Bowls, 4 time All Pro (and counting).

 Gonzalez is almost to the point of being called unquestionably the all time best tight end in football history.  He already owns every receiving record in the book, the only thing he’s missing is that Super Bowl ring. When Gonzalez came into the league, he was known as an exceptional receiving tight end, but below average in the blocking department.  Now when he stays in to block it is almost like having another lineman in the game.  His hard work and effort at improving this area of his game has undeniably paid off huge dividends for the Chiefs and their running backs. 

 Anyone who watches a Chiefs game this season can see what kind of professional Tony Gonzalez is.  He requested a trade earlier this season, and when it wasn’t granted, he could have very easily let his effort slip, and very few people would have faulted him for it.  But he didn’t.  Gonzalez had one of the finest seasons of his illustrious career, finishing with 96 receptions, 1,058 yards, and 10 touchdowns.

 In summary, I would agree with any Chiefs fan who says King Carl needed to go for the team to really move forward.  But for those who say he was horrible, they really need to look at the entire history of the Chiefs.  When Carl took over, they were a franchise in shambles, who finished the 80’s with one of the the worst records in the league.  They were much like the Royals of today.  He took them from that and turned them into playoff contenders almost every year during 90’s. 

 So, Carl, from at least one Chiefs fan, thanks for 20 years of good service.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 2:26 pm and is filed under AFC, AFC-West, Football, Kansas City Chiefs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.