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A Historical Look at the Chiefs' First-Round Draft Picks

Exploring who the Chiefs have taken in the first round of the NL Draft over the years 

A system called the "common draft" was implemented for the AFL and NFL in 1967, creating a joint draft between the two leagues and establishing the precursor for what has become the marquee event of the offseason.

The two leagues merged in 1970, and the rest is history.

Over the last three weeks leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft, we've taken a look back at who the Kansas City Chiefs have selected in each round since the event's beginnings 52 years ago.

For a look at all of the Chiefs' selections in this year's draft, click here.

Here is what we've covered so far:

We'll wrap up this series with the first round, where the Chiefs currently own the No. 29 overall pick in this year's draft. There have been plenty of notable players selected with that exact pick in NFL history, including Oakland Raiders' offensive guard Steve Wisniewski (No. 29 in 1989), New York Jets' center Nick Mangold (No. 29 in 2006) and Minnesota Vikings' safety Harrison Smith (No. 29 in 2012).

The Chiefs didn't have a pick in the first round last year, as the selection was part of the trade that landed quarterback Patrick Mahomes a year prior. As General Manager Brett Veach said last week, it ended up being a pretty good deal.

Here's a look at who the Chiefs have drafted in the first round since 1967:

Table inside Article
YEARPICKPLAYERPOSITIONGAMES WITH KCSCHOOL
201710Patrick MahomesQB17Texas Tech
201518Marcus PetersCB45Washington
201423Dee FordLB67Auburn
20131Eric FisherT94Central Michigan
201211Dontari PoeDT78Memphis
201126Jonathan BaldwinWR26Pittsburgh
20105Eric BerryDB89Tennessee
20093Tyson JacksonDE74LSU
200815Branden AlbertG85Virginia
20085Glenn DorseyDT66LSU
200723Dwayne BoweWR118LSU
200620Tamba HaliDE177Penn State
200515Derrick JohnsonLB182Texas
200327Larry JohnsonRB75Penn State
20026Ryan SimsDT59North Carolina
200021Sylvester MorrisWR15Jackson State
199914John TaitT75BYU
199827Victor RileyT48Auburn
199713Tony GonzalezTE190California
199628Jerome WoodsDB128Memphis
199531Trezelle JenkinsT9Michigan
199425Greg HillRB63Texas A&M
199220Dale CarterDB104Tennessee
199121Harvey WilliamsRB35LSU
199013Percy SnowLB30Michigan State
19894Derrick Thomas LB169Alabama
19882Neil SmithDE138Nebraska
198719Paul PalmerRB27Temple
19867Brian JozwiakG28West Virginia
198515Ethan HortonTE16North Carolina
198421John AltT179Iowa
19845Bill MaasNT116Pittsburgh
19837Todd BlackledgeQB40Penn State
198211Anthony HancockWR59Tennessee
198114Willie ScottTE72South Carolina
198011Brad BuddeG92USC
197923Steve FullerQB52Clemson
19792Mike BellDE135Colorado State
19782Art StillDE136Kentucky
197710Gary GreenDB100Baylor
197614Rod WaltersG52Iowa
197416Woody GreenRB28Arizona State
197223Jeff KinneyRB50Nebraska
197116Elmo WrightWR45Houston
197026Sid SmithC42USC
196923Jim MarsalisDB78Tennessee State
196822George DaneyG97Texas - El Paso
196819Mo MoormanG72Texas A&M
196724Gene TroschDE27Miami (FL)

Notes:

- All forty-nine of Kansas City's first-round picks since 1967 have gone on to suit up for the Chiefs, playing in a combined 3,799 contests.

- 13 of those 49 picks played at least 100 games with Kansas City: tight end Tony Gonzalez (190), linebacker Derrick Johnson (182), offensive tackle John Alt (179), defensive end Tamba Hali (177), linebacker Derrick Thomas (169), defensive end Neil Smith, defensive end Art Still (136), defensive end Mike Bell (135), defensive back Jerome Woods (128), wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (118), nose tackle Bill Maas (116), defensive back Dale Carter (104) and defensive back Gary Green (100).

- The Chiefs have a knack for drafting prolific pass rushers in the first round, as Thomas (126.5), Hali (89.5), Smith (85.5) and Still (73.0) are four of the top five sack artists in franchise history. Thomas was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

- Another player that will find themselves in the Hall of Fame this summer is Gonzalez, who finished his career with the most career catches (1,325), receiving yards (15,127), 100-yard receiving games (31) and second-most touchdowns (114) by a tight end in NFL history.

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- Speaking of records, Johnson owns the mark for the most tackles (1,262) in franchise history.

- The Chiefs have selected more players from LSU (4) in the first round than any other school.

- Kansas City has drafted more offensive linemen (12) in the first round than any other position.

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