Who could keep Tony Gonzalez out of one of the top two spots?

Over the past six years, the Kansas City Chiefs have set themselves among the great NFL dynasties. And their current quarterback is on an all-time great path. So when the time comes to rank the 10 greatest Kansas City Chiefs of all time, recent history will play a major role in the pecking order.

One of the fallacies about comparing today’s players with those of yesteryear is the differences in the way the game is played. Patrick Mahomes’ passing numbers would likely be completely different if he played in the 1970s. Teams simply didn’t pass as often. And he may not have been around very long because the rules didn’t protect the quarterbacks much at all.

But here’s a shot at the guys who need to be on this list.

10. DL Chris Jones

Chris Jones hasn’t always put up the biggest numbers, but he’s been anchoring the defensive line for the Chiefs during their entire dynasty. Jones is a six-time Pro Bowler and made All Pro First Team three times and Second Team three times.

Jones had a career-high 15.5 sacks in 2018 and matched that in 2022. He’s already fourth on the Chiefs all-time sacks list and could move up to fourth with a healthy 2025, and he’s only 30 years old.

9. LB Willie Lanier

Lanier’s consistency and dominance earned him a spot on this list. Chosen in the second round of the 1967 draft, Lanier turned in an All-Pro performance in 1968. For the next seven years, he had three more All-Pro efforts and made the Pro Bowls in the other seasons.

An every-game guy, Lanier started all 14 games in all but three of his NFL seasons. Additionally, he picked off 27 passes in his career, including five in 1975.

Considered one of the toughest players in the league, the 6-foot-1, 245-pounder was a sideline-to-sideline, high-motor player.

8. RB Priest Holmes

 

After four not-so-exciting seasons in Baltimore, Holmes signed a free-agent deal with the Chiefs in 2001 and became a star. His career enhancement came in the form of three sublime seasons from 2001-03. In that stretch, Holmes dominated.

Rushing for over 4,500 yards, he scored 56 touchdowns. And that included 27 in 2003, which was a then-NFL record and still ranks tied for second today. At 5-9 and 213 pounds, Holmes turned into a beast when healthy.

Also, Holmes performed well in the passing game, catching 206 balls for almost 2,000 yards and five TDs in that same three-year stretch,

He earned three straight All-Pro honors and captured the AP offensive player of the year award in 2002. He finished in the top five of the MVP voting in 2002 and 2003.

7. OL Will Shields

Every organization has a lineman who stands above the rest, and for the Chiefs it was the 6-3, 315-pound Shields.

The right guard’s consistency soared off the charts. From 1995-2006, he racked up 12 straight Pro Bowl performances and earned All-Pro honors six times. Accordingly, some have rated him as one of the best guards in NFL history.

Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon told kansascity.com Shields had immense value.

“Will Shields was one of the most athletic, if not the most athletic offensive linemen I’ve ever played with,” Moon said. “He and Randall McDaniel are in the same category, but Will was a little more athletic.

“(Will) had the whole package. He was one of the best pulling guards I’ve ever seen as far as getting out on the edge, and not just getting out there, but once he got out there, he finds somebody and makes contact. He also had the power to blow somebody off the line of scrimmage in the power running game, and he was a really good pass blocker.”

6. WR Tyreek Hill

Some rankings might not include the 5-10, 191-pound “Cheetah” on the Chiefs all-time top 10 list. But his role in the emergence of Mahomes cannot be minimized.

A fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Hill made All-Pro or the Pro Bowl every season. His first honor came as a kick returner, but each of the other five seasons slotted him at wide receiver. In his first year with Patrick Mahomes under center, Hill had 1,183 yards receiving with seven touchdowns.

He exploded to 1,479 yards and 12 scores in 2018 and had big-time performances in 2020 and 2021. Plus, his ability to thrive as a possession receiver and a downfield threat made him the perfect fodder for Mahomes’ growth into one of the greatest of all time.

Mahomes told foxnews.com the Chiefs lost a lot when Hill was traded to the Dolphins in 2022.

“We lost an all-time great receiver in Tyreek Hill, someone that did a lot of great things for us,” Mahomes said.

5. LB Derrick Thomas

When the Chiefs selected Thomas with the fourth pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, team president Carl Peterson believed the choice could be a difference-maker.

“Derrick was my first draft pick when I came to the Chiefs prior to the 1989 season,” Peterson said during Thomas’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony as reported by arrowheadpride.com. “For the next decade, he was the cornerstone of the success of the Chiefs franchise.”

Thomas had 10 sacks and earned the AP defensive rookie of the year award in 1989. The next year, he finished runner-up for the defensive player of year award, dominating the NFL with 20 sacks. From 1991-97, he earned All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors every year.

The gifted 6-3, 245-pound athlete totaled 126.5 sacks and forced 41 fumbles in his career, which was cut short by a tragic automobile accident in 2000. Thomas was partially paralyzed in the wreck and died two weeks later from a blood clot.

4. QB Len Dawson

Len Dawson was the first Chiefs quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP. He also was the Chiefs’ all-time leader in pretty much every passing category for decades. He still is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in wins as a QB with 93, although that should be surpassed this year.

During Dawson’s era, the Chiefs weren’t exactly high-flying offenses, choosing instead to use the running game to set up the defense for big pass plays. However, Dawson still led the league in TD passes four times and finished second with a career-high 30 TD passes in 1964.

Dawson was a seven-time Pro Bowler and made First Team All Pro twice and Second Team twice. He led the Chiefs to two Super Bowls, winning one, and was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

3. TE Tony Gonzalez

John Rieger-USA TODAY SportsIf you stripped everything away and considered tight ends based only on pure statistics, Gonzalez is the best ever. So how is he ranks behind a player from the same franchise on its all-time greatest players list?

First, consider the fact Gonzalez’ run in Kansas City lasted 12 years. He added quite a bit to his massive career totals over five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, including 4,187 yards and 35 of his 111 career touchdowns.

But despite his 10,940 yards and 76 touchdowns with the Chiefs, the guy who took over for him will likely pass both of those marks very early in the 2024 season.

Gonzalez earned first-team All-Pro honors six times with four other second-team selections. And he made the Pro Bowl every season after his third NFL year except 2009. But he still had 83 catches for 867 yards and six touchdowns that year. Tough crowd, I tell you.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who played with the end-of-career version of Gonzalez, told atlantafalcons.com the tight end was automatic.

“You threw it anywhere around him it was a catch,” Ryan said. “Every time we called this particular play, Y potion, he was going to catch it. Or when we ran another play called ‘Shell’, he was going to get open and catch it. It didn’t matter what the coverage was or who was guarding him.

“He was unbelievably consistent and just automatic when it came to making plays. In my opinion, he’s the best to ever do it at his position. I was just really fortunate to be a part of it for five years.”

2. TE Travis Kelce

What Kelce has accomplished in 10 years is nothing short of amazing. In his first NFL season, he played in one game before succumbing to a microfracture procedure on his knee that repaired an issue related to a bone bruise sustained in the preseason.

Over the next 10 years, he racked up numbers that can make wide receivers jealous. His totals of 12,151 yards and 77 touchdowns are staggering. He’s a seven-time All-Pro selection and 10-time Pro Bowl member. He has three double-digit touchdown seasons, matching Gonzalez’s total in a 17-year career.

In the playoffs, he’s been just as good with 2,078 yards in 25 games with 20 touchdowns. And he’s the NFL’s all-time leader with 178 receptions in the postseason.

Also, Kelce holds the NFL record for receiving yards in a season for tight ends with his mark of 1,416 in 2020. And bagging three Lombardi trophies helps as well.

A former great tight end, Rob Gronkowski, told The Ryen Russillo Podcast that Kelce is at the top of the list.

“I believe that Travis Kelce is the best receiving tight end,” Gronkowski said. “He’s the best tight end (ever) in terms of catching the ball. There’s no doubt about it. He’s a great red-zone target. When he’s not out on the field with the Chiefs, which is very rare, they’re not the same team.”

1. QB Patrick Mahomes

There used to be one play in the GOAT conversation: Tom Brady. Now, there are two. Yes, it’s too early to put Mahomes neck and neck with Brady, but talk started after Mahomes earned Super Bowl win No. 3.

Just for fun, let’s wonder how the nine teams that passed on Mahomes feel these days. Cleveland got Myles Garrett, so that was a pretty good haul as he’s arguably the game’s best pass rusher these days. But what would the Browns have been with Mahomes.

Ditto for the Chicago Bears, who thought Mitch Trubisky would be better. Yikes. Also, San Francisco (Solomon Thomas), Jacksonville (Leonard Fournette), Tennessee (Corey Davis), New York Jets (Jamal Adams), Los Angeles Chargers (Mike Williams), Carolina Panthers (Christian McCaffrey) and Cincinnati (John Ross) all had “better” ideas than drafting Mahomes.

And here are the Chiefs, perhaps considering the purchase of a fancy storage unit to house all of their Lombardi trophies.

Now, to be fair, Mahomes did nothing in his first NFL season. But it was only because the Chiefs wouldn’t let him play. He got the starting nod in Week 17, completing 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards and an interception. Ho hum.

In Year 2, he found a groove — to the tune of 50 touchdown passes and 5,097 yards. Poor Mahomes was so good that year, he hasn’t been able to duplicate it. However, he did throw for 5,250 yards in 2022, but “only” had 41 touchdown tosses.

In seven full seasons, he has thrown for 32,068 yards with 245 touchdowns. Along with that are two MVP awards (2018 and 2022), an offensive player of the year award and two runner-up finishes, and three All-Pro honors.

Mahomes currently holds four NFL records: playoff passer rating, passing yards per game, total yards by a quarterback in a season (with 5,614 in 2022), and he’s tied for most touchdown passes in a single postseason (11).

Also, keep in mind Mahomes will turn 30 years old in September, and Brady played until he was 45.

What others say about Mahomes

NFL great Dan Marino weighed in with kansascity.com about what makes Mahomes special.

“He’s an amazing athlete, first of all,” Marino said. “I was a pretty good athlete, but not the kind of athlete that he is as far as how he runs the ball, makes throws from different levels, creates on his own. He’s a really special player. You can tell his competitiveness. Like you talk about, coming from behind when it’s tough. He makes it happen.”

Tom Brady added, “He’s an incredible competitor and I think it’s on display in the biggest moments. … he always seems to play his best in the big moments. He’s got so many of the intangibles. He wants to go out and play whoever’s the best to see how he matches up.”