There have been a lot of great offensive players in the history of the Chiefs, but there can only be one All-Time team.
The Chiefs have had a lot of great offenses in the history of their franchise, from the Hank Stram 60’s to the Andy Reid West Coast system. This article isn’t going to be ranking those offenses or tell you which one is best, but it’s going to be building the all-time Chiefs offensive unit.
There are problems with choosing an all-time team, most don’t take into account how the players would work together. I want to make a team that would make sense as a singular unit and would produce the most points.
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes
Honorable Mentions: Len Dawson, Alex Smith
It wasn’t as easy as you would think to just put Patrick Mahomes as the greatest quarterback in franchise history. Hall of Famer Len Dawson was up there and is still one of the forgotten quarterbacks of his generation, but I had to go with the greatest statical quarterback by start in the history of the NFL. He has needed fewer starts for every measurable statistic than any other quarterback in NFL history.
In his first three seasons as a starter, he has been named to the All-Pro team three times, Pro Bowl three times, won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, won a Super Bowl, won Super Bowl MVP, and has appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls. That’s extremely hard to beat, and Mahomes hasn’t even hit his prime years yet. Mahomes is just the most prolific passer in the game and is just a unique player who is a mix of Brett Favre and John Elway.
Also, he has shown no signs of slowing down. He still has incredible weapons that are in their prime and the Chief’s front office has been pushing to get better offensive line help as he moves forward in his career. Mahomes will break every passing record sooner rather than later for the Chiefs, he’s already halfway to the all-time passing record in three seasons, he has the third-most touchdowns in Chiefs history, and has the best completion percentage by a large margin.
Running Backs: Jamaal Charles, Priest Holmes
Honorable Mentions: Christian Okoye, Larry Johnson
The Chiefs have had a lot of great running backs over the past three decades, really since Marty Schottenheimer came to the Chiefs in 1989, they ran the ball a lot. They used Christian Okoye the “Nigerian Nightmare” all the time with that “Marty Ball” style of play. Since that time a lot of great running backs have played for the Chiefs but no two backs have had more impact than Jamaal Charles and Priest Holmes.
Priest Holmes had two of the best seasons by a running back in NFL history in 2001, 2002, and 2003, all three are First-Team All-Pro seasons and he holds the record of 163.4 yards from scrimmage per game in a single season. He also held the rushing NFL touchdown record (27) from 2003 until the Hall of Fame Chargers great LaDainian Tomlinson broke it in 2006. No one running back had as good of a stretch of accolades quite as Holmes did in the early 2000s. Priest would have been the clear number one player if it wasn’t for how good Jamaal Charles turned out to be.
In 2008, the Chiefs drafted Jamaal Charles as a rotation player next to their current running back Larry Johnson, and when Johnson had legal issues which led to his release, Charles stepped in. Jamaal Charles went on to have five 1,000 yard seasons in his career in Kansas City. He still holds the NFL record of yards per carry at 5.49 yards and he carried the Chiefs through their worst years in franchise history.
At a time where there wasn’t a lot of hope on the rest of the team, Charles really provided it. He flourished in his two seasons with Andy Reid before his second knee injury ended his tenure as a feature back. But Jamaal Charles finished as the Chiefs All-Time leading rusher and is one of the bigger “what if’s” in Chiefs history. What if he was able to stay healthy enough to be on the Chiefs when Mahomes was under center, he’s still only 34 years old, only one year older than LeSean McCoy.
Since this is an All-time offense these two guys would fit perfectly next to Mahomes in the backfield and would be able to do everything to play within Andy Reid’s system. They can run and catch with the best of any of the backs in the history of the league and they’re physical runners.
Wide Receivers: Otis Taylor, Tyreek Hill
Honorable Mentions: Dwayne Bowe, Stephone Paige
The receivers were the easiest group to choose from because there really are only two players who stand out in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs, Otis Taylor and Tyreek Hill. These are the only two receivers to receive All-Pro honors multiple times and both have incredible resumes in their tenures in Kansas City. Dwayne Bowe would have been great if he could have kept playing with Kansas City but these two are definitely the best two out of the bunch.
Otis Taylor still holds all of the receiving records for the Chiefs and is the only person on this list that played before 1990. He played in the first Super Bowl in 1967 and Super Bowl IV in 1969 and was key in the success of those early Chiefs teams. He played with the great Lenny Dawson and was able to become the first receiver to get All-League honors with both the AFL and NFL. Otis Taylor would be the physical option for the passing scheme because he was the first version of Megatron as he played at 6-foot-3 and would use his size and speed to beat receivers and would high point the ball. He would fit perfectly in today’s game.
The other receiver is the greatest modern receiver for the Chiefs; Tyreek Hill. Hill in five years has already pushed himself into the top ten in receiving yards, sixth in touchdowns, and has the most yards per game in team history. Hill has had an incredible run as the featured receiver in Kansas City, he is the fastest receiver in the league and is able to make the big catches. It’s hard to leave him off of this list even if there are receivers who have better career statistics than he does, just because he will finish his career with the receiving record as long as he stays healthy and has Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball.
These two would fit well with the rest of the weapons as they could bring a balance of physicality and speed to a unit built in Andy Reid’s system. They would compliment Mahomes in the passing game as well as benefit from the running game with play-action passes coming their way.
Tight End: Travis Kelce
Honorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez
Travis Kelce is the right choice at tight end, it’s so tough to choose between Kelce and Tony Gonzalez, but Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s hard to choose between them due to the nostalgia attached to Tony Gonzalez, but Kelce is incredible.
Kelce is the only tight end in the history of the National Football League with five straight 1,000 receiving yard seasons and he holds the single-season record for yards by a tight end. Kelce is also a player who has worked his butt off to get to where he is. Kelce is a good blocker, usually being able to chip edge rushers and take on defensive backs in the running game with ease. He also is so incredibly reliable as a pass-catcher.
No tight end has had the five-year run Kelce has had, 442 receptions, 6,144 yards, and 38 touchdowns, no other tight end has had those statistics in five years. He also has had key moments in the playoffs where he caught three touchdowns in the comeback win over the Texans in 2019 and the two-touchdown game in the AFC Championship in 2020.
Kelce is the right choice no matter how you split it and has benefitted from playing with Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes, but he has more than enough talent to show that he is the best tight end in the history of the Chiefs. He is currently playing in Andy Reid’s system and would work with any of the quarterbacks in the history of the Chiefs.
Offensive Line: 2002-04 (Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Casey Wiegmann, Will Shields, John Tait)
Honorable Mention: 2015
I chose to pick a unit rather than a bunch of individuals, it’s easier that way and I can show how good an offensive line is together. It’s really hard to not choose the early 2000’s unit just due to the talent along the offensive front. They had two Hall of Fame offensive linemen in Willie Roaf and Will Shields, a great left guard in Brian Waters, and quality starters in Casey Weigmann and John Tait. They blocked for Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson in the running game and for Trent Green in his best seasons as a pro. They were able to make other All-Pro/ Hall of Fame defensive players look sub-par.
From 2002-2003, the Chiefs were the best offense in the league with the number one rushing attack and second-best passing attack. Priest Holmes broke the single-season rushing touchdown record and the number one seed with a 13-3 record in 2003. They never had less than 1,500 yards and had over 3,000 yards passing every season from ’02-’04. They were the engine that drove those early 2000’s teams to success.
It was really easy to pick this Chiefs’ offensive line unit, there really wasn’t another unit that was even remotely as talented or had the quality of talent like the 2002-2004 unit.
This to me is the all-time Chiefs offense, they are all legends in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs and really should be seen as such. I think all of these players would work out well together and
