Kansas City Chiefs 2017 NFL Draft retrospective

How should the Kansas City Chiefs feel about their 2017 NFL Draft class after three years? We take a deep dive into it.

At the end of the 2016 season, the Kansas City Chiefs were established as a steady postseason player.

The Chiefs were coming off of a 12-4 season and an AFC West title that would turn into four consecutive through the end of ’19. That said, they also went one-and-done in the postseason again after being oddly ousted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game in which they didn’t allow a single touchdown. The 18-16 shocker sent the Chiefs home with questions about taking things to the next level.

Fortunately, that’s what the team decided to do.

It would take time, but the Chiefs; 2017 draft proved a game-changer for the franchise. An internal plan began to take shape. John Dorsey would be allowed to walk. Alex Smith would be shown the door. Corporate communication had to improve, and the training wheels had to come off given the playmakers already in house in Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

Everyone knew it would take another year to implement the full plan the 2017 draft was integral to getting everything right.

Original Grade

FanSided: C+

"Don’t expect to see Mahomes take the gridiron in any meaningful snaps in 2017. Only a season-ending injury to Smith would force Mahomes into the starting role. His right arm and improvisational abilities give reason for Chiefs to be exciting about the future. If he’s even half of what Derek Carr is for the Oakland Raiders, then it was worth it for the Chiefs to trade up to select Mahomes at No. 10."

Draft Class

Round 1 (No. 10)

CURRENT TEAM: Kansas City Chiefs

What can we say about Patrick Mahomes that hasn’t already been said by every NFL columnist? He has the downfield vision of Otto Graham, the arm strength of Dan Marino, the moxie of Brett Favre, the awareness of Peyton Manning, the productivity of Drew Brees. He won an MVP award at the age of 23, the Super Bowl and the game’s MVP a year later, and is setting Kansas City up for a potential dynasty.

Perhaps the most impressive draft factoid looking back is not so much about Mahomes as it is about Dorsey’s ability to pull off the trade that got him. Dorsey had to thread the proverbial needle to land in the ideal spot where Mahomes would still be available yet not force the franchise to give away too much draft capital (although any price would have been worth it, looking back).

Dorsey landed at No. 10 overall and gave up a single first-round pick to jump 17 spots. Mahomes was taken before the Saints or Texans or anyone else could grab him, giving the Chiefs an incredible first-round maneuver.

Round 2 (No. 59)

CURRENT TEAM: Kansas City Chiefs

The jury is still out on Tanoh Kpassagnon even three years later, although he continues to look more like a potential beast of a pass-rusher. Coming out of Villanova, it was clear Kpassagnon would be a developmental project for the Chiefs coaching staff, and the leap from Bob Sutton to Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator likely stalled a bit of development, but Spags’ system has been much better for the long, athletic Kpassagnon to show what he can do.

Right now, the Chiefs are simply too deep to even have to rely on Kpassagnon to turn into the projected sack artist that Dorsey believed he could be. But another year in Spags system and an upcoming contract year might be the magic formula to see him make the leap and put up 8+ sacks in 2020.

Round 3 (No. 86)

CURRENT TEAM: Cleveland Browns

From an on-field standpoint, Kareem Hunt was a great selection for Dorsey for the Chiefs. He led the NFL in rushing as a rookie —just the sixth player ever to do so— and he was well on his way to a second straight Pro Bowl when the Chiefs were forced to release him for lying to the team continually about his role in an offseason altercation and assault.

These days, Hunt is parked on the Cleveland Browns roster. Cleveland signed him on the cheap in free agency, and as long as he’s partnering with Nick Chubb, he’s never going to put up the sort of mammoth stat totals he produced in Kansas City.

Round 4 (No. 139)

CURRENT TEAM: New York Jets

Unfortunately, it was only a year until Chesson was out of Kansas City, and he spent the following two seasons with the Washington Redskins (including the entirety of 2019 on the practice squad). Most recently, the New York Jets signed Chesson to a reserve/futures deal for 2020.

Round 5 (No. 183)

CURRENT TEAM: Las Vegas Raiders

Dorsey was hoping to strike late-round gold with an athletic small-school pass rusher to develop when he selected Ukeme Eligwe, but he lasted a total of a single season in K.C., playing largely on special teams with five tackles and one sack to his total on defense.

In 2018, he played 10 games on special teams for the New York Giants and he’s bounced around several practice squads in the months since then, including the Giants, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and Oakland Raiders.

Round 5 (No. 218)

CURRENT TEAM: Free Agent

Leon McQuay was selected with the Chiefs last pick in the draft for his versatility and intelligence as part of the USC secondary. He bounced between the team’s active roster (in the offseason, largely) and the practice squad throughout the 2017 and ’18 seasons. The Chiefs finally cut ties with McQuay for good last May. He’s yet to sign on with another team.

Bottom Line

You can nitpick about the lack of lower-round returns or even give the Chiefs some blame for how Kareem Hunt’s character came back to bite him, but any draft that lands the team a future 23-year-old MVP as the game’s most important position qualifies for an automatic A. The selection of Mahomes elevated the Chiefs franchise from stable success to Super Bowl champion.

by Matt Conner

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