Kansas City Chiefs all-time Mount Rushmore

They are the defending Super Bowl champions. But which four players of the Kansas City Chiefs can be considered the franchise’s most fabled?

It’s one of the eight original franchises of the American Football League which was born in 1960. But the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t always the Kansas City Chiefs. Instead, the club was based in Dallas and known as the Texans before moving slightly north and taking on the team name that it has been under since 1963. During their time in the AFL, no team won more games in that league than the club led by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram.

The Chiefs played in the first Super Bowl and fell to the Green Bay Packers, 35-10. Of course, the team also played in the last Super Bowl (LIV) and rallied for a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. It was the second Lombardi Trophy for the organization and its first since 1969. And head coach Andy Reid’s team brings a nine-game overall winning streak into 2020.

In terms of franchise history, there are plenty of standouts. The list includes running backs Ed Podolak, Christian Okoye, Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, Jamaal Charles and Joe Delaney, the latter who left us too soon. There’s also veteran wide receiver Otis Taylor and these days, speedster Tyreek Hill.  There’s a slew of reliable offensive linemen in Jim Tyrer, Ed Budde, John Alt, Tim Grunhard, Dave Szott and Pro Football Hall of Famers Will Shields and Willie Roaf (briefly).

On defense, how about cornerback Albert Lewis, safeties Gary Barbaro, Deron Cherry and Eric Berry and pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali? And Jan Stenerud was the first pure placekicker inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hence, narrowing the list down to four (in alphabetical order) is not necessarily easy. But what a way to go down memory lane.