Kansas City Chiefs all-time Mount Rushmore

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 11: Willie Lanier #63 of the Kansas City Chiefs runs with the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during Super Bowl IV on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl 23-7. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

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Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson (16). (Photo by James Flores/Getty Images) /

QB Len Dawson

Three seasons into his NFL career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Holmes has become a sensation. He made one start as a rookie in the season finale in 2017, but he learned well behind Alex Smith during his rookie campaign. In 2018, he inherited the job, throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns (12 interceptions) and captured NFL MVP honors. This past season, the numbers were still solid but more significantly, the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl since 1969 and Mahomes was voted the game’s Most Valuable Player.

But long before he was a first-round pick in ’17, quarterback Len Dawson was doing his thing in a big way for the franchise. The fifth overall pick in the NFL draft in 1957 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he played for that franchise and the Browns – making just one start for each franchise – before joining Hank Stram’s team in 1962.

He would spend 14 seasons with the franchise and remains the club’s all-time leader in passing yards (28,507) and TD tosses (237). He would be the Chiefs’ starter in Super Bowls I and IV and captured Most Valuable Player honors for the latter in Kansas City’s 23-7 win over the Vikings. The seven-time Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

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