Best draft picks by Round - Round 1

[Rain Man]

I'll switch this up a little. Before posting my top 10 list, I'll start from the bottom, revealing in reverse order all 56 of the Chiefs' 1st round picks over the years. Then I'll put the top ten in this OP and put up the poll.

Feel free to share your memories, happiness, or disgust at each pick. I'll post one whenever I'm slightly bored.

#1 Buck Buchanan, DT
#2 Tony Gonzalez, TE
#3 Derrick Thomas, ROLB
#4 Ed Budde, LG
#5 Eric Berry, SS
#6 Gary Green, CB
#7 Derrick Johnson, ILB, OLB
#8 Art Still, DE
#9 E.J. Holub, OLB/C
#10 Tamba Hali, OLB/DE

[Rain Man]

#56. Ronnie Bull, 1962, RB. #3 pick (AFL).

He was also drafted by the Bears in the NFL and he went there instead. He actually lasted quite a while in the NFL, 9 seasons with the Bears and 1 with the Eagles. Over 3,200 yards rushing at a 3.7 pace and almost 1,500 yards receiving. Never made the pro bowl, though, and never put on a Chiefs uniform, so he was a total bust. He was replaced as the Bears' halfback by Gale Sayers, and moved to fullback.

Here's a little info about Ronnie Bull if you can briefly tolerate the Chicago Tribune's annoying popups.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...207-story.html

[Rain Man]

#55, Gale Sayers, 1965. #5 pick (AFL).

Our two worst-ever first-round picks were stolen by the Bears. Injury-prone running back who only played four years with less than 5,000 career rushing yards and about 1,300 receiving yards. Had a good rookie season and second season that he rode for the rest of his career and into the Hall of Fame. But he never put on a Chiefs uniform, for the simple reason that he said he would prefer to live in Chicago over Kansas City.

[Rain Man]

#54. Ethan Horton, 1985. #15 pick.

Wow. Just wow. I remembered he was a bust, but ... wow.

Drafted by the Chiefs. Runs for 146 yards his rookie year at a 3.0 ypc, and catches 28 passes. Slow start for a rookie.

He then got cut in training camp his second year.

Cut.

In.

Training.

Camp.

What on earth happened to cut a 1st round pick in training camp his second year?

The guy's out of football for year, then the Raiders pick him up in 1987 as a strike scab running back and cut him 8 games later. They bring him back for training camp the next year and cut him, and he's out of football again for another full year.

Then in 1989 the Raiders bring him in, bulk him up, and put him at tight end where he plays for six years and even makes a pro bowl. He ended up having an 8-year NFL career that's not terrible with about 2,400 yards receiving, but what happened those first few years? He clearly wasn't a running back with less than 300 yards rushing at a 3.1 ypc,

Here's an NY Times article about him from 1991: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/sp...-a-raider.html.

Seems like a decent enough guy. He felt like KC didn't give him a fair chance, bringing him into a passing-oriented offense and not giving him many carries. But he busted as a running back with the Raiders, too.

I remember being very skeptical when he was drafted that a 6-4 running back could thrive in the NFL. He was a pick that I wasn't a big fan of.

[ndws]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

#54. Ethan Horton, 1985. #15 pick.

The Sam Bowie of the NFL

[Bowser]

Ethan Horton was a thorn in the side of the Chiefs for a couple of years. As was Harvey Williams.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by ndws

The Sam Bowie of the NFL

Heh. I meant to mention that. He went #15, and the #16 pick was Jerry Rice. Dammit, Carl!

[rico]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

#54. Ethan Horton, 1985. #15 pick.

Wow. Just wow. I remembered he was a bust, but ... wow.

Drafted by the Chiefs. Runs for 146 yards his rookie year at a 3.0 ypc, and catches 28 passes. Slow start for a rookie.

He then got cut in training camp his second year.

Cut.

In.

Training.

Camp.

What on earth happened to cut a 1st round pick in training camp his second year?

The guy's out of football for year, then the Raiders pick him up in 1987 as a strike scab running back and cut him 8 games later. They bring him back for training camp the next year and cut him, and he's out of football again for another full year.

Then in 1989 the Raiders bring him in, bulk him up, and put him at tight end where he plays for six years and even makes a pro bowl. He ended up having an 8-year NFL career that's not terrible with about 2,400 yards receiving, but what happened those first few years? He clearly wasn't a running back with less than 300 yards rushing at a 3.1 ypc,

Here's an NY Times article about him from 1991: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/sp...-a-raider.html.

Seems like a decent enough guy. He felt like KC didn't give him a fair chance, bringing him into a passing-oriented offense and not giving him many carries. But he busted as a running back with the Raiders, too.

I remember being very skeptical when he was drafted that a 6-4 running back could thrive in the NFL. He was a pick that I wasn't a big fan of.

That's interesting as hell! Didn't know that!!!

[Rain Man]

#53 - Gene Trosch, 1967, DE. #24 pick.

Gene is a huge mystery. He was drafted in the first round of the draft where Willie Lanier and Jim Lynch were the second round picks. He's listed on the roster in 1967, but not 1968, and then he's back in 1969. Was he injured? On the taxi squad? Had he been cut? I have no idea. He was apparently in 27 games during the two years he was on the active roster, though I can't find any stats.

I saw some newspaper archive that says the Dolphins picked him up, but he doesn't show up on their roster. And then his obituary says that he had a 12-year NFL career that included the Bengals and the Saints, though I don't see any documentation anywhere of him playing for anyone but the Chiefs: http://valhallafuneralhome.com/book-...h/obituary.php. I also don't see him listed on the roster of the WFL team listed in his obituary: http://www.justsportsstats.com/footb...LBIA&year=1974. I don't know what's going on there and won't speculate.

One thing for sure is that he won a Super Bowl. At the 0:58 second mark, you see him whapping Jim Tyrer's shoulder pads in the pre-game: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-networ...-Super-Bowl-IV

There's a Facebook page for him that I think was set up by a daughter or something: https://www.facebook.com/Eugene-Big-...1785174867024/. She was proud of his Chiefs years, obviously, and maybe he was, too. It seems that he must've had fond memories.

So where was he in 1968? I'm really curious.

Also, here's a very mysterious youtube video that shows you how to pronounce his name:

[Rain Man]

#52. Trezelle (not Leroy) Jenkins, 1995. 31st pick.

It seemed like Marty and Carl could find linemen, so I have no idea where this pick came from. Trezelle was with the team for 3 seasons, but appeared in only 9 games and had 1 start in his career. I can't find any information about what happened to him, other than a comment in a book that the Chiefs "realized that he wasn't a very good player and soured on him quickly".

Here's a photo of a game-worn Trezelle Jenkins jersey. These are really, really rare for obvious reasons. It can be yours for $300. http://www.gamewornuniforms.com/cata...ins-p-2663.php

[jjchieffan]

Trezelle Jenkins. Yep, that was a bad one. We should be seeing Ryan Sims and Tyson Jackson soon. Not to mention Todd Blackledge.

[rico]

A lot of times, when I say, "Barry Richardson is the worst Chiefs player I've ever watched," I will get the response, "you obviously don't remember much about Trezelle Jenkins." And truth is, I don't remember much about him. I think I was like a Freshman in HS when we drafted him... I was real "checked out" for a few years around that age in terms of following the NFL. He was that bad, eh?

[mcaj22]

Jon Baldwin has to be in the on deck circle

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

#55, Gale Sayers, 1965. #5 pick (AFL).

Our two worst-ever first-round picks were stolen by the Bears. Injury-prone running back who only played four years with less than 5,000 career rushing yards and about 1,300 receiving yards. Had a good rookie season and second season that he rode for the rest of his career and into the Hall of Fame. But he never put on a Chiefs uniform, for the simple reason that he said he would prefer to live in Chicago over Kansas City.

WoW ! Never realized we drafted Gale sayers.

[rico]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

Jon Baldwin has to be in the on deck circle

Man, that behind the back catch he made vs. the Donks was really cool. I was definitely on that hype train.