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]

#28. Brad Budde, LG, 1980. 11th pick.

I was in high school when this pick occurred, and I smelled a rat. Was it a legitimate football pick or was it a public relations move to draft the son of Chiefs legend Ed Budde? The #11 pick in the first round seemed like an expensive p.r. move.

The Chiefs swore that Budde's family lines had nothing to do with the selection, and Brad did have a good resume. He was an All-American and an academic All-American at USC, and he won the Lombardi trophy as the nation's top college lineman. He played alongside guys like Ronnie Lott and Marcus Allen, and appears to have lined up next to Anthony Munoz, which makes anybody better.

Regardless of the reason, the Chiefs drafted him. He was unable to dislodge Bob Simmons from the LG spot his rookie year. (Interestingly, Simmons had held off 1st rounder Rod Walters a few years earlier. He was the left guard version of Bill Kenney in that regard.) Budde later said that he didn't like the offensive line coach's blocking philosophy of "get close, grab, and hold on for dear life".

The Chiefs got a new punch-blocking line coach the next year, and Budde was happy. He won the starting job in 1981 and was a consistent starter through 1986, other than missing half the 1985 season with a "bruised shoulder". I think maybe that term downplayed the injury since he missed nine games with that bruise.

He actually played in the famous droughtbreaking 1986 playoff game as well, which would turn out to be his final Chiefs game.

As a really unusual factoid, center Jack Rudnay lined up next to Brad Budde as a starter for two years, and also lined up next to Brad's father Ed for five seasons.

Apparently he didn't get along well with the Raiders. Here's a news article from 1986: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/09/sp...suspended.html

SPORTS PEOPLE; Townsend Suspended
Published: October 9, 1986

Commisoner Pete Rozelle announced yesterday that Greg Townsend, a defensive end for the Los Angeles Raiders, had been suspended without pay for this Sunday's game because of three ''flagrant'' fouls committed against three members of the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday.

Townsend can appeal the suspension.

In a review of the game films, Townsend was cited by the commissioner for pursuing Brad Budde, a Kansas City guard, while the Chiefs had the ball in the second period and, at a point at least 15 yards from the ball carrier, striking Budde in the back and sparking a general melee. Townsend was also accused of stomping on the head of David Lutz, a Kansas City tackle, who had lost his helmet during the melee and was in a prone position on the field, and of grabbing the facemask of Mark Adickes, a Kansas City guard, and ultimately ripping the helmet from his head.

''All three of the above mentioned actions - particularly the last two, which involved the highly vulnerable head and neck areas - could have inflicted serious injury,'' Rozelle said. Adickes was later found to have a sprained neck that may keep him out of this week's game at Cleveland.

I remember that fight, and remember Howie Long cheap-shotting Brad during the fight. That may have been the dirtiest Raiders team to ever take the field, and is one of the main reasons I can't stand Howie Long, who is a dirty-playing, cheap-shotting son of a bus station whore.

Here's another story about it: http://articles.latimes.com/1986-12-..._greg-townsend

A LOOK AT TWO OF SUNDAY'S RAM, RAIDER OPPONENTS : KANSAS CITY'S BRAD BUDDE : Ex-USC Star Has Learned to Lose Where Father Won
December 13, 1986|SAM McMANIS | Times Staff Writer

This, a skeptical Brad Budde was quickly assured, was not going to be another of those stories about how he has followed in his famous father's cleat marks to become an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Honest, Brad, there will hardly be a mention of this being the only time in pro football history that a father and son were drafted in the first round by the same team--decades apart, of course. There might not even be space to reminisce about how Brad used to be a team water boy when his dad, Ed, played in the 1960s and '70s, the Chiefs' glory days.

"The father-and-son thing still is all I ever read about me, and I've learned to go along with it," said Budde, somewhat exasperated. "But there's a point in time when you get tired of those articles. I mean, I'm in my seventh year now. Talk about something else."

This time around, Budde has a lot to talk about, and it doesn't require cracking open the family album.

Budde, former All-American guard at USC, was one of the chief Chiefs involved in the fight when his team played the Raiders Oct. 5 at Kansas City. That fracas resulted in a one-game suspension for Raider defensive end Greg Townsend.

With the rematch looming Sunday at the Coliseum, Budde was asked for his thoughts on the rumble.

"This is the way I look at it," he said. "It's a violent game. And any player in the NFL gets off on making hits and being tough, and no one ever wants to be embarrassed. So, the fisticuffs, the shoving, the extra stuff that goes on, that's all part of the game.

"But when you cross the line of trying to, intentionally or not, inflict severe bodily harm, like when somebody's lying down and you strike them in the back, or pick them up and throw them down after a whistle, you've gone too far. You're talking about someone's livelihood out there. That's where you draw the line. Enough's enough."

What exactly happened in the melee late in the first half of the Raiders' 24-17 win at Kansas City differs, depending on which side is doing the explaining.

It began when the Chiefs executed a swing pass and Townsend pursued the play. Budde, the pulling guard, was on the ground, and Townsend either accidentally tripped over Budde (as Townsend says) or kicked him (as Budde says). Budde got to his feet and started swinging at Townsend, and then other players in the vicinity joined the scrap in hockey-brawl fashion.

Townsend claims that Mark Adickes, the Chiefs' center, then hit him from behind while Budde hit him from the front. Townsend then tore Adickes' helmet off as the brawl reached its peak.

The casualty report included Adickes, who had a twisted neck; Budde, who suffered a broken nose courtesy of Howie Long, and Townsend, who later suffered a severe dent in his wallet. Townsend's suspension cost him about $7,800, and Long was fined $2,000 for breaking Budde's nose. All told, nine Raiders were fined a total of $13,200.

Budde said the National Football League was justified in collecting fines.

"This is a game of passion, and you have 22 egomaniacs out there not wanting to show their weakness, but what they did crossed the line and went too far," Budde said.

The 6-foot 4-inch, 271-pound Budde says he wouldn't be surprised if there were skirmishes when the Raiders and Chiefs, both 8-6, meet again. "That's the way the Chiefs and Raiders always have played," he said.

Because his father was a Chief, Budde probably has followed the rivalry closer than most. He has seen the Kansas City franchise at its best, such as when the Chiefs beat Minnesota in the 1970 Super Bowl with Ed Budde at starting guard, and at its worst, such as last season, which ended with a 6-10 record.

But Budde, 27, does little to defuse speculation that he wants out of Kansas City after this season. Although he won't say that he will definitely seek a trade, Budde admits that he probably would be happier elsewhere. And the way the Chiefs have been filtering in younger linemen, Budde thinks the feeling may be mutual.

"I really don't know what the future holds for me as a Chief," he said. "I might not even be here next season. They are starting to shuffle people around on the line. I think everybody who plays wants to be appreciated. Maybe it's time for me to move on."

Perhaps one reason Budde doesn't like to talk about "the father-son thing" is that his career hasn't turned out quite as well as his dad's. In his first six years in Kansas City, the Chiefs had a 40-49 record.

If the Chiefs win their two remaining games, they will finish at 10-6, the club's best record during Budde's tenure. Kansas City hasn't made the playoffs since 1971.

In Budde's view, Kansas City fans have partly blamed him for the Chiefs' inability to win. After all, he is Ed's kid. And Ed played on only three losing teams in 13 seasons.

It seems that Budde was getting tired of life in KC, and then got on the outs with Frank Gansz when he did his offseason training in southern California instead of Kansas City. He then tore an abdominal muscle in 1987 training camp, missed the season, got cut prior to 1988, and then tried out and got cut by ... the Raiders.

(Sigh.) Brad, you are a lesser man than your father.

Overall, Brad started 79 games for the Chiefs, so you can't write him off. I just retain my main memory of him in that brawl getting chicken-punched by that piece of human feces named Howie Long, and that's not a great memory. He was an (pause) okay (pause) player, but in retrospect, I don't think it was good for anybody that the Chiefs drafted him instead of another team.

Here's a picture of Brad. Or maybe it's Ed. But Brad signed it, so it's probably Brad.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

#29. Glenn Dorsey, DT, 2008. 5th pick.

See Tyson Jackson's entry at #32.

Dorsey is Jackson, Jackson is Dorsey. Probably the only difference is that everyone was thrilled to draft Dorsey at #5 and everyone was shocked to draft Jackson at #3.

He certainly didn't meet our high hopes for him, but viewed in context we could have done a lot worse. The next three picks off the board that year were Vernon Gholston, Sedrick Ellis, and Derrick Harvey. Next to that, Dorsey's 65 starts, 159 tackles, and 4 sacks isn't that bad.

I read somewhere that Vernon Gholston is going to be a stud.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

It is your thread, so do it how you want. I think you are doing a fine job ranking these picks. Very informative analysis.

I think he should have had 5 quadrants: Successful, mediocre, and bust. But like you say, it's his thread.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by patteeu

I think he should have had 5 quadrants: Successful, mediocre, and bust. But like you say, it's his thread.

I need exactly equal segments. With 56 first-rounders, I either need 4 quadrants or 7 septants.

Is septants a word?

[KC_Lee]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Is septants a word?

It's some sort of song...

[jjchieffan]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I need exactly equal segments. With 56 first-rounders, I either need 4 quadrants or 7 septants.

I disagree. To divide them into quadrants would say that there have been exactly the same number of bust as stars and disappointing and solid players drafted. Can you really name the 14th player a star, while naming the 15th solid? is the 28th really a solid player, while the 29th is truly disappointing? Was number 43 really a bust, or was he just disappointing? I mean, like others have said, it's your research. Do it how you like. I am really enjoying it. I'm just saying that you could have had varying group sizes if you wanted to.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I need exactly equal segments. With 56 first-rounders, I either need 4 quadrants or 7 septants.

Is septants a word?

I don't know, but I was just making an innumerate* joke.

_____
* Not sure innumerate is the right word

[Rain Man]

#27. John Tait, OT, 1999. 14th pick.

If you don't like John Tait listed here, you can sit the f**k down and shut the f**k up.

Let's get the agent thing out of the way first. There are contentious negotiations, and Tait's agent is a n00b and Carl's Hubris was at its peak. Here's what the news articles said: http://cjonline.com/stories/090199/c...l#.WWmEnITyvIV

Spoiler!

When the two sides could not resolve the issue, Lock said an angry Peterson told Tait, "This is an embarrassment, you've haven't even put on the (bleep) pads. If you don't like it, you can go back in the (bleep) draft."

Lock said he angrily advised Peterson not to talk that way around his 24-year-old client, and that Peterson responded by telling Lock to "sit the (bleep) down." At that point, Lock said he broke off the meeting with an expletive of his own.

If you don't remember, Tait was a devout Mormon and apparently had never heard curse words or something.

Afterward, we got this story, which affected Tait's entire career with the Chiefs: http://cjonline.com/stories/090299/s...l#.WWmCVoTyvIU

Spoiler!

Carl Peterson wants to sit down with rookie holdout John Tait and his family. The Taits apparently are willing to entertain the Kansas City Chiefs president in their Phoenix home.

Ethan Lock, the agent for Tait who harshly criticized Peterson both as a person and a professional after their negotiating session Tuesday ended in a shower of profanities, said Wednesday that no meeting had been set between Peterson and the Tait family.

Alan Tait, John Tait's father, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he would be willing to meet with Peterson, who called him that night and apologized for profane language he used in that afternoon's meeting. Peterson said he wanted to visit the Taits personally this weekend either before or after the Chiefs play in San Diego on Friday.

"I told Carl, first of all, that we accept his apology. I believe he's being sincere," Alan Tait said. "The main thing is for him to come back here and talk with Ethan Lock. My wife and I will look forward to getting the chance to meet him.

Five years later, when Tait left KC and went to the Bears, check out this statement in the Chicago Tribune: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ohn-tait-bears

Spoiler!

Peterson apologized but never followed through with an offer to visit Tait's parents in Arizona, a point members of Tait's camp drove home last week when media reports recounted that ugly episode.

On Chiefsplanet, we were pondering if Tait would leave, and I remember rumors of Miami. We pondered that he wouldn't go to Miami because a pure Mormon would never want to be around bikini-clad women who weren't his wives. But it turned out that Carl's broken promise was a big factor.

Enough of the off-field stuff. Tait's holdout cost him much of his rookie season and he only started three games. He finally got the starting left tackle role in 2000 and was ... okay... for a couple of years. He definitely made his share of mistakes. So when Joe Horn got caught creeping inside a house and a woman that was not his own down in New Orleans, the Chiefs invested a mere fourth-round pick to sign the largest ship in the fleet, the USS Willie Roaf.

Roaf lumbered into camp, picked Tait up by the back of the neck, and gently set him down in the right tackle spot. Tait never made a pro bowl, but for a couple of years he was the right tackle on perhaps the greatest offensive line in NFL history, and he held his own.

But then the Bears came calling, and he remembered that King Carl never visited his parents. He went to the Bears, moved back to the left side, and played five more years. He even got to play in a Super Bowl, albeit with Rex Grossman so it doesn't really count.

Overall, Tait had a workmanlike 10-year career. His five years with the Chiefs produced 66 starts and the highest career yards per carry in Chiefs history. Because you know I'm not going talk about John Tait without sharing this clip (and by the way, it was a mistake on his part to run out of bounds even though it was a good play otherwise):

[patteeu]

Have we had a better right tackle since John Tait left? It's a shame he didn't stick around a couple more years.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Have we had a better right tackle since John Tait left? It's a shame he didn't stick around a couple more years.

I'd posted this earlier in the Victor Riley post, but ... no, we haven't. Let's see if Mitchell Schwartz can break the pattern.

As an aside, I was always impressed by the size of John Welbourn. The stats say he wasn't bigger than a normal right tackle, but I swear he always looked bigger than everyone else on the field.



2016 Mitchell Schwartz
2015 Jah Reid
2014 Ryan Harris
2013 Eric Fisher
2012 Eric Winston
2011 Barry Richardson
2010 Barry Richardson
2009 Ryan O'Callaghan
2008 Damion McIntosh
2007 Chris Terry
2006 Kyle Turley
2005 John Welbourn
2004 John Welbourn
2003 John Tait
2002 John Tait
2001 Marcus Spears
2000 Victor Riley
1999 Victor Riley
1998 Victor Riley
1997 Glenn Parker

[Rain Man]

I'm watching that clip again, and it's fun to see how Roaf and Waters immediately went into power sweep mode once Tait got the ball. Those guys were made for the power sweep.

Priest is out front there, too, but he seems to have no idea what to do when he's not carrying the ball.

[Rain Man]

I hesitate to mention it, but Wiegman was holding really blatantly on that play. He got lucky that it wasn't called.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I hesitate to mention it, but Wiegman was holding really blatantly on that play. He got lucky that it wasn't called.

I've had enough. Welcome to my ignore list!

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by BigMeatballBillay

How bout the tight end we drafted got cut in camp and then went to prison for murder?

How many ****ing murderers have the goddamned Chiefs employed?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

How many ****ing murderers have the goddamned Chiefs employed?

Well, Jim Tyrer lost it and killed his wife and himself 1980.

If not, he'd probably be a HOFer.