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KC Chiefs Have Not Had Luck Developing Quarterbacks

By Leigh Oleszczak

Aaron Murray - Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Murray - Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The KC Chiefs have become a known franchise for not drafting quarterbacks early on in the NFL Draft. They’re the type of team who either acquires them from other teams or drafts them later on.

Did you know that the Kansas City Chiefs have only drafted four quarterbacks in the past decade? Out of those four quarterbacks, only one was selected before the third day of the draft.

Chiefs fans have learned the hard way that this team is not good at drafting and developing quarterbacks. The last time the team took a quarterback in the first round of the draft was in 1983 when they selected Todd Blackledge with the seventh overall pick.

As we all know, Blackledge went on to become the franchise’s biggest draft bust, and the rest of the 1983 quarterback draft class went on to become Hall of Famers. This would be the part when the fans would pout and yell “Not fair!”

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The Chiefs took a gamble (by their standards) in the 2006 NFL Draft when they took Brodie Croyle out of Alabama in the third round. Trent Green and Damon Huard started the 2006 season for the Chiefs, giving Croyle a chance to learn from two seasoned veterans.

Croyle got his chance to start in 2007, but injuries took a toll on his career. The guy never won a game during his tenure in Kansas City and was out of the league after the 2010 season. Another failed quarterback prospect by the Chiefs.

Since the Croyle pick in 2006, the KC Chiefs have drafted three quarterbacks. All three of those quarterbacks were drafted in the fifth round of their perspective drafts and two of them are still currently on the team’s roster. The other one was a guy named Ricky Stanzi, whom the team drafted in 2011 out of Iowa.

The hope is that one of these guys can not only be a solid backup quarterback, but that they could someday take Smith’s job and run with it.

Stanzi might have gotten a bum deal in my opinion because Chiefs fans never got to see what the kid could do. Even in the abysmal season that was 2012, Romeo Crennel continued to put Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn out on the field and never gave Stanzi a chance. Not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing honestly.

Now, here the Kansas City Chiefs sit with three potential backup quarterbacks on the depth chart behind Alex Smith. They have a chance to develop any of these guys into a potential future starter, but they have to figure out which one is going to be the backup first.

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There’s Tyler Bray, who the team didn’t draft, but they did sign directly after the 2013 NFL Draft wrapped up. Bray’s got a rocket for an arm and was initially named the backup behind Smith.

Aaron Murray was selected in the 2014 NFL Draft and the hype was through the roof. Murray was one of the best quarterbacks to ever roll through the SEC, and if he had entered the draft as a junior, there’s a good chance he would have been the first overall pick by Kansas City that year.

Lastly, there’s new guy Kevin Hogan. Hogan was this year’s fifth round pick out of Stanford, and he plays a similar style to that of Smith’s. He’s mobile and can’t necessarily heave the ball down the field, but he’s smart when it comes to the sport.

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The hope is that one of these guys can not only be a solid backup quarterback, much like Chase Daniel was during his three years in Kansas City, but that they could someday take Smith’s job and run with it.

The Chiefs are about due to have a drafted quarterback pan out for them, and it very well could be with a guy in this group.

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