Kansas City Chiefs Draft Day Disasters: Five Worst Picks in Team History
By John Viril
Steve Fuller #4 of the Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
3. QB Steve Fuller, Clemson, 1st round 1979—Steve Fuller had a decent little career. After four years in Kansas City, he moved on to Chicago where he subbed for an injured Jim McMahon on a team that made the conference championship game in 1984. Fuller even caddied for five regular season games in Chicago’s Super Bowl winning 1985 team, going 4-1.
Of course, that’s the problem, Steve Fuller was just decent. Not a guy to build a team around.
It’s not as if Montana was hard to spot. Joe merely won a National Championship as a collegiate quarterback at Notre Dame.
What’s even more painful is that 2nd year coach Marv Levy was looking for a mobile quarterback skilled in the short passing game that could complement his run-oriented Wing-T attack. GM Jim Schaaf’s scouting department just happened to pass up the best short-passing quarterback in the history of the game in Joe Montana, who was still available for San Francisco in the 3rd round.
It’s not as if Montana was hard to spot. Joe merely won a National Championship as a collegiate quarterback at Notre Dame.
Schaaf’s failure to secure the most important position on the field ultimately led to the demise of a really good football coach. Marv Levy moved on to Buffalo and showed what he could do when paired with a great quarterback.
Four consecutive Super Bowl appearances is nothing to sneeze at. I’m sure Lamar Hunt would have enjoyed lifting his trophy in victory at least once had Schaaf pulled the trigger on Montana.
Next: Number TWO