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Kansas City Chiefs Draft Day Disasters: Five Worst Picks in Team History

By John Viril

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Kansas City Chiefs fans – Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

1.TE Elmore Stephens, Kentucky, 2nd Round 1975—Stephens is the poster child for draft failure in Kansas City. Elmore Stephens was so bad that new coach Paul Wiggins unloaded him after only two-preseason games (out of the six teams used to hold in that era). Somehow, President/GM Jack Steadman duped the Giants into dealing a conditional pick for him.

What followed seems like something Hollywood made up, as reported by BobGretz.com:

"September 2 – the Giants placed him on waivers. October 11 – a robbery at Stephens’ apartment in Lexington, Kentucky nets the culprit $1,000 in cash and a $500 wristwatch. Stephens and three other men find the man they believed robbed the apartment, 24-year old Luron Taylor. They kidnap him from his residence and place him in the trunk of their car. October 12 – in the early morning hours of this fall Sunday, Stephens strangles Taylor and the four men dump his body into the Ohio River. October 14 – based on a description from Taylor’s girlfriend, Stephens and two others are arrested on kidnapping charges. They are jailed on a $100,000 bond. October 21 – a body washes up near downtown Louisville and is pulled out of the river by the police. It’s identified as Luron Taylor. October 23 – Stephens and two others are charged with murder. January 24, 1976 – after deliberating for 11 hours, 40 minutes, a jury of 7 women and 5 men in Fayette County Circuit Court found Stephens guilty of kidnapping and reckless homicide charges. February 21, 1976 – Stephens is sentenced to 21 years in prison."

Kidnap, murder, and 21 years in prison. Yeah. Steadman sure knew how to pick ’em in 1975. Stephens was emblematic for a Chiefs scouting department that produced the worst draft in team history.

Of the 11 players picked in 1975, only one saw the field for Kansas City Chiefs (11 games all from 6th round running back Morris LaGrand). The ten other players never logged a down FOR ANY NFL TEAM.

The 1975 draft was notable because it directly led to Steadman stepping down in favor of the legendary Jim Schaaf—whose teams compiled a marvelous 76-119-1 record (.390 winning percentage).

It was the worst era in team history. Despite repeated failures, the incompetent Schaaf kept his job FOR 13 YEARS! Such patience would be unimaginable in today’s internet-driven news cycle. Schaaf made Scott Pioli look like the prospect-whisperer by comparison.

Elmore Stephens was the draft day plague that brought on the franchise’s Dark Age. Let’s hope we never see another Kansas City draft pick like him—though I’d enjoy seeing the Broncos start such an era.

Next: Chiefs Top 5 Draft Day Bargains

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