KC Chiefs Haven’t Had Much Luck With First Round Receivers

By Leigh Oleszczak | Feb 19, 2015

With the 2015 NFL Draft approaching in the next few months, the KC Chiefs have a lot of decisions to make as far as what they’re going to do with their first round pick. Most fans would love for the Kansas City Chiefs to grab a wide receiver in the first round, but the Chiefs haven’t had the best experiences with drafting receivers in the first round over the years.

The KC Chiefs have only drafted three wide receivers in the first round since 2000: Sylvester Morris, Dwayne Bowe, and Jonathan Baldwin. Sure, Bowe is still a member of the Chiefs’ organization (at least for now anyway), but I’m one of the many who hasn’t been impressed with him.

Let’s start with the earliest though, Sylvester Morris, who played his college ball at Jackson State. Morris was drafted by Kansas City in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the 21st overall pick. Morris was only a member of the Chiefs for one season, then spent some time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and his career was later cut short due to several injuries.

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On a more positive note, Dante Hall also came out of the 2000 NFL Draft, only in the fifth round. He was a much better pick for the Chiefs.

We’ll get to Dwayne Bowe in a bit, but first let’s cover Jon Baldwin. Baldwin was the Chiefs’ first round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Kansas City spent their 26th overall pick on this future bust. Baldwin didn’t start things out real well, as he missed several early season games due to an injury he got from a fight with teammate Thomas Jones.

From there, Baldwin would only go on to catch two touchdowns in two years with the Chiefs. He was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the 2013 off season for A.J. Jenkins, the Niners’ version of Baldwin, and did nothing there.

Baldwin is out of the league and is only 25 years old. He showed potential at times and had some unbelievable grabs, but he didn’t pan out in the NFL and I, for one, am terrified of drafting a receiver in round one for this reason alone.

Dwayne Bowe, while still a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, hasn’t always been a fan favorite. He’s been an established “dropper”, has caused problems off the field, and in all honesty, would probably be a number two receiver on most other teams.

Bowe was given a large contract extension during the 2013 off season and definitely has not lived up to it. He didn’t record a single touchdown in 2014 (although none of the receivers did) and only had 754 receiving yards.

Who knows if the Kansas City Chiefs will even keep Bowe for the 2015 season or if they’ll work with him to try and renegotiate his contract. If Bowe renegotiates, it will give the KC Chiefs an opportunity to shell out money to Justin Houston, who is seeking a big contract for his defensive efforts over the past few seasons.

The Chiefs more than likely will go with either a wide receiver or an offensive lineman in the first round. John Dorsey has shown that he likes to go with more surprising selections and might end up doing so on draft day for this year’s draft. More than likely though, if the Chiefs do go with a wide receiver, it’ll be a guy like Jaelen Strong, DeVante Parker, or Dorial Green-Beckham. DGB screams “Jon Baldwin Part Two” to me, which is why I hope Kansas City stays far away from him.

So, what’s the point of all of this? Mainly just for the KC Chiefs to be careful come draft day. Sure, it’s hard to tell who will be a bust in the NFL, but the Chiefs have had a tough time landing “elite” players in the draft when it comes to wide receivers.

Next: Will Dwayne Bowe Take Pay Cut For Justin Houston to be Re Signed

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