KC Chiefs: Todd Blackledge considered worst Chiefs first round pick

Bleacher Report compiled a list of the best first round picks by each NFL team and the worst first round picks by each NFL team. For the KC Chiefs, it was Todd Blackledge.

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report put together what he considered to be the best first round picks and worst first picks by every NFL team. For the Kansas City Chiefs, he had Tony Gonzalez as the best, but who was the worst? That would be Todd Blackledge.

Blackledge was drafted seventh overall in 1983 – what would later be known as one of the best quarterback draft classes ever. That’s great and all, but the Chiefs did not land one of those greats. In fact, they passed on the likes of Jim Kelly and Dan Marino to take Blackledge and they were paying the price for a long time.

Sobleski writes,

"Blackledge may be included in the famed class, but he developed into its biggest disappointment after the Chiefs chose the 1982 Davey O’Brien Awardwinner with the seventh pick only to see him bomb with a career 48.1 completion percentage and a 29-38 touchdown-to-interception ratio."

Let’s start with the obvious. Blackledge’s stats were atrocious, as his Chiefs career completion percentage was 49.1 and he threw for 26 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. He also never started more than eight games in a season.

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Blackledge did somehow manage to wiggle his way out of Kansas City with a winning record, going 13-11 after five seasons of putrid football. That’s 13 more wins than Brodie Croyle had in case you were wondering.

Until last year, Blackledge was the last time the Chiefs had drafted a quarterback in the first round. It was almost as if he scarred the organization and that’s what prevented the Chiefs from grabbing a quarterback early in the first round again. Could you really blame them for being afraid to try again after how bad Blackledge was?

Most of the time when these terrible draft pick lists come out, we all assume Blackledge will be in consideration for the Chiefs’ worst ever pick. He threw for 4,510 yards in five seasons and never even came close to looking like the franchise quarterback the Chiefs wanted him to be when they drafted him.

Whenever the “From Elway to Marino” 30 for 30 comes on, it’s tough for me to watch it. It shows how big of a bust Blackledge was and then how Marino continued to sit and wait to hear his name called until the Dolphins finally nabbed him. It still hurts, even though the Chiefs finally broke the barrier and drafted Patrick Mahomes.

Do you agree that Todd Blackledge was the worst Chiefs first rounder ever?