Kansas City Chiefs: Every First Round Draft Pick Since 2000
EVERY CHIEFS FIRST ROUND PICK – 2014 NFL DRAFT: DEE FORD
A good rule of thumb when judging whether or not an NFL draft pick pans out is to give him three years. Dee Ford has now had four seasons and it’s pretty clear that he isn’t a good fit for the Chiefs.
The 2014 NFL Draft had what is considered to be one of the best drafts for wide receivers possibly ever and the Chiefs, who desperately needed a receiver, went with Dee Ford. It was a puzzling pick to say the least, but the Chiefs were seemingly planning ahead with Tamba Hali’s contract ending soon.
Ford’s rookie season was… um… interesting? His most memorable moment was running away from then 49ers running back Frank Gore in what is still a hilarious vine years later (see below). Ford ended his rookie season was just three tackles and one and a half sacks.
By Ford’s third year in the pros, fans had given up on him. He did end the 2016 season with ten sacks, but basically disappeared in the second half of the season. Ford had the chance to build on that ten sack season in 2017, but he ended up playing in only six games.
Ford wasn’t what the Chiefs expected him to be when they made him the 23rd overall pick and as a result, he was traded to the 49ers following the 2018 season. Oddly enough, he faced the Chiefs in the Super Bowl the following year and was on the losing side of things, as he was forced to watch his old team celebrate a championship.
In a year where the Chiefs could have found a top-notch receiver, they took Dee Ford. That one will sting for a while.