Kansas City Chiefs: Revisiting the 2017 NFL Draft

The 2017 NFL Draft will go down in history, not just for Kansas City Chiefs fans, but for the entire NFL. The Chiefs traded up to pick No. 10 to take a quarterback who would change the league forever.

There was a lot of intrigue in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs were in a very interesting spot and it was a huge mystery as to what player the team would target or what position they’d address. Being No. 28 in line didn’t make it any easier, but somehow, mock drafts had quarterbacks falling to the Chiefs that late in the first round (yes, even the guy they ended up getting at No. 10).

Let’s take a look at the six players who joined the Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft:

• No. 10 – Patrick Mahomes, QB (Texas Tech)
• No. 59 – Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE (Villanova)
• No. 86 – Kareem Hunt, RB (Toledo)
• No. 139 – Jehu Chesson, WR (Michigan)
• No. 183 – Ukeme Eligwe, LB (Georgia Southern)
• No. 218 – Leon McQuay, S (USC)

The Kansas City Chiefs landed Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Aside from Mahomes, this draft class wasn’t very good. No one really cares, of course, as Mahomes made up for the other five players either not doing much or getting released due to off-the-field issues. Mahomes has thrown for 14,152 yards, 114 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions during his four years in the league (three as a starter) while also winning a Super Bowl, a Super Bowl MVP, and being named league MVP in 2018. Yeah, he’s been pretty good.

The rest of the draft, however, not so much.

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Kpassagnon was fine, but the Chiefs weren’t devastated that he didn’t re-sign. He got off to a slow start with the team who spent a second-round pick on him and it wasn’t enough to keep him around. He had 75 tackles and seven sacks through four years, including four sacks in 2019.

Hunt was on his way to being a special player for the Chiefs, but we all know what happened there. He was released after he kicked a woman and the video was released. Hunt lied to the Chiefs about what happened and that led to his release. He was given a second chance by the Browns but missed out on the chance to win a Super Bowl with the team who drafted him.

The rest of this draft class did very little.

Chesson appeared in 12 games (one start) through one season and caught just two passes for 18 yards. He didn’t make it past 2017 with the Chiefs and spent 2018 with Washington. He hasn’t taken a snap in an NFL game since 2018.

Eligwe didn’t make it past his rookie year either, playing in 14 games (starting one) while collecting five tackles and one sack. He played for the Giants in 2018 and hasn’t played in an NFL game since then.

McQuay appeared in just one game in 2017. He had four tackles and one defended pass in that game. That was it for the safety out of USC.

The 2017 NFL Draft starts and ends with Patrick Mahomes and for an organization who shied away from drafting a quarterback in the first round for over 30 years, they picked a good time to face their fears. Trading up 18 spots was risky, but it was more than worth it.

What other thoughts do you have on this draft class?