Kansas City Chiefs: Revisiting the 2014 NFL Draft

Oddly enough, the only member of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2014 NFL Draft class still on the roster is their final pick of that draft.

With one year under Andy Reid‘s tutelage in the books, the Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2014 NFL Draft with a number of question marks. This was one of the best wide receiver classes in draft history and Chiefs Kingdom was salivating over the thought of taking one in the first round, as wide receiver was a position of need.

Well, not only did the Chiefs pass on a wide receiver in the first round, they failed to address the position at all throughout the course of the 2014 NFL Draft. Here were the six players Kansas City selected seven years ago:

• No. 23 – Dee Ford, LB (Auburn)
• No. 87 – Phillip Gaines, CB (Rice)
• No. 124 – De’Anthony Thomas, RB (Oregon)
• No. 163 – Aaron Murray, QB (Georgia)
• No. 193 – Zach Fulton, OG (Tennessee)
• No. 200 – Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL (McGill)

The Kansas City Chiefs added six players in the 2014 NFL Draft.

The Dee Ford selection was not a popular one. As I mentioned above, the Chiefs had their shot at Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, and Jarvis Landry, but instead went with a rather unknown linebacker out of Auburn. Fans were even more annoyed with the pick after Ford ran away from Frank Gore when the Chiefs played the 49ers his rookie year.

Ford’s offsides play in the AFC Championship that cost the Chiefs a trip to the Super Bowl in the 2018 season was the final straw for Kansas City and he was shipped to San Francisco where he’s still playing. Injuries played a major factor in Ford’s lack of production but he did have two seasons in KC where he tallied double-digit sacks.

Gaines is still in the league, but most Chiefs fans are glad he’s not in Kansas City anymore. He got torched by Trevor Siemian of all people in a game against the Broncos so that should tell you all you need to know right there. Gaines has spent the past two seasons with the Texans.

Thomas was an exciting player when he first entered the league but he never became what the Chiefs were hoping he’d be in their offense. He thrived on special teams as a return specialist but once Tyreek Hill came to Kansas City and did Thomas’ job better than he did, that was all she wrote for the speedster from Oregon. He last played with Baltimore in 2019.

Murray was arguably the pick that fans were most excited about at the time, which is so bizarre to think about. Hey, things were rough at the quarterback spot before Patrick Mahomes got to town, okay? People really thought Murray had a chance to be something special for this team but he never even took a snap in the NFL outside of the preseason.

Two of the best picks in this draft for the Chiefs were the final two selections. Fulton was a versatile option to have along the offensive line and he was a swing option for this team during his four years in Kansas City. He’s spent the last three years in Houston.

Duvernay-Tardif is the only pick from this draft still on the Chiefs’ roster. He took over at right guard during his second year in the league and that’s where he’s stayed ever since. The Canadian doctor opted out of the 2020 season to work the frontlines of the pandemic and will return to man the right guard spot again in 2021.

The fact that the Chiefs found their starting right guard in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft is quite an accomplishment. Ford wasn’t a great first-round pick even if he did have some decent seasons. He was injured too much and overall inconsistent and I personally wasn’t disappointed to see him get traded.

What thoughts do you have on the Chiefs’ 2014 NFL Draft?