Playing center might very well be the most grueling position in all of sports. As well as an underratedly important player, because they touch the ball every single down, and are the first point of attack. The Kansas City Chiefs' history at center is one fans know better than most, while revering the names of the past, and thanking their lucky stars for who they have in the present.
In KC Kingdom's eighth edition of our ongoing offseason series "Chiefs All-Time Mount Rushmore," we are taking a deeper look into football's most underappreciated player.
Jon Gilliam (1961-67)
Gilliam's road to professional football was unlike many seen today, but it was common back when the AFL was just kickstarting. He was drafted in the first round of the AFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and in the 14th round by the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. The Packers finalized a deal with Gilliam and then traded him to the New York Giants during camp, who moved him to the expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, who then released him three days later.
Gilliam returned to college, but not long after that, Lamar Hunt urged him to come back to pro football and signed Gilliam to the Dallas Texans. The rest was history. In Gilliam's first season, he made the Pro Bowl, and the year after that, the Texans won the AFL Championship with Len Dawson under center, receiving nearly every snap from Gilliam.
In his first five seasons, Gilliam played in all 70 games and became one of the Texans/Chiefs' most historic offensive linemen of all time. While he played sparingly in the 1966 season, Gilliam started the AFL-NFL Super Bowl I game versus the very team that drafted him, the Packers, but Kansas City fell short of glory. Jon Gilliam is not a name many know or remember, but he was a cornerstone of a budding franchise.
Jack Rudnay (1969-82)
A fourth-round selection by the Chiefs in the 1969 AFL Draft, Jack Rudnay missed the entirety of his rookie season from a back injury suffered in his senior year of college. It's the same season that Kansas City won Super Bowl IV, and though he could not play, Rudnay will forever be a champion.
His second season in 1970 spurred the beginning of a 13-year-long starting spot as the Chiefs center, where he played with Len Dawson in the twilight of the legendary QB's career and then had to stomach the throwers to follow. Rudnay was selected to four consecutive Pro-Bowls from 1973-76.
Jack Rudnay is 15th all-time on the list of games played as a Chief at 178, and retired at the age of 35 following the 1982 season. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Honor in 1994.
Tim Grunhard (1990-2000)
It was between Grunhard and Casey Weigmann for this next spot on the list, and Grunhard gained the edge simply because he was a Chief through and through from the start of his career to the end. He was drafted 40th overall in the second round and was an instant difference maker at 6'2", 310 lbs.
Grunhard was an integral piece of the Marty Schottenheimer-led Chiefs teams of the '90s, where he snapped the ball to the likes of Joe Montana and opened up running lanes for guys like Christian Okoye and Marcus Allen. Grunhard was the definition of an iron man, playing in 169 career regular- season games and 10 playoff matches.
He made his lone Pro-Bowl team in 1999 and retired after the 2000 season, just missing out on the great Chiefs rushing attack of Priest Holmes. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Chiefs fan who doesn't love "Grunny," as he was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Honor in 2021.
Creed Humphrey (2021-pres.)
Easily the most decorated player on this list, despite playing just five years so far in his career, is Creed Humphrey. As a second-round pick in 2021, Humphrey instantly captured the league's attention and, from day one, was recognized as one of the best in his position.
Perhaps the most astounding statistic about Humphrey is that he has never missed a single game in his entire career, playoffs included, at 98 games. And better yet, he just keeps improving. Humphrey came third in the voting for Offensive Rookie of the Year, has made the Pro Bowl each of the past four seasons, is a back-to-back first team All-Pro, and a two-time Super Bowl Champion in 2022-23.
At this point, the former Oklahoma product is far and away the best center in the NFL and en route to the NFL's Hall of Fame if he keeps it up. At 6'4", 300 lbs, Humphrey is strong as an ox, athletic, with violent hands, and gets upfield with ease. The Chiefs couldn't wish for a better in-line protector for Patrick Mahomes than Creed Humphrey.
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