Top 10 Kansas City Chiefs Players of All Time
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No fanbase in the NFL has seen its longstanding devotion to its team rewarded more in recent years than the Kansas City Chiefs.
While Arrowhead Stadium has always been one of the most difficult places to win a game for an opposing team in all of professional sports, the home team hasn't always been as consistent until recent years. After all, they've been to the Super Bowl four times in the last five years.
Kansas City has been home to some of the most iconic players in NFL history over the franchise's lifespan. These are the 10 greatest Chiefs players of all time.
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10. Willie Lanier
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Position: Linebacker
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1967-77)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1969), six-time Pro Bowl (1970-75), eight-time All-Pro (1968-75), NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, Pro Football Hall of Fame (1986)
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Bottom Line: Willie Lanier
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Willie Lanier played in an era of football best defined by his hitting style — which mainly consisted of him trying to put the crown of his helmet through your sternum.
Lanier was one of two Hall of Famers in the Kansas City linebacker corps during his era, alongside Bobby Bell. In 11 seasons, Bell earned postseason honors eight times and helped lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win in 1969.
9. Buck Buchanan
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Position: Defensive tackle
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1963-75)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1970), NFL All-Pro (1971), two-time Pro Bowl (1970, 1971), six-time AFL All-Star (1964-69), six-time All-AFL (1964-69), NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
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Bottom Line: Buck Buchanan
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We can now truly appreciate Buck Buchanan's greatness — mainly because it's fun to imagine what someone who was 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds in the 1960s would do to an offensive line even in today's NFL.
Buchanan dominated in college for Grambling State and legendary coach Eddie Robinson before he made it to the AFL with the Kansas City Chiefs … where he continued to dominate. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Buchanan died of lung cancer in 1992, at 51 years old, and was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
8. Will Shields
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Position: Offensive guard
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1993-2006)
Career highlights: Seven-time NFL All-Pro (1997, 1999, 2002-06), 12-time Pro Bowl (1995-2006), PFWA All-Rookie Team (1993), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team
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Bottom Line: Will Shields
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It's been said the very greatest players make everyone around them better. In the case of a player who doesn't accumulate stats, that means turning a bunch of bums into Pro Bowlers, which Will Shields made a habit of while blocking for the Kansas City Chiefs for 14 seasons. He made players like Larry Johnson, Elvis Grbac, Trent Green and Priest Holmes seem like they were superstars.
The real superstar was up front, where Shields dominated opponents from the offensive guard spot — he was picked for the NFL All-Pro team seven times, Pro Bowl 12 times, named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
7. Len Dawson
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Position: Quarterback
Career: Pittsburgh Steelers (1957-59), Cleveland Browns (1960-61), Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs (1962-75)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1970), Super Bowl MVP (1970), three-time AFL champion (1962, 1966, 1969), AFL Championship MVP (1966), AFL MVP (1962), four-time All-AFL Team (1962, 1964, 1966, 1968), Pro Bowl (1971), six-time AFL All-Star (1962, 1964, 1966-69) AFL All-Time Team
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Bottom Line: Len Dawson
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Len Dawson held the title of the greatest quarterback in Kansas City Chiefs history until Patrick Mahomes came along — which is fitting because they each led the Chiefs to Super Bowl victories exactly 50 years apart. They were both also named Super Bowl MVP.
Dawson was a star in the AFL before the AFL-NFL merger, where he was a four-time All-AFL selection and the AFL Most Valuable Player in 1962. He was also behind perhaps the most iconic locker room picture of all time.
6. Travis Kelce
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Position: Tight end
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (2013-present)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2020, 2023, 2024), nine-time NFL All-Pro (2015-23), nine-time Pro Bowl (2015-23), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
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Bottom Line: Travis Kelce
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Travis Kelce is one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. Still in the prime of his career, he's already a Super Bowl champion, six-time NFL All-Pro selection and seven-time Pro Bowler who was also named to the NFL's 2010s All-Decade Team.
The pairing of Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been nothing short of historical. He holds the NFL record for tight ends with seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and the NFL record with most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season, with 1,416 in 2020.
5. Bobby Bell
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Position: Linebacker
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1963-74)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1969), three-time Pro Bowl (1970-72), two-time All-Pro (1970, 1971), NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1969), NFL 100th Anniversary Team, Pro Football Hall of Fame (1983)
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Bottom Line: Bobby Bell
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Bobby Bell could do it all — you could say he was as close to a Lawrence Taylor version of a linebacker the NFL ever had before we got the real thing.
He was also as much of a winner as anyone who ever played the sport — he led the University of Minnesota to a national title in 1960, then won two AFL championships and a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Almost 50 years after he retired, Bell's nine defensive touchdowns are still tied for the most in NFL history for a linebacker, alongside fellow Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks.
4. Tony Gonzalez
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Position: Tight end
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1997-2008), Atlanta Falcons (2009-13)
Career highlights: 10-time NFL All-Pro (1999-2004, 2006-08, 2012), 14-time Pro Bowl (1999-2008, 2010-13), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
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Bottom Line: Tony Gonzalez
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Tony Gonzalez left little doubt as to who was the greatest tight end of all time over his 17-year career — he's the only player who's not a wide receiver or running back in the NFL's Top 30 for career all-purpose yards.
It's really unfortunate the greatest tight end in NFL history never even played in a Super Bowl. Gonzalez holds the NFL record for total receiving yards for a tight end and is No. 3 on the career receptions list behind just Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald.
Another amazing stat — over 17 seasons and 1,325 career interceptions, Gonzalez only fumbled twice.
3. Emmitt Thomas
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Position: Cornerback
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1967-78)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (1969), four-time NFL All-Pro (1969, 1971, 1974, 1975), five-time Pro Bowl (1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975)
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Bottom Line: Emmitt Thomas
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Emmitt Thomas played for tiny Bishop College, made the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 1967 and helped lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win in 1969. He was a playmaker and ballhawk like few have ever been in pro football — he had a franchise 58 interceptions in 13 seasons with 937 return yards and five touchdowns.
Thomas won two more Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the Washington Redskins and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
2. Derrick Thomas
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Position: Outside linebacker/defensive end
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (1989-99)
Career highlights: Six-time NFL All-Pro (1990-94, 1996), nine-time Pro Bowl (1989-97), NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1989), NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
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Bottom Line: Derrick Thomas
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One of the most feared pass rushers in NFL history, Derrick Thomas still holds the NFL single-game record with seven sacks against the Seattle Seahawks in 1990 and finished with 126.5 career sacks, which is the Kansas City Chiefs career record.
Thomas recorded at least 10 sacks in five of his first six seasons, including an NFL-leading 20 sacks in 1990. Thomas was paralyzed from the chest down after a car accident in January 2000 and died one month later from a pulmonary embolism. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
1. Patrick Mahomes
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Position: Quarterback
Career: Kansas City Chiefs (2017-present)
Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2020, 2023, 2024), Super Bowl MVP (2020, 2023, 2024), NFL Most Valuable Player (2018, 2022), NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2018), two-time First-Team NFL All-Pro (2018, 2022), six-time Pro Bowl (2018-23), Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (2020)
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Bottom Line: Patrick Mahomes
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Believe what your eyes can see. Patrick Mahomes is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of quarterback.
Not only has he led the Kansas City Chiefs to the AFC championship game each year he's been a starter, he's also won three Super Bowls and three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors.
In March 2020, following the Chiefs' Super Bowl win, Mahomes signed a 10-year contract worth up to a reported $503 million — the second-largest contract in professional sports history.
RELATED: Why Patrick Mahomes Is the $500 Million Man