The Kansas City Chiefs released on April 14 a detailed look at their history of second-round draft picks, tracing selections made since the start of the “common draft” in 1967. The review comes as the team prepares for the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, where they currently hold the No. 40 overall pick in the second round.
This retrospective highlights how significant second-round choices have shaped the team’s roster over nearly six decades. The Chiefs’ analysis covers each player selected in this round, offering insights into their careers and contributions to Kansas City.
According to team records, fifty-two out of fifty-four players chosen by Kansas City in the second round since 1967 have played for the franchise. Recent picks include defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott (2025), who began his rookie season strongly before a knee injury ended his campaign early; offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia (2024), who started all seventeen games last season; and wide receiver Rashee Rice (2023), who has recorded 156 catches for 1,797 yards and fourteen touchdowns across twenty-eight games over three seasons.
Other notable selections are center Creed Humphrey (2021), who has started every game during his five-year career with four Pro Bowl appearances and two First-Team All-Pro honors; linebacker Nick Bolton (2021), with seventy-four appearances and seventy starts over five years; and defensive tackle Chris Jones (2016), whose ten-year tenure includes eighty-seven-and-a-half sacks. Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier was picked fiftieth overall in 1967, playing one hundred forty-nine games for Kansas City and earning eight Pro Bowl nods before entering Canton in 1986.
Eight Chiefs’ second-rounders have played at least one hundred games for Kansas City: Tim Grunhard, Chris Jones, Jim Lynch, Willie Lanier, Dave Lutz, Jonathan Hayes, Charlie Getty, and Ed Podolak. The list also remembers running back Joe Delaney—who rushed for more than eleven hundred yards as a rookie but tragically died after only twenty-three games—and Christian Okoye, another impactful tailback with nearly five thousand rushing yards over six seasons.
The review underscores how critical strong drafting remains to building long-term success on the field as fans anticipate this year’s new additions.
