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Every player’s dream in the NFL is to make a mark on their legacy and impact the sport for generations. Only the most elite players of their time can be the best of all time, and when it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs and their legacy, there are plenty of talented players who can contest this title.
In this article, we’ll give the rundown on the top five greatest Kansas City Chiefs players of all time, including what they achieved, what their stats looked like, how long they played for the team and how their legacy on the team was shaped to this day.
Starting our list of best Kansas City Chiefs players of all time, and the oldest one mentioned is Len Dawson, the original legendary quarterback from 1962 to 1975. Dawson started his career at Pittsburgh in 1957 before settling at KC for 13 straight seasons.
In 183 games for the Chiefs, Dawson scored 9 rushing TDs and passed for 237, with 28,507 yards thrown for the team. He’d achieve Pro Bowl status 7 times, the first of which occurred in 162, where he’d also make the All-Pros first team (which he’d repeat in 1966. Despite losing the Super Bowl I to Green Bay, Dawson would take home his first and only Super Bowl IV trophy in 1970.
Up next is no stranger to the modern game and one of the best tight ends to ever play for the Chiefs, Travis Kelce. Kelce was born and raised playing for the Chiefs since the 2014 season. After 12 years of unquestionable loyalty to Kansas City, Kelce would accumulate 79 total touchdowns throughout his career (77 were passing) in addition to 12,151 total receiving yards (1,004 total receptions).
He’d virtually make the Pro Bowl every year from 2015 to 2024, making the All-Pro’s first team on 4 separate occasions, the last of which was in 2022. Kelce is one of the few players in modern Chiefs history to help take home 3 separate Super Bowl titles in 2020, 2023 and 2024. Kelce’s career will end soon, but he’s announced that he’ll be back for the 2025-26 season.
Much like Travis Kelce, Derrick Thomas stayed loyal to the Kansas City Chiefs from 1989 to 1999 when he retired from the sport as one of the best linebackers to play the game. After 169 games played for the starting linebacker, Thomas committed 51 total tackles, a whopping 126.5 total sacks, 19 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception, making him an incredibly reliable defenseman for the Chiefs.
To seal the deal as one of the best linebackers in the game, Derrick Thomas would make the Pro Bowl almost every year of his career (from 1989-1996), as well as achieve the All Pros first team 3 times in a row at the start of his career, along with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in his first season playing.
Tony Gonzalez was a similar tight end to the likes of Travis Kelce, although he would play for the Chiefs from 1997-2008 until moving to the Atlanta Falcons from 2009-2013 before retiring. He’d still play 190 games for the Chiefs, boasting 916 total receptions for 10,940 total yards. He caught 76 passing touchdowns and ended his career with an average of 56 yards per game.
Much like his former and future teammates, Gonzalez secured Pro Bowl spots from 1999-2008 while making an All-Pros first-team appearance in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2008 for the Chiefs, although both Gonzalez and Derrick Thomas would fail to achieve Super Bowl championships in their career.
Currently, there may not be a better quarterback in the game other than the legendary Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. After 8 straight seasons as the team’s starting quarterback, Mahomes has shown no mercy to opponents that find a way in his path, with an amazing 32,352 thrown yards completed over just 112 games! Tag on 245 thrown touchdown passes 14 rushing touchdowns, and you have one of the meanest offensive point-scoring machines since Tom Brady.
Even though Mahomes still has plenty of time to grow as a professional NFL player, he’s already managed 3 Super Bowl trophies in 2020, 2023 and 2024 while making the Pro Bowl selection from 2018-2023. He’d also make the All Pros first team twice and won Offensive Player of the Year in 2018, in addition to All Pros MVP in 2018 and 2022. When it comes down to the best of the best, Patrick Mahomes certainly deserves a spot as the #1 best Kansas City Chiefs player of all time.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.