In 11 weeks, 257 players will hear their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
When team officials discuss their selections, observers will notice repetitive cliches. To start with, teams will stress that they drafted football players. This is important to know because the average insurance underwriter or cybersecurity analyst would likely lack proficiency in pass protection or tackling skills.
Every NFL general manager will also be shocked that a given talent was still available at his eventual draft position. By sticking to the board, every team will end up with the player its staff wanted all along.
Most fans know that the draft is unpredictable and that multiple seasons of NFL action are needed to assess any selection. Every hardcore draft nerd will also have a player they were dead wrong about in their projection of his NFL career.
So, let’s take a moment to vent about (or lament) which Kansas City Chiefs selection didn’t meet expectations for whatever reason.
Edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah — Kansas City’s first-round selection from 2023 — will likely be a popular choice. The product of Lee’s Summit and Kansas State was actually in the crowd as Kansas City hosted the draft that year. Besides the great story of a local product, his skillset appeared to be what the Chiefs’ pass rush desperately needed. Three years later, he has made minimal impact, and those skills are still absent from the room.
After missing his entire third season with a hamstring injury, the Chiefs will assuredly decline Anudike-Uzomah’s third-year option. He likely will be playing for his NFL future when he steps back on the field for the offseason program.
Another option might be wideout Skyy Moore, whom a certain Arrowhead Pride writer who shall not be named was high on entering the 2022 draft.
My pick is going to go back a bit further — though not as far as quarterback Todd Blackledge, whom I know my father would have chosen.
WR Sylvester Morris – Round 1 (21) 2000
The 1999 NFL season was a frustrating time to be a Chiefs fan. Head coach Gunther Cunningham took over for Marty Schottenheimer and led the team to a very mediocre 9-7 season. Across the state, however, the high-flying St. Louis Rams took a passing game even contemporary video games couldn’t dream of to a Super Bowl victory.
In the first round of the following draft, the Chiefs took Morris, a wide receiver from Jackson State. As a rookie — on a team that featured two 1000-yard receivers in tight end Tony Gonzalez and wide receiver Derrick Alexander — Morris caught 48 passes for 678 yards and three touchdowns.
When Cunningham was replaced by Dick Vermeil — the head coach of the Rams’ championship squad — expectations were high for Morris’ second season. Unfortunately, he suffered a major knee injury in offseason workouts. After multiple setbacks in his recovery, Morris never played another NFL snap.
Morris frequently makes lists of the Chiefs’ biggest draft busts, though I always think he is more an illustration of the role simple luck plays in who does and doesn’t make it in the NFL.
What do you think?
Who is the Chiefs’ draft pick you most wish had a better career?
Let us know in the comments.
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