The Chiefs enter Super Bowl 54 with their best quarterback in franchise history, a history that comes full circle with their opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.
When Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to select Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, it was the dawning of a new age for Kansas City football. The Chiefs managed to strike gold with the selection of Mahomes, finding the new best quarterback in the league.
It was the first time since 1983 the Chiefs drafted a quarterback in the first round, with the franchise usually plugging in an ex-San Francisco 49ers quarterback in the starting role since then. Given that their opponent is for their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1969 season is those same 49ers, it’s a fitting way for the two teams’ connection at quarterback to come full circle.
Of the first four Super Bowls in NFL history, the Chiefs were in two of them, including the first with Hall of Famer Len Dawson at quarterback. Dawson, the greatest quarterback in the franchise’s history until Mahomes, wasn’t even drafted by the Chiefs.
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After Dawson retired at the end of the 1975 season, the Chiefs went through a handful of mediocre to backup level quarterbacks such as Mike Livingston, Tony Adams, Steve Fuller and Bill Kenney. The latter actually made the Pro Bowl in 1983.
Speaking of 1983, it was in that year’s legendary draft class the Chiefs drafted Todd Blackledge out of Penn State with the seventh pick in the draft over Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. The Chiefs never drafted a quarterback in the first round again until Mahomes.
Instead, the Chiefs brought in a bunch of journeyman quarterbacks with pretty decent results. Five of these quarterbacks had previously played for the 49ers, the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV opponents.
Steve DeBerg, Joe Montana, Steve Bono, Elvis Grbac and Alex Smith were all ex-49ers quarterback who not only started for the Chiefs but started at least one playoff game as well. They only went a combined 4-10 in 14 games with Montana, naturally, going the furthest in 1993 when he took the Chiefs to the AFC Championship.
There have been other notable retread quarterbacks not formerly from the Bay Area to start for the Chiefs, like Trent Green, Dave Krieg, Rich Gannon, Matt Cassell and even brief appearances by Warren Moon and Nick Foles. However, the fact that the vast majority of quarterbacks to suit up and start for the Kansas City Chiefs have been 49ers retreads is actually pretty astounding.
What’s even more astounding, is that when the Chiefs finally decided to go all-in on a quarterback with a first-round pick since the aforementioned Blackledge, Mahomes became the best all-around quarterback in the NFL.
And now Mahomes has them in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. No less, they’re facing the same 49ers that have been a quarterback factory for them, bringing the connection under center between these two franchises full circle.