The Kansas City Chiefs don’t have the best draft history at pick No. 32. Despite a 50-year Super Bowl drought, the Chiefs have drafted at the No. 32 slot twice in franchise history. Once pre-merger during the 1965 AFL Draft and once in the 1989 NFL Draft.
The pick in 1965 wasn’t half bad. Kansas City selected WR Frankie Pitts out of Southern University with the second of their two fourth-round draft picks. Yes, pick No. 32 was in the fourth round back in 1965. The first pick the Chiefs had in the fourth round was used to select Prairie View A&M WR Otis Taylor, who is in the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor.
Pitts spent five seasons in Kansas City, but his biggest impact came in Super Bowl IV. He had crucial plays that set up scoring opportunities for both Taylor and kicker Jan Stenerud. Those moments would help the team win their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Pitts was eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns, following the 1970 season. His career would be a modest one with the Chiefs, catching 78 passes for 1,450 yards and 11 touchdowns in 74 games with the team. Kansas City at least got some production and value out of Pitts. They certainly could have done worse in the fourth round.
The more recent of the two picks at No. 32 is the most suspect. The 1989 NFL Draft was a historic one for the Chiefs and then-general manager, Carl Peterson. It’d be his first of 20 drafts with Kansas City and the team held the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. The Chiefs selected future Hall of Fame pass rusher Derrick Thomas with that pick, one of four Hall of Famers taken in the top five selections.
Pick No. 32 actually was the fourth selection in the second round in 1989. It began a fresh wave of failure at drafting the quarterback of the future in Kansas City. The Chiefs selected Wake Forest QB Mike Elkins who would go on to attempt a total of two passes for the team, one of which was an interception. He would be released from the Chiefs following the 1989 NFL season and never attempted another pass in his professional career.
Elkins was a verifiable bust for Kansas City. But the good news is the Chiefs no longer have to worry about the quarterback position, which has the second-highest first-round bust rate of any position.
Perhaps the draft history at the No. 32 slot in Kansas City serves as a reason for Brett Veach to try and trade out of the first round. It’s worth noting that other teams have had much more success drafting at that slot in the past decade, selecting players like Lamar Jackson, Ryan Ramcyzk and Emmanuel Ogbah.
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