Franchise Moments: 
Chiefs Top Moment of the Past Decade
The Chiefs have put together one of the most dominant stretches in NFL history since the start of the 2018 season, and much of that success can be traced back to a single move in April of 2017. Kansas City is 1-11 in its last 12 playoff games started by a quarterback other than Patrick Mahomes, but Mahomes is 17-4 in his postseason career and has brought the Chiefs to five Super Bowls, winning three.
Given that context, RotoWire Staff had an easy choice when it came to finding the key moment in the past decade of Chiefs football: the draft pick that kicked off Kansas City's dynasty.
Chiefs' Defining Moment of the Last Ten Years
The winner: Drafting Patrick Mahomes (2017)
Heading into the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chiefs were coming off back-to-back playoff seasons with Alex Smith at QB, but GM John Dorsey saw an opportunity to raise the team's ceiling. Dorsey traded a 2017 third-round pick and 2018 first-round pick to Buffalo to move up from 27th to 10th in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Kansas City used the pick to draft its QB of the future in Mahomes out of Texas Tech.
Mahomes was the second quarterback drafted in 2017, going eight spots after the Bears selected UNC's Mitchell Trubisky. Mahomes led the Big 12 in passing yards and passing touchdowns in both 2015 and 2016, throwing for a whopping 421 yards per game in his final college season, but there were questions about whether that production against weak Big 12 defenses would translate against NFL competition. It wouldn't be long until Mahomes was proving all the naysayers wrong and leading the charge for arguably the best decade for any franchise in NFL history.
Theo GremmingerSee Theo's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Ian HartitzSee Ian's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
Jagger MaySee Jagger's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsRotoWire Analyst
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Mario PuigSee Mario's personal rankings, tiers, and draft targets.View RankingsWhat Tipped the Scales For Drafting Mahomes?
Other moments that earned consideration from RotoWire Staff were Mahomes' game-winning touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII, Mahomes' no-look pass against the Ravens in 2018, and Taylor Swift showing up to Arrowhead Stadium in 2024. All of those were iconic moments in their own right, but none of them would have been possible without Mahomes joining the Chiefs in the first place and elevating the franchise to NFL royalty with his incredible eight-season stretch as the team's starter.
Aftermath of Drafting Patrick Mahomes
Dorsey didn't get to reap the benefits of his brilliant move, as Kansas City replaced him with Brett Veach in July of 2017. Mahomes sat patiently for most of his rookie season behind Alex Smith as the veteran starter posted a 9-6 record to lead KC back to the playoffs. The rookie got his feet wet in the 2017 regular-season finale and Smith fell short against the Titans in the wild-card round so the Chiefs decided to hand the reins over to Mahomes, who began his reign atop the NFL QB hierarchy in 2018.
Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and a league-high 50 touchdowns in his first regular season as a starter before leading the Chiefs to the first of seven consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances. Kansas City has gone on to win five of those and three Super Bowls, with Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid and tight end Travis Kelce forming the offensive nucleus for that historic stretch.
The 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has a 95-31 regular-season record and 17-4 postseason record, with two MVPs, five Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl wins. Still only 30 years old, Mahomes has a chance to go down as the GOAT if he continues to pile up both individual and team accolades.
