Kansas City Chiefs’ 2024 draft class — one year later — received poor grade from NFL.com
The worst time to rate an NFL Draft class is immediately after the players are selected. The best time is after everyone in the class has retired.
How about a ranking after the rookie season? It’s still an incomplete picture, but more valid than the instant analysis.
NFL.com annually puts together a postseason analysis of draft classes, and comes up with a 1-32 list. At the top: The Washington Commanders, led by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and three other rookies who became starters.
That class paid off in a big way, with Washington posting a 12-5 record after a 4-13 season and reaching the NFC Championship Game.
Where did the Chiefs rank?
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Despite an impact season from first-round pick Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs checked in at No. 29 and were given a C-minus grade.
Considering the Chiefs picked late once again — Worthy was taken 28th overall after a deal with the Buffalo Bills — a spot near the bottom isn’t unreasonable. But it ends a nice run for the Chiefs in these rankings.
The same polls produced a No. 11 grade for the 2023 class and a No. 4 grade for 2022.
In 2021, the Chiefs were ranked No. 1 and didn’t have a first round pick. However, they landed Nick Bolton and Creed Humphrey in the second round, Noah Gray in the fifth and Trey Smith in the sixth.
After Worthy, who started 13 games and became the team’s top wide receiver with 59 receptions, production for the rookies dropped considerably. The rest of the rookie class combined for five starts, with free agents Carson Steele and Chris Rowland-Wallace also combining for five starts.
The next most productive rookie was safety Jaden Hicks, who made two starts and played 30.5% of the defensive snaps.
Second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia started the first two games at left tackle, then was benched for most of the remainder of the season. Tight end Jared Wiley suffered a torn ACL after seven games. Offensive linemen Hunter Nourzad and C.J. Hanson didn’t make a start. Cornerback Kamal Hadden was waived in the preseason and appeared in two games for the Green Bay Packers.
Again, the impact of a draft class comes long after it’s assembled. Take the early 1960s. The Chiefs posted a combined record of 19-19-4 for a three-year stretch starting in 1963. But that year’s class produced Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell and Ed Budde, cornerstones of dominant Chiefs teams.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Kansas City Chiefs’ 2024 draft class — one year later — received poor grade from NFL.com."