The idea of redoing the 2009 NFL Draft class has undoubtedly crossed the minds of those running the Kansas City Chiefs organization before now.
One of the more lackluster draft classes in Chiefs history, the 2009 rookie crop had little to show for it, and it started at the top with the uninspired career of Tyson Jackson. The Chiefs selected Jackson at No. 3 overall, the very place a franchise expects to land an impact player, an organizational pillar. Instead, they settled for a few years of mediocrity.
Pro Football Focus recently put out a redraft of the entire 2009 NFL Draft’s first round, which provided a fresh glimpse into an alternate past in which the Chiefs might have gotten things right. After the Detroit Lions simply copied and pasted their original choice of Matthew Stafford at No. 1 overall, the St. Louis Rams (remember them?) started righting the draft wrongs with the selection of pass rusher Clay Matthews.
PFF’s latest redraft just illustrates the sad reality that unfolded in 2009 for the Chiefs.
As for the Chiefs, instead of doubling down on defensive end Tyson Jackson, PFF’s redraft has Kansas City selecting Alex Mack. Oh, what might have been.
The 2009 Chiefs had a solid left side of the offensive line, anchored by the great Brian Waters at left guard. Former first-round choice Branden Albert was beside him at tackle and gave K.C. one of the best left sides up front.
From there, however, things look depressing and it’s easy to see how Mack would have been such a tremendous addition. Rudy Niswanger started every game at center in both 2008 and 2009, so the Chiefs should have been looking for some interior help. Nobody had posters of right guard Wade Smith or tackle Ryan O’Callaghan on their walls either.
As for Mack, the Browns ended up selecting him at No. 21 overall (instead of K.C.) and he ended up starting nearly 200 games through the 2021 season. Imagine if the Chiefs had center taken care of through every year that Rodney Hudson, Mitch Morse, and Austin Reiter were around. That’s an amazing career. Even more admirable is Mack’s seven Pro Bowl nods and three second-team All-Pro honors.
Instead of landing a prospect like Mack at No. 3, the Chiefs were trying their best to remake the defensive front during Scott Pioli’s tenure (certainly a noble endeavor) with the selections of Jackson and Glenn Dorsey in successive drafts to anchor the team’s 3-4 defense.
To his credit, Dorsey had a decent career as a pro with 90 starts in 122 games over eight seasons, including three with the Atlanta Falcons. However, the impact was never there up front for the Chiefs from either player, at least proportionally speaking to the level of draft investment. Pioli’s efforts would ultimately fall flat (for myriad reasons), and the Andy Reid-John Dorsey era began at the franchise’s lowest point in 2013.
Redrafts are both fun to look at what might have been and depressing to know how big a franchise missed. But the current golden era of the Chiefs makes it all sweeter knowing just how low things were before Reid’s arrival (and, of course, Patrick Mahomes).
