RELATED: See our Top 20 Philadelphia Eagles of the 2000s here.

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will attempt to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls and the first since the 1967 Green Bay Packers to win three consecutive NFL championships. A familiar opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, stands in their way.

My colleague Colton Dodgson, a loyal Eagles fan, compiled his list of the top 20 Philadelphia Eagles players of the 2000s as a passion project. I cannot mirror Colton's fanboy exuberance toward his beloved Eagles while I compile my list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s because I am a Cowboys fan. Thus, I won’t be writing a Super Bowl Week feature article like this about my favorite team for a long time. Since the Chiefs began life as the Dallas Texans, they’ll do.

As a football enthusiast, I appreciate championship dynasties and the long stretches of playoff irrelevancy surrounding them. Even losing teams have legendary players, and dynasties cannot exist without them. Many more Chiefs deserve recognition here than I could include, and I’m sure your list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s will differ, so here we go.

Special Honorable Mention: Derrick Thomas

Hall-of-Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas easily would have been near the top of this list if his career had not tragically been cut short by complications arising from a car accident. The final game of the 1999 regular season, his last, was played in January 2000. While his playing career falls outside the timeframe of this article, he did technically play in the 2000s. This list would be incomplete without mentioning him.

Honorable Mentions

I chose to recognize five players as Honorable Mentions. In alphabetical order, they are Harrison Butker (2017-present), Trent Green (2001-2006), Trent McDuffie (2022-present), Larry Johnson (2003-2008), and Alex Smith (2013-2017). These players just missed the cut.

The Top 20 Kansas City Chiefs of the 2000s, Nos. 20-11

20. Jared Allen, DE (2004-2007)
19. Dwayne Bowe, WR (2007-2013)
18. Justin Houston, LB (2011-2018)
17. Dante Hall, KR/PR (2001-2006)
16. Tyrann Mathieu, CB (2019-2021)
15. Willie Roaf, OT (2002-2005)
14. Derrick Johnson, LB (2005-2017)
13. Creed Humphrey, C (2021-present)
12. Joe Thuney, G (2021-present)
11. Eric Berry, S (2010-2018)

Some players in this range, such as Tyrann Mathieu and Willie Roaf, played only a small portion of their careers in Kansas City. If I redo this exercise in a few years, players like Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney may make it to the Top 10, but their careers have been too short to evaluate against the veteran and retired players below. 

10. Jamaal Charles, RB (2008-2016)

Jamaal Charles is the Chiefs’ all-time leader with 7,260 rushing yards, and he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in five different seasons. His 5.4 career yards per carry remains the highest in NFL history among running backs with at least 1,000 carries. One year after a serious knee injury, Charles achieved a career-best 1,509 rushing yards, helping the Chiefs reach the playoffs in Head Coach Andy Reid’s first season with the team. A year later, he scored a career-best 19 touchdowns rushing and receiving. A dangerous receiver, Charles turned 310 career receptions into 2,593 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was voted into four Pro Bowls, named a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press twice, and is No. 10 on my list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s.

9. Brian Waters, G (2000-2010)

It takes a unique talent to develop from an undrafted free-agent tight end and defensive lineman into an offensive guard selected to six Pro Bowls. Then-head coach Gunther Cunningham convinced Brian Waters to give playing center a chance even though he had never previously played on the offensive line. After a season as a center in NFL Europe, he moved to guard and played in all but three games between 2001 and 2011. Waters was critical to the success of some of the most productive rushing offenses in the Chiefs’ history. He became the first lineman ever to be named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after a game in which the Chiefs scored an NFL-record eight rushing touchdowns.

8. Priest Holmes, RB (2001-2007)

From 2001 to 2003, Priest Holmes produced one of the most dominant stretches in league history, rushing for 4,590 yards, adding 1,976 receiving yards, and scoring 61 touchdowns. Remarkably, he fumbled only six times out of 1,166 total touches during those seasons. In 2002, he won the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award. Holmes ranks second among Kansas City running backs in both career rushing yards and total yards, and his 83 career touchdowns are the most by any Chiefs player in the regular season. Holmes would rank higher on this list had the Chiefs regularly made the playoffs during his tenure. He ran for 176 yards and scored two touchdowns in his lone playoff game with the Chiefs.

7. Tyreek Hill, WR (2016-2021)

Tyreek Hill is the only player on this list who adamantly wanted to leave Kansas City, citing frustration with a perceived lack of targets and dissatisfaction with the amount of guaranteed money the team was willing to offer. Hill remains the team’s all-time leader in receiving yards per game (72.9), and his 56 receiving touchdowns were one shy of Otis Taylor’s team record for a wide receiver. In his rookie season, the versatile Hill scored touchdowns as a wide receiver (six), as a rusher (three), as a punt returner (two), and as a kickoff returner (one). He posted four 1,000-yard seasons with the Chiefs, earning three first-team All-Pro selections. Despite playing only six seasons with the team, his 6,630 receiving yards place him fifth all-time in Chiefs history, and his 1,081 postseason receiving yards are the second-most in team history. Hill was a key offensive weapon as the Chiefs marched to the franchise’s first Super Bowl win in 50 years. Since trading Hill to Miami, the Chiefs have won two more Super Bowls and are competing for a third consecutive championship this weekend.

6. Tamba Hali, DE/LB (2006-2017)

Tamba Hali was a fearsome pass rusher whose 89.5 sacks, 591.5 lost yards in field position, and 33 fumbles are each second all-time in Chiefs history to Derrick Thomas. He is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in tackles for loss with 105. Hali spent all 12 seasons of his NFL career with the Chiefs, appearing in 177 games, fourth-most by any defensive player in team history. He was named to the 2006 NFL All-Rookie Team, selected to the Pro Bowl five consecutive seasons and was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week four times. Hali, who began his NFL career as a defensive end, was asked to change positions in 2009, so he dropped 20 pounds to become an outside linebacker. He recorded double-digit sacks in 2010 and 2011. From 2009 to 2013, he was fourth in the NFL with 46.5 sacks. Two final injury-riddled seasons tarnished his record, but he was properly recognized for his positive impact on the franchise and the community when he was inducted into the Chiefs’ Hall of Honor in 2024. He takes the No. 6 position in my list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s.

5. Will Shields, G (1993-2006)

Will Shields anchored the Kansas City offensive line for 14 seasons, never missing a game during his career. His streak of 223 consecutive starts is the seventh most in NFL history. He helped the Chiefs become an offensive powerhouse, providing Trent Green with the protection he needed to average over 4,000 passing yards from 2001 to 2005 and blocking for Priest Holmes, who averaged over 1,500 rushing yards from 2001 to 2003, and Larry Johnson, who averaged more than 1,750 rushing yards in 2005 and 2006. Shields was selected to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls, named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

4. Chris Jones, DT (2016-present)

Chris Jones has spent his entire nine-season career with the Chiefs. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl for the last six years and named first-team All-Pro in the last three seasons. His 80.5 career sacks rank fourth in franchise history and 11th in NFL history among interior defensive linemen. A feared pass rusher, Jones has recorded 143 quarterback hits, 101 quarterback hurries, and 277 pressures, all of which are the second-most among NFL defensive linemen since 2018. Even when Jones is not wreaking havoc in the opponent’s backfield, he draws double teams that create opportunities for his fellow defenders to capitalize on, a crucial element of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s game plan. Jones is one of six players on the Chiefs’ roster for each of the team’s five recent Super Bowl appearances, and he is my highest-ranked defensive player on this list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s.

3. Tony Gonzalez, TE (1997-2008)

Tony Gonzalez transformed the tight end position into a crucial offensive weapon, a model emulated across the league. He was an outstanding blocker and a formidable slot receiver. He led the team in receiving yards eight times during his 12 years in Kansas City. His league-leading 102 receptions in 2004 were the most ever by a tight end at that time. His 916 receptions as a Chief were 500 more than the team’s previous record holder, wide receiver Henry Marshall. Only Travis Kelce has more receptions as a Chief. No tight end has more career receptions or career receiving yards than Gonzalez, one of six players in NFL history to exceed 15,000 career receiving yards. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. Sadly, the Chiefs never won a playoff game with Gonzalez on the roster. 

2. Travis Kelce, TE (2013-present)

Travis Kelce is the only NFL player with at least 1,000 receptions since 2013. His 12,151 receiving yards since he entered the league trail only DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans. His 77 touchdowns are the most by a tight end in that period and the fifth-most in the league. As impressive as Kelce has been in the regular season, he becomes transcendent in the postseason. In 24 playoff games, Kelce has 174 receptions for 2,039 yards and 20 touchdowns. No one in NFL history has more postseason receptions; only Jerry Rice has more receiving yards (2,245) and touchdowns (22). The future first-ballot Hall of Famer has been selected for the Pro Bowl every season since 2015, and he is one of six players on the roster for each of the team’s five recent Super Bowl appearances. Kelce is also the only Chief to date Taylor Swift, which does not hurt his placement among the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs players of the 2000s.

1. Patrick Mahomes II (QB, 2017-present)

How could it be anyone else? The three-time Super Bowl MVP (so far) and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has won 17 of his 20 career playoff games heading into Super Bowl LIX. He has guided the Chiefs to five of the franchise’s seven Super Bowl appearances, all in the last six seasons. His 67.8 completion percentage is the highest among all quarterbacks who have attempted at least 20 passes in their postseason careers. He is the Chiefs all-time leader in completions (2,778), passing yards (32,352), passing touchdowns (245), fourth-quarter comebacks (19) and game-winning drives (23). He’s just 29 years old with many more career milestones still to come.

Who Should Be Higher, Lower?

My list of the top 20 Kansas City Chiefs of the 2000s probably does not look like yours. Sure, Gonzalez, Kelce, and Mahomes are at the top of most such lists, but it is less certain where the rest rank. Who do I have ranked too high? Who is too low? Who should have been here? Who should I have left off the list?

The Footballguys forums and our Discord server are great places to compare our lists and debate my choices. You can also find me on X/Twitter at @jeffblaylock. Enjoy the Super Bowl!