Here’s Who Made NFL’s All-Quarter Century Team From Chiefs

The first 25 seasons of the 21st Century have come and gone and the Chiefs have fingerprints all over the all-Quarter Century Team. On offense, defense, and special teams, Kansas City was among the NFL leaders, with eight representatives on the 57-member list, announced Wednesday by ESPN.com.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, running back Priest Holmes, tight ends Travis Kelce and Tony Gonzalez, edge rusher Jared Allen, defensive tackle Chris Jones, cornerback Darrelle Revis and special teams coordinator Dave Toub.

While Revis played only one season (2017) in Kansas City, the other six made significant NFL contributions while with the Chiefs. For starters, the list solidified the argument that the Chiefs have fielded the NFL’s best tight ends since 2000, with Gonzalez and Kelce joining Rob Gronkowski as the only three included at the position.

“Kelce is simply the best pure receiving tight end in this quarter century,” wrote Seth Walder. If we count the postseason, Kelce recorded more receiving yards (14,229) than any other tight end in this span. And on a per-game basis, the only player who comes close to Kelce (71.1) is 2024 rookie Brock Bowers (70.2), who could be on the mid-century team if he keeps it up.”

Co-writer Aaron Schatz noted that Gonzalez still owns the NFL record among tight ends with 1,325 career receptions. He registered 916 of those catches in a Chiefs uniform from 1997-2008 before joining the Falcons.

Holmes was a bit of a surprise, considering all the incredible running backs who’ve dominated the league. Ranked as the top NFL running back on the 25-year team, he joined Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry among the three selected at that position. After winning a Super Bowl with the Ravens, Holmes signed with the Chiefs as a free agent in 2001 and finished his career in Kansas City.

“Yes, Holmes is our RB1 over anyone else,” Schatz said. “Think back to the turn of the century, when Holmes emerged from the Baltimore bench to drive the powerful offense of the Dick Vermeil Chiefs, using a dynamic combination of rushing and receiving skills.

“Other running backs might have had longer peaks, but none of them can match the three-year period that Holmes had from 2001 to 2003.”

Schatz noted that the running back’s first three years with the Chiefs (2001-03) ranked among the best individual seasons since 1978. Holmes led the NFL with 1,555 rushing yards in 2001 and led the league in rushing touchdowns both in 2002 (21) and 2003 (27). And in 2004, when injuries limited him to just eight games, he led the NFL with 111.5 rushing yards per game.

That also was the year Allen came to Kansas City as a fourth-round selection out of Idaho State. From 2004-07, he racked up 43 sacks. Allen led the league with six fumble recoveries in 2006 and ranked first with 15½ sacks in 2007 before the Chiefs traded him to Minnesota in 2008.

And while the list failed to include Andy Reid, Toub was a well-earned inclusion. The assistant head coach and special teams coordinator on Reid’s current staff, he’s a significant reason the Chiefs have won nine straight AFC West titles.

“Toub holds one of the most impressive streaks a coach can have,” Walder said. “He coordinated a top-five special teams unit in every season from 2006 (when ESPN's efficiency ratings began) to 2017, including the postseason. That completely absurd streak -- almost impossible considering the fickle nature of special teams -- was broken in 2018 when Toub's Chiefs finished ... sixth in the category.”

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