Eric Berry played his college ball at Tennessee, where he was one of the most prolific Defensive Backs in school history.  With the Volunteers, Berry was a two-time Consensus All-American and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, so it was little wonder that Berry was the first Defensive Back taken in the 2010 Draft.

Derrick Johnson played all but his last season of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs and the former 1^stRound Pick from Texas would slowly work his way to the upper echelon of NFL Linebackers and he would be named to four Pro Bowls out of five from 2011 to 2015.  Johnson, who was also named a First Team All-Pro in 2011 would have five years where he had more than 105 Combined Tackles and retired with 1,168 overall with 27.5 Quarterback Sacks and 14 Interceptions.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #21, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #31, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #47.

It's worth noting that in the previous year, Patrick Mahomes stood out as the sole active player under 30 to secure a spot in the top ten rankings.

Now, he is still under 30 and now ranked #2.

Mahomes is well under most of the career stats of the Modern Positional Averages, as he should be, based on his age, but when a Quarterback wins three Super Bowls and is the MVP in all of them, there is nothing left to prove.  He has nothing left to prove and is still hungry for more.  He is ranked below Aaron Rodgers, but as good as Rodgers has been, he was never in consideration to take the GOAT mantle away from Tom Brady.  There is much buzz that Mahomes can do precisely that.  

Let’s also remember that he is a Quarterback who has a likely first-ballot Hall of Fame Tight End in Travis Kelce (who might be entering his decline but is still excellent), a superstar on defense in Chris Jones, and a Hall of Fame Coach in Andy Reid. 

Given his current standing, it's not a stretch to say that Mahomes is a Pro Football Hall of Famer. The real question is, what will his all-time Quarterback rank be?

Playing his college ball at TCU, Sherrill Headrick was not drafted by either the National Football League or the American Football League in 1960, who was beginning their operation.  Headrick was eventually signed by the Dallas Texans, where in the first three seasons he was a First Team All-Pro and was a significant force on the Texans' 1962 AFL Championship.

Like many in the early '60s, Fred Arbanas was drafted by both the NFL and the AFL, but usually, those who chose the AFL were drafted higher by the new organization.  This wasn't the case with Arbanas, who was a 7^th Round Selection by the Dallas Texans, where the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2^nd Round.

Albert Lewis came to the Kansas City Chiefs as a 3^rd Round Pick from Grambling State in 1983.  Playing at Cornerback, Lewis took over the left side in his second season as a pro, and in the last half of the 80's he would emerge as one of the top Defensive Backs in the National Football League. 

E.J. Holub was an All-American at Texas Tech, where he was such a great player that the Red Raiders would later retire his number.  Drafted 6^th Overall by the Dallas Texans in 1961, Holub played at Linebacker, and in the first five of his six years, he was an AFL All-Star and was named a First Team All-Pro in both 1962 and 1963.  In those two seasons, he finished sixth and third respectively, in Approximate Value, a testament to his skill.

Playing his college ball at the University of North Texas, Abner Haynes elected to stay in his home state, and he would sign with the Dallas Texans of the AFL as opposed to the Pittsburgh Steelers who chose him in the 5^th Round in 1960.  Haynes was the first breakout star of the new league winning their inaugural Rushing Title while being named the AP and UPI MVP.  Haynes, who would also lead the league in Rushing Touchdowns, would do so again in the next two seasons and would accrue over 1,700 All-Purpose Yards in all of his first three seasons, the last of which was an AFL Championship.

Priest Holmes may have played for the high-profile Texas Longhorns in college, but that did not result in a draft selection.  Undrafted in 1997, Holmes would sign with the Baltimore Ravens.  The Running Back would see no action as a rookie but would rush for 1,008 Yards in 1998 and did well until Jamal Lewis supplanted him as the lead Back for Baltimore.  Holmes would gain a Super Bowl Ring out of it, but he sought work as a starter, and he would sign with the Kansas City Chiefs where he would get that opportunity.

From the football factory of SMU, Jerry Mays elected to stay in his home state with the Dallas Texans, who drafted him in the 5^th Round of the 1961 Draft.  The Minnesota Vikings of the NFL chose him in the 11^th Round.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #120, 2022 Pre-Season Rank: #140. Peak Period: 2019-23

Joe Thuney is finally getting his due as one of the top pass protectors in football, and you can ask both Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes how good he is at it.  Thuney has been a starter in four Super Bowl Championships (two for New England and two for Kansas City) and has been a Pro Bowl Selection his last two years.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #12, 2021 Pre-Season Rank: #20, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #37.  Peak Period: 2018-22

Travis Kelce's performance is exceptional, especially when compared to the only two legends in the Modern Positional Average statistics, Shannon Sharpe & Tony Gonzalez. Despite this daunting comparison, Kelce has not only measured up but surpassed expectations.  In the 2010s, he was the number two Tight End behind Rob Gronkowski, and now, he stands as the top man at his position among active players. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is the most recognized man in football.

Dating Taylor Swift will do that.

This man is a rock star of an athlete, but even if he was a mute, Kelce has the numbers of a Hall of Fame Tight End: over 11,000 Yards and 74 Touchdowns, a nine-year Pro Bowl streak, and four First Team All-Pros. Throw in three Super Bowls, and you have a man making a first-ballot Hall of Fame case and someone looking at the Mount Rushmore of Tight Ends.

Kelce might be declining, but not in popularity. 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Kansas City Chiefs who first came into the existence as the Dallas Texans as an original AFL Team.  They would win it all in 1962, but relocated to Kansas City where they would win the title again in 1966.  The Chiefs would later win Super Bowl IV, but while they have one of the most fervent fan bases, they have not won since.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018 Season.

The complete list can be found here,but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Will Shields

2. Len Dawson

3. Derrick Thomas

4. Tony Gonzalez

5. Bobby Bell

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  Look for the Top 50 Atlanta Braves next.

As always we thank you for your support.

A Super Bowl Champion in his rookie season (although he did not do that much), Ed Podolak would work his way to become a dependable cog of the Kansas City offense.  Podolak was a dual-threat Running Back who would rush for 4,451 Yards and catch another 288 passes for 2,456 Yards contributing 40 Touchdowns in total in his career, which were all spent in Kansas City.  When he wasn’t on offense he was used on Special Teams where he would use his athleticism to become an adept returner who in 1970 was the league leader in All-Purpose Yards.

An original Dallas Texan, Chris Burford would lead the American Football League in Touchdown catches in 1962, the final season that the Chiefs played in Texas and it was also a championship year.  Burford would actually finish in the top ten in the American Football League in Receptions seven out of his eight seasons and was also in the top ten in Receiving Yards five times.  The 1962 AFL First Team All-Pro retired with 55 Touchdowns on 391 Receptions for 5,505 Yards.  He would later be an early inductee to the Chiefs Hall of Fame, entering in 1975.

If our list of Top 50 Kansas City Chiefs were to be based on the excitement they brought onto the field then Dwayne Bowe would be in the top five, but as such, this is a pretty solid ranking for the dynamic Wide Receiver.

Playing his first eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Houston was an upper-echelon Outside Linebacker for a four-year stretch (2012-15).

Kevin Ross was not tall (5’ 9”) and it could be argued that the Kansas City Chiefs took a chance on him even though it was a late round pick.  Ross would make the team and while the Cornerback struggled early in his career he would improve and by the 1989 Season he was named to the Pro Bowl, a feat he would repeat in 1990.  A Chief for 11 of his 14 NFL seasons, Ross would pick off Quarterbacks 30 times with two of them going back for a Touchdown.  He would have another Defensive Touchdown and two more on Special Teams over his Kansas City career.  The Chiefs inducted Ross in their Hall of Fame in 2011.

Dale Carter was a First Round Draft Pick (20^th Overall) out of the University of Tennessee and it did not take long for the young Cornerback to prove himself as one of the better players at his position.  Named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1992, from 1994 to 1997 he was a Pro Bowl Selection and was also rewarded with a pair of Second Team All-Pro Selections (1995 & 1996).  Carter would pick off Quarterbacks 21 times as a Chief. 

Alex Smith was a former number one pick from the University of Utah and yet it always felt as if he was the red-headed stepchild of the National Football League.