It’s not often we get to look at the current league champions on this miniseries, but here we are in that spot today: NFL Thursday finally leaves the West and goes east to the Heartland, a.k.a. Kansas City. Of course, this team started out in Dallas with the onset the American Football League, so what are the odds we get an original Texans player on this list? Well, you’ll just have to read ahead and find out who made the cut, right?!

No. 10: Travis Kelce, TE—108 AV (2013-present)

After playing in just 1 game during his first season, he has taken off and become one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport. A third rounder, he has earned 9 consecutive Pro Bowl nods (2015-2023), while playing a key role on 3 Super Bowl champions (2019, 2022, 2023). He posted 7 straight seasons of double-digit AV from 2016-2022, too, so maybe the Taylor Swift stuff did distract him a bit in 2023. But we doubt it.

No. 9: Patrick Mahomes, QB—109 AV (2017-present)

In just 6 seasons as a starter, he’s reached the Super Bowl 4 times, including the strange 2020 loss to the biggest cheater in NFL history. There were also odd postseason defeats at home in 2018 and 2021, but overall, with 6 straight Pro Bowls and handful of other awards (the 2018 and 2022 MVP vote wins, for example), he has been an amazing poster boy for all that’s right in the NFL today. What’s next for him?!

No. 8: Ed Budde, G—111 AV (1963-1976)

He was a Top 10 pick in both the AFL and NFL drafts, and he repaid the Chiefs’ faith by earning a Pro Bowl invite in his rookie season—and in 6 other years (1966-1971) as well. He was a member of the organization’s first two Super Bowl teams (1966, 1969), and he played in 177 regular-season games for the franchise. From 1966 to 1971, he averaged 11.7 AV, as well, in helping Kansas City reach the postseason 4 times in that span.

No. 7: Johnny Robinson, RB/FS—120 AV (1960-1971)

The guy we picked for the Super Bowl IV MVP Award, he was a special player: Robinson totaled 1,870 yards from scrimmage as a halfback in 1960-1961 with the Dallas Texans, and then he switched to free safety with the team’s move to Kansas City. There, he intercepted 57 passes and led the AFL (1966) and the NFL (1970) in picks. That’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame, not to mention 7 Pro Bowls and 18 total touchdowns score, too.

No. 6: Buck Buchanan, DT—125 AV (1963-1975)

Another Hall of Fame player, he made 8 straight Pro Bowls (1964-1971) after being the No. 1 overall pick in the AFL Draft. He has been credited with 70.5 sacks in his career, but that doesn’t do him justice, of course. He stepped with 3.5 sacks in the 7 playoff games he participated in during his NFL tenure, too. His peak years were from 1967-1969, when he averaged 15 AV across those 3 seasons. That’s a disruptive force, indeed.

No. 5: Derrick Thomas, LB—131 AV (1989-1999)

His brilliant career was cut short by a car accident in 2000, but Thomas made 9 Pro Bowls in 11 seasons with the Chiefs. He was the No. 4 overall pick in the draft and registered 126.5 sacks on his way to the Hall of Fame. He added 6.5 sacks in his 10 career postseason contests, too, although Kansas City never went to a Super Bowl during his time with the franchise. He forced 41 fumbles and led the NFL in sacks once (1990).

No. 4: Bobby Bell, DE/LB—134 AV (1963-1974)

The third guy on this list to begin his time with the Chiefs in 1963, he was a 7th-round draft pick by Kansas City in the AFL Draft. Nine Pro Bowls later, he made the Hall of Fame: over a 10-year span, he averaged 12.3 AV per season, and he switched from defensive end to linebacker after making his first Pro Bowl in 1964. Talk about a team player! He only had 2.5 sacks in the 7 postseason games, but Bell had 26 INTs, too, overall.

No. 3: Jim Tyrer, T—142 AV (1961-1973)

Has a more anonymous player ever placed as high on a team’s Top 10 list? He’s not even in the Hall of Fame, despite 9 Pro Bowls (1962-1966, 1968-1971). Over that same span (1962-1971), he managed to accrue 12.4 AV on average each season. Because of his origins with the Dallas Texans, he actually in 8 postseason games, too. Tyrer is the literal poster boy for toiling away in anonymity—albeit quite successfully—and not being seen.

No. 2: Len Dawson, QB—143 AV (1962-1975)

After 5 seasons in the NFL with 2 different teams, he came to the Texans and launched a Hall of Fame career in the AFL: 7 Pro Bowls, 3 AFL titles (1962, 1966, 1969), two AFL MVPs from us (1962, 1968), and numerous statistical crowns along the way. His 98-59-8 record as a starter for the franchise, including the postseason, demonstrates his importance to the organization’s early successes. What did those 2 NFL teams miss on?!

No. 1: Will Shields, G—157 AV (1993-2006)

Picked 74th overall, Shields went on to make 12 Pro Bowls in a row to end his career (1995-2006). He never had a season with less than 8 AV, either, so he was never a liability on the team’s offensive line. He only got to play in 8 playoff games during his 14-year career, however. His best stretch came in his early 30s, when he posted a combined 59 AV from 2002-2005. Quite a payoff for a third rounder in the draft, eh? For reals.