page_title: History of Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks
section_title: Starting quarterbacks
hierarchical_section_title: History of Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks / History / Starting quarterbacks
caption_attribution_description: Jaguars at Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium on December 31, 2006
context_page_description: 31 quarterbacks have started for the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs since their franchise began. The team has also had numerous backup quarterbacks that have stolen the spotlight from the starters.
  Under Len Dawson, the Texans/Chiefs won three American Football League championships and appeared in two Super Bowl championship games. Dawson was named Most Valuable Player following the Chiefs' victory in Super Bowl IV. Dawson played a total of 13 seasons with Kansas City and retired with many franchise records. Despite having little success in developing and drafting a quality quarterback of their own, the Chiefs have achieved success under many veteran quarterbacks, including Dave Krieg, Joe Montana, Elvis Grbac, Trent Green and Alex Smith. The Chiefs have often relied on veteran leadership at the position. It wasn't until 2017 the Chiefs were able to successfully draft and groom a quarterback of their own, Patrick Mahomes, who brought them their first AFC Championship title and second Super Bowl victory.
context_section_description: The Chiefs have had many notable and established quarterbacks on their squad at different times. Hall of Famers Len Dawson and Joe Montana led the Chiefs in two successful eras and both led the team to playoff appearances in their first seasons.
  The franchise's first starter was Cotton Davidson, who started 25 games for the Texans before being traded in 1962. Team owner Lamar Hunt traded Davidson to the Oakland Raiders for the first-overall selection in the 1963 AFL Draft. The franchise used that pick to select future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan.
  In Davidson's absence, free agent quarterback Len Dawson signed with the team on July 2, 1962 after spending a five-year career in the NFL with Pittsburgh and Cleveland. In Dallas, Dawson was rejoined with head coach Hank Stram who served as an assistant coach with Purdue, where Dawson played college football. In his first season with the Texans, Dawson led the team to a double-overtime victory over the Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship Game. The victory brought the team's first league championship.
  Len Dawson was the franchise's most successful quarterback, playing in 182 regular season games (158 starts) for the Texans/Chiefs, and holds many franchise records. He was nicknamed "Lenny the Cool" for his calm composure on the field. Dawson completed 2,115 of 3,696 passes for 28,507 yards with 237 touchdowns and 178 interceptions, good for an 82.6 career rating. He ranks first in team history in pass attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdowns. He led the Chiefs to 94 regular season wins and three AFL titles. Dawson led the Chiefs to an appearance in the first AFL–NFL Championship Game (later known as "Super Bowl I") against the Green Bay Packers. He was named MVP of Super Bowl IV when he directed Kansas City to a 23–7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Dawson was named to six AFL All-Star teams and one Pro Bowl squad, in addition to being named the AFL Player of the Year in 1962. Dawson was also named the NFL Man of the Year in 1973. Dawson threw a franchise record six touchdown passes against the Denver Broncos on November 1, 1964 in a 49–39 victory. In 1966, while still playing for the Chiefs, Dawson became the sports director and anchor for KMBC-TV, a local Kansas City ABC affiliate. As of 2009, Dawson is still KMBC's sports director. He would practice and play for the Chiefs during the day and later help anchor news broadcasts at night. After retiring from the NFL in 1975, Dawson began hosting Inside the NFL on HBO and worked network broadcasts for NBC. He joined the Chiefs' radio broadcast team in 1984 and provides color commentary to game broadcasts.
  Bill Kenney was the team's starting quarterback in various times between 1980 and 1988 and compiled a 46–51 record. Kenney played behind a porous offensive line and holds the franchise record for most times sacked (195). Kenney's All-Pro wide receiver teammate Carlos Carson said, "I don't care who you are, it's tough to throw a pass when you're lying on your back." Kenney was selected to the 1984 Pro Bowl. After retiring from professional football, Kenney became a State Senator for the Missouri Senate.
  The Chiefs made a mistake in drafting quarterback Todd Blackledge in the 1983 NFL Draft believing that Blackledge was a better choice than Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Blackledge never started a full season for Kansas City while Kelly and Marino played Hall of Fame careers. Blackledge started 24 total games in Kansas City, but inconsistent play led to him sharing time with Bill Kenney from 1984–1987.
  In the 1987 season, the Chiefs used five starting quarterbacks for the only time in franchise history. Doug Hudson was the last quarterback drafted by the team to start a game until Brodie Croyle started in 2007. In Hudson's only game, he was sacked in the endzone for a safety by the Denver Broncos' Jim Ryan. The sack and fumble is the only recorded statistic for his career.
  In 1988, the Chiefs traded two draft selections and safety Mark Robinson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for veteran quarterba
caption: Trent Green lines up with the Chiefs' offense, 2006.
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