Former Chiefs Defensive Star Highly Praised in Value

The Kansas City Chiefs have been one of the better drafting teams over the last couple of seasons. While the 2025 NFL Draft looks to be a good haul for the franchise, it has to be recognized how the Chiefs used to hit on players in the middle rounds over ten years ago.

The Chief's defense seems to always get undervalued compared to their offense. That rings true more often now, but one of the better Chiefs defenses since 2010 featured four-time Pro Bowler, Justin Houston.

Houston was drafted by the Chiefs in the 2011 NFL Draft in the third round. From 2011 to 2018, Houston collected all four of his Pro Bowl nods with the franchise and became an All-Pro back in 2014.

Even without donning a Chiefs uniform, Houston has been one of the more productive players on defense in recent years. So much so that NFL.com's Eric Edholm ranked Houston as the fifth-best edge rushers in terms of draft values of the millennium.

"The massive-framed Houston was coming off a 10-sack season at Georgia and tested very well at the combine but slipped to Round 3 of the 2011 draft. By the end of his rookie season, though, it was clear he should have gone much higher. Houston would rack up 112 sacks, 19 forced fumbles, five picks and four safeties (tied for the most ever) -- most of which came during his Kansas City days," Edholm wrote.

"Interestingly, the Houston pick was a throw-in for the Chiefs moving down five slots in Round 1, in a trade that involved Phil Taylor going to the Browns and Jonathan Baldwin going to K.C. Both were notable busts who never fulfilled their potential, but picking Houston two rounds later would make the Chiefs massive winners of that deal."

While Houston left Kansas City before their dynasty got underway, his impact on the defensive side of the ball was surely felt. Collecting 382 total tackles, 319 solos, and 78.5 quarterback sacks while donning a Chiefs uniform makes Houston the perfect representative on Edholm's Top 5 list.

Houston spent two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and one year with the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins following his Chiefs tenure.

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