NFL 1st-round draft picks from KC include Felix Anudike-Uzomah... and these others
With the final selection in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, the hometown Chiefs scoured the college football landscape and found their choice ... 15 miles from Arrowhead Stadium.
Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who played at Lee’s Summit High, got the call from his hometown team and is the latest player from a KC-area high school to become a first-round draft choice.
He’s the first player from a KC-area school taken by the Chiefs in any round since offensive lineman Donald Stephenson in 2012. Stephenson played at Blue Springs High and the University of Oklahoma and was selected in the third round.
Here’s the list of KC’s pro football first-rounders, with year, pick, name, position, high school, college and NFL team:
1944: 9th, Ray Evans, TB-HB, Wyandotte, Kansas, Bears
1962: 10th, John Hadl, QB, Lawrence, Kansas, Lions
1968: 4th, Russ Washington, DT, Southeast, Missouri, Chargers
1978: 15th, Steve Little, K, SM South, Arkansas, Cardinals
1980: 8th, Mark Haynes, DB, Harmon, Colorado, Giants
1980: 11th, Brad Budde, OL, Rockhurst, USC, Chiefs
1981: 10th, David Verser, WR, Sumner, Kansas, Bengals
1982: 24th, Roy Foster, G-T, SM West, USC, Dolphins
1991: 3rd, Bruce Pickens, DB, Westport, Nebraska, Falcons
2009: 17th, Josh Freeman, QB, Grandview, Kansas State, Bucs
2011: 7th, Aldon Smith, DE, Raytown, Missouri, 49ers
2015: 23rd, Shane Ray, LB, Bishop Miege, Missouri, Broncos
2017: 22nd, Charles Harris, DE, Lincoln Prep, Missouri, Dolphins
2020: 8th, Isaiah Simmons, LB, Olathe North, Clemson, Cardinals
2023: 31st, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Lee’s Summit, Kansas State, Chiefs
This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 11:57 PM with the headline "NFL 1st-round draft picks from KC include Felix Anudike-Uzomah... and these others."