Super Bowl LVII: How Kansas City Chiefs starters ranked as recruits

Super Bowl weekend is here. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are set to square off in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.

As can be expected, both rosters are full of players who were once heralded as high school recruits long before they were stars in college or the NFL. Before the final game of the season, On3 looks back at how the Chiefs’ starters ranked as high school prospects. 

Kansas City’s top unit includes multiple former four and five-stars, as well as several other players who were under-the-radar three-stars or not even ranked at all.

Quarterback

Patrick Mahomes II
Class of 2014
College: Texas Tech
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 499
Position Rank: No. 33

Running Back

Isaih Pacheco
Class of 2018
College: Rutgers
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 705
Position Rank: No. 55

Fullback

Michael Burton
Class of 2010
College: Rutgers
Ranking: No stars
On3 Consensus: Unranked
Position Rank: N/A

Wide Receivers

JuJu Smith-Schuster
Class of 2014
College: USC
Ranking: 5-star
On3 Consensus: No. 29
Position Rank: No. 4

Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Class of 2013
Colleges: NC State, USF
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,367
Position Rank: No. 194

Tight End

Travis Kelce
Class of 2008
College: Cincinnati
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,075
Position Rank: No. 67

Offensive Tackles

Orlando Brown
Class of 2014
College: Oklahoma
Ranking: 4-star
On3 Consensus: No. 390
Position Rank: No. 23

Andrew Wylie
Class of 2012
College: Eastern Michigan
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,978
Position Rank: No. 163

Guards

Joe Thuney
Class of 2011
College: NC State
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,544
Position Rank: No. 145

Trey Smith
Class of 2017
College: Tennessee
Ranking: 5-star
On3 Consensus: No. 10
Position Rank: No. 1

Center

Creed Humphrey
Class of 2017
College: Oklahoma
Ranking: 4-star
On3 Consensus: No. 395
Position Rank: No. 26

Defensive Ends

Mike Danna
Class of 2015
Colleges: Central Michigan, Michigan
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 2,267
Position Rank: No. 147

Frank Clark
Class of 2011
College: Michigan
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 650
Position Rank: No. 55

Defensive Tackles

Derrick Nnadi
Class of 2014
College: Florida State
Ranking: 4-star
On3 Consensus: No. 100
Position Rank: No. 12

Chris Jones
Class of 2013
College: Mississippi State
Ranking: 5-star
On3 Consensus: No. 15
Position Rank: No. 6

Linebackers

Nick Bolton
Class of 2018
College: Missouri
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,035
Position Rank: No. 118

Willie Gay Jr.
Class of 2017
College: Mississippi State
Ranking: 4-star
On3 Consensus: No. 85
Position Rank: No. 7

Leo Chenal
Class of 2019
College: Wisconsin
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 695
Position Rank: No. 87

Cornerbacks

L’Jarius Sneed
Class of 2016
College: Louisiana Tech
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 1,834
Position Rank: No. 36

Trent McDuffie
Class of 2019
College: Washington
Ranking: 4-star
On3 Consensus: No. 134
Position Rank: No. 12

Safeties

Juan Thornhill
Class of 2015
College: Virginia
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 635
Position Rank: No. 55

Justin Reid
Class of 2015
College: Stanford
Ranking: 3-star
On3 Consensus: No. 510
Position Rank: No. 38