clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Mike Vrabel, Rich Gannon And Priest Holmes Among Greatest NFL Free Agents Ever

The Kansas City Chiefs brought Priest Holmes along for the 2001 NFL season -- Dick Vermeil's first in KC -- and it paid off rather quickly for them as he became a force in the NFL and arguably the best back at the time as he scored touchdown after touchdown.

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports lists the best free agents of all time and Holmes comes in at No. 13 behind Drew Brees (Saints) and Reggie White (Packers) who top the list.

The mere mention of Holmes' name should have a Pavlovian effect on any longtime fantasy football player. After back-to-back mediocre seasons with Baltimore, Holmes became a stat-mongering force in the NFL. He had at least 2,100 yards rushing and receiving for three consecutive seasons with the Chiefs, scoring 10, 24 and then 27 touchdowns before injuries started to pile up. While Holmes was clearly talented, he also benefitted from running behind one of the great offensive lines of his time and took advantage of the wide-open nature of the Kansas City offense.    

The numbers were staggering and then on top of that he did it by coming out of nowhere. He was a little known commodity on the Ravens that the Chiefs took a chance on and it paid off in a major way.

Also making the list is Mike Vrabel, current Chief, when he left the Steelers to join the Patriots in 2001 as well as Rich Gannon who left KC to join the Raiders in 1999.