Arizona Cardinals – Tyrann Mathieu was a 3rd round pick by the Cardinals in 2013. The “Honey Badger” had 4 interceptions and 2 sacks, while starting all 16 games for the Chiefs; Cardinals signed FA LB Terrell Suggs to a 1-year deal this past off-season, but released him in December, paving the way for him to sign with KC.
Atlanta Falcons – 49ers RB Tevin Coleman ran for 544 yards and 6 touchdowns after signing with SF as a free agent this past summer. Coleman spent the first four years of his career in Atlanta.
Baltimore Ravens – Terrell Suggs was claimed off waivers by the Chiefs in December, after being cut by the Cardinals. He spent the first 16 years of his career with the team that drafted him 10th overall in 2003.
Buffalo Bills – In 2018, WR Sammy Watkins signed a 5 year contract with the Chiefs, one year after the Bills traded him to the Rams. Bills drafted Watkins 4th overall in 2014. He had 2,459 yards and 17 TDs in three seasons
LeSean McCoy was cut before week 1 by the Bills this summer and signed on with the Chiefs. McCoy previously had 4 successful years with the Bills.
Bills originally held the #10 pick in the 2017 Draft, but moved down (acquiring a 2018 pick in the process) to allow the Chiefs to grab Patrick Mahomes.
Chicago Bears – Robbie Gould hit just 74% of his field goals for SF in 2019. He has been with the 49ers for 3 years, after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Bears as a career 85% field goal kicker.
Cincinnati Bengals – What helped the Chiefs go on their 2019 run was the Bengals’ decision to hire Zac Taylor as their head coach last offseason over Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy.
Cleveland Browns – Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz was a second round pick by the Browns in 2012. Since joining the Chiefs in 2016, he is a 3x Second-team All Pro and First team in 2018.
Kyle Shanahan resigned as offensive coordinator of the Browns after the 2014 season, when he had a disagreement with management over the usage of Johnny Manziel
Dallas Cowboys – Cowboys have quite the presence on the Chiefs defense, which features Morris Claiborne, Anthony Hitchens, and Damien Wilson. Claiborne was the 6th overall pick in 2012, before being cut after the 2016 season. Hitchens was a 4th round pick in 2014 and signed a 5 year contract as a free agent in 2018 with KC. Wilson was a 4th round pick in 2015.
Denver Broncos – The NFL trade deadline is rarely a big event. But for the 49ers, 2019 represented a major move as they acquired WR Emmanuel Sanders from the Broncos for a 3rd and 4th round pick in the 2020 Draft. It was worth it – Sanders played 10 games and caught 3 touchdowns and had 502 yards receiving, which was second among receivers, despite not playing 6 games. Sanders was a key part of the Broncos Super Bowl 50 championship team.
49ers defensive backs coach Joe Woods was the Broncos defensive coordinator when Denver won Super Bowl 50.
Green Bay Packers – Mike LaFleur, brother of Packers coach Matt LaFleur, is the 49ers’ passing game coordinator.
Houston Texans – Kyle Shanahan was an offensive assistant with the Texans from 2006-2009. He was the OC in 2008-2009.
Former LB Demeco Ryans coached inside linebackers for the 49ers
Jacksonville Jaguars – 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was hired in 2017, when Shanahan got the head coaching job. It was his first DC job. Prior to his hire, he was the linebackers coach in Jacksonville from 2014-2016.
Los Angeles Chargers – Last time the 49ers played a Super Bowl in Miami and the last time 49ers won a Super Bowl was in 1995, when they beat the Chargers in SB XXIX
Los Angeles Rams – Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, was the head coach of the Rams for three years (2009-2011). The Rams were 10-38 during that stretch, with Spags’ coaching career starting with a 1-15 year and ending with a 2-14 year.
Miami Dolphins – Chiefs RB Damien Williams spent the first 4 years of his career with the Dolphins, playing mostly special teams from 2014-2017. He ran for just 477 yards with the Dolphins, before running for 256 yards with the Chiefs last year and exceeding his career touchdown total (4 in 2018, 3 from 2014-2017).
Minnesota Vikings – 49ers key to success on offense is their running game with Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and even Jeffrey Wilson. One guy who has been absent the last two years is Jerrick McKinnon, who after the 2017 season, signed a 4 year, $30 million contract with SF, which at the time made him the 4th highest paid RB in the NFL. He has yet to take a snap with the 49ers due to injuries.
New York Giants – A big part of the Chiefs success in 2019 was due to their improved defense, led by DC Steve Spagnuolo. Spagnuolo is known as the defensive architect who shut down the Patriots historic offense in the 2007 Super Bowl when the Pats were 18-0.
New York Jets – LB Darron Lee is mostly a special teams player for the Chiefs. In 2016, Lee was a first round pick (#20) by the Jets.
New England Patriots – 49ers QB Jimmy Garappolo was a second round pick in 2014 and started 2 games in 2017, going 2-0 while throwing 5 TD and 0 INT
5x Pro Bowl wide receiver Wes Welker is the WR Coach for the 49ers.
Philadelphia Eagles – Andy Reid coached the Eagles for 14 years, from 1999-2012. He compiled a record of 130-93-1 and a 10-9 record in the playoffs making it there in 9 of 14 years, including a loss in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Chiefs backup LG Stefen Wisniewski was part of the Eagles’ Super Bowl winning team in 2017.
Pittsburgh Steelers – Emmanuel Sanders was a third round pick in the 2010 Draft. He was largely under-utilized, playing behind Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace. He caught just 11 touchdowns in 4 years, with 6 of those coming during a breakout 2013 season, his last in Pittsburgh
Seattle Seahawks – Richard Sherman and Frank Clark were teammates in Seattle from 2015-2017. Sherman signed with 49ers as a free agent in 2018 and Clark, whose contract was up in Seattle, was traded for a first round pick and immediately signed a contract that exceeded $105 million with KC.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The architect of this 49ers roster is John Lynch, the General Manager. During his playing days, he was with the Bucs from 1993-2003 and was part of TB’s Super Bowl XXXVII winning team.
One of his biggest moves this past offseason was signing FA LB Kwon Alexander, whom the Bucs drafted in the 4th round in 2015. 2017 Pro Bowl was a big difference maker for SF, before getting injured late in the year.
Tennessee Titans – Lost to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game. Titans should be credit by Chiefs fans for doing the dirty work of taking out the Ravens and Patriots.
Washington Redskins – Kyle Shanahan got his first offensive coordinator job in Houston, but really got his big break working under his father in Washington from 2010-2013. Shanahan was responsible for the development of Robert Griffin III during his record-breaking rookie season and helped groom Kirk Cousins for his eventual ascension to the starting role.
Chiefs CB Kendall Fuller was traded to KC from the Redskins in 2018, as part of the trade package for QB Alex Smith.
Not included – Colts, Raiders, Lions, Saints, Panthers
Mike Schneid
Mike is a member of the FWAA (Football Writers Association of America) and an alum of the University of Cincinnati.
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