The 2012 NFL season is one that Chiefs fans would prefer to forget and pretend never happened. But when it comes to that year’s draft class, it featured several big-name players that are still playing in the league today, i.e., Raiders linebacker Chandler Jones, Denver quarterback Russell Wilson, Super Bowl Champion Nick Foles, and many others.
The 2012 Draft Class was also known during the 2011 season as the “Suck for Luck Campaign,” referencing the much-anticipated pro career of Stanford’s Andrew Luck depending on who got the first pick, which the Colts eventually won following an ugly 2-14 season. It also spelled the end of an era when HOF QB Peyton Manning was released and eventually signed with Denver.
In April 2012, Kansas City had eight draft picks, beginning with the eleventh overall pick in the first round per result of an injury-riddled 2011 that ended with the team stumbling to a 7-9 record. Former General Manager Scott Pioli had an opportunity to begin some new talent to a team that missed the postseason by a field goal the previous year.
Instead, Pioli’s 2012 draft class featured more busts than gems and would be the last draft he’d be a part of as Kansas City’s GM. This is a look back at the Chiefs’ 2012 draft class and where those players are today.
Dontari Poe – RD 1 – PK 11 – Memphis
One of the tasks on Kansas City’s 2012 to-do list was finding a replacement for veteran nose tackle Kelly Gregg, who retired following the 2011 campaign. At eleventh overall, the Chiefs picked up Dontari Poe out of Memphis. Poe was a monster defensive tackle coming out of college at 6-foot-3, 346-pounds and immediately filled the hole in former head coach Romeo Crennell’s 3-4 defensive scheme at nose tackle.
Poe played five seasons (2012-2016) with the Chiefs before moving on to play for the Atlanta Falcons (2017), Carolina Panthers (2018-2019), and Dallas Cowboys (2020). He played in 128 total games, making 125 starts and recording 285 tackles (205 solo), 46 QB hits, and 20.5 sacks. Poe made the Pro Bowl twice while with the Chiefs in 2013 and 2014 for being such a wrecking force in the middle of the d-line.
However, Poe’s most notable plays weren’t while playing defense but on the opposite side of the ball. After seeing what the big can on offense during practice, Head Coach Andy Reid dialed up plays designed for the defensive tackle to run, catch, or pass the football in scoring situations at the goal line – all of which had a high success rate.
Poe has been out of football ever since the Cowboys released him in 2020. Today, he does charity work, mainly in the Memphis and Kansas City areas. His charity website can be found here.
Jeff Allen – RD 2 – PK 44 – Illinois
In the second round, the Chiefs selected offensive guard Jeff Allen out of Illinois. At 6-foot-4, 306-pounds, Allen joined former Illinois teammate Jon Asamoah on the offensive line as the Chiefs’ starting left guard. He played the first four seasons of his career in Kansas City before signing a four-year contract with the Houston Texans in 2016.
However, he’d only play out the 2016, and 2017 campaigns with Houston before the team eventually released him for spending the majority of the 2018 offseason on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list due to suffering concussions and ankle injuries. Later that October, his career would come back to Kansas City, where he spent the next two seasons serving in a backup role on the o-line. He retired from football following the 2019 season as part of the Chiefs’ championship roster from Super Bowl LIV.
Today, Allen and his wife, Marrissa, run their own bakery business in Frisco, Texas, called Cookie Society.
Donald Stephenson – RD 3 – PK 74 – Oklahoma
At 74th overall in the third round, the Chiefs attempted to add to their offensive line by drafting Oklahoma tackle Donald Stephenson. Stephenson showed promise but no doubt needed time to develop. However, he struggled to be much more than a backup on the offensive line.
From 2012 to 2015, Stephenson started 21 regular-season contests for the Chiefs before playing two seasons in Denver and spending the 2018 season on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.
Devon Wylie – RD 4 – PK 107 – Fresno St.
In the fourth round, the Chiefs tried to give their offense some juice by picking up wide receiver Devon Wylie out of Fresno State. During his time in college, Wylie became known for his speed and ability to return kicks.
In five seasons (2007-2011) with the Bulldogs, Wylie registered 98 catches for 1,327 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while also bringing back 41 punt returns for 553 yards and two scores and 16 kick returns for 333 yards.
Fans that were aware of his atheism couldn’t wait to see what Wylie could do at the NFL level. Unfortunately, he was far too undersized at 5-foot-8, 187-pounds, making the transition to the pro game much tougher than expected. During his rookie season, Wylie made the Chiefs’ final roster but only played in six games, catching six passes for 53 yards and returning nine kickoffs for 191 yards and five punts for 26 yards.
Following the 2012 season, Wylie failed to make Kansas City’s 2013 roster. He proceeded to bounce around the league over the next three seasons, spending time on the practice squad units of the Cardinals, Steelers, Titans, Seahawks, 49ers, Rams, Raiders, and Falcons before spending his 2016 and 2017 campaigns in the Candian Football League.
DeQuan Menzie – RD 5 – PK 146 – Alabama
In the fifth round, the Chiefs added some depth to the secondary in the form of cornerback DeQuan Menzie out of Alabama. However, Menzie was a total flop in the NFL after playing just two seasons in college, collecting 53 tackles and one interception with the Crimson Tide.
Menzie initially made the Chiefs’ final-53 roster at the beginning of the season but eventually spent the season on injured reserve and registered no stats during his rookie campaign. He has released the following offseason. He signed with the Detroit Lions but failed to make the club’s final roster and spent the entire 2013 NFL season out of football. In 2014, he signed a reserve/futures contract with the Carolina Panthers but was released later that summer, announcing his retirement soon after that.
Cyrus Gray – RD 6 – PK 182 – Texas A&M
At 182nd overall, the Chiefs added Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray to compete for a depth role to help carry the load behind starter Jamaal Charles. In four seasons with the Aggies, Gray totaled 4,074 scrimmage yards and 36 scores, including 3,298 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns.
During his rookie NFL season, Gray made the Chiefs’ final roster and went on to play three whole seasons in Kansas City from 2012 to 2014 but never saw very many opportunities to carry the football. In 35 regular-season games, Gray rushed for 99 yards and a score on just 24 touches.
He was released following the 2014 campaign and spent the 2015 season without a team before spending time on the practice squad units of the Broncos and Falcons, respectively, during the 2016 NFL season. He’s disappeared from football ever since.
Jerome Long – RD 7 – PK 218 – San Diego St.
Defensive tackle Jerome Long was selected 218th overall by Kansas City after spending four seasons at San Diego State, recording 94 total tackles and nine sacks. However, Long was nothing like the wrecking force he was in college at the professional level.
After failing to make Kansas City’s final roster in 2012, Long spent most of his rookie campaign on the team’s practice squad before getting swiped by the Jacksonville Jaguars in December of that year, only to be released a few months later in April 2013. Later that summer, he signed with the Dallas Cowboys and appeared in three games before being released in September.
He never saw another opportunity to play in the NFL ever since.
Junior Hemingway – RD 7 – PK 238 – Michigan
With their 238th and final pick of the 2012 draft, the Chiefs selected Michigan wide receiver, Junior Hemingway. Before coming into the league, Hemingway played five seasons with the Wolverines, catching 88 passes for 1,638 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
During his rookie season, Hemingway was mainly on the practice squad until the team placed wide receiver Terrence Copper on injured reserve, which led to him being activated to the active roster for the Chiefs’ final game of the regular season. In 2013, Hemingway led the team in receptions and touchdowns during the preseason and earned the job as the Chiefs’ fourth receiver on the depth chart behind Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery, and Dexter McCluster.
In Week One against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Hemingway caught his first career NFL touchdown from Alex Smith in a 28-2 victory. He played all 16 games for Kansas City that season and caught 13 passes for 125 yards and two scores. In 2014, Hemingway made the roster again and played in 14 games, making one start, and caught 12 balls for 108 yards.
He was released by the Chiefs in September 2015 and was never signed by another team.
