KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Lost in the weekend's flurry of activity for the Kansas City Chiefs was the fact they parted ways with three members of their 2013 draft class. The Chiefs waived defensive end Mike Catapano, center Eric Kush and defensive back Sanders Commings.
Throw in the fact that Eric Fisher, who hasn't played as the Chiefs hoped when they made him the No. 1 overall pick in that draft, was moved from left tackle to right, and this was a rough stretch for the Chiefs' 2013 draft.
Fisher, tight end Travis Kelce and running back Knile Davis remain. The Chiefs previously let go of two other members of that draft class, linebacker Nico Johnson and fullback Braden Wilson.
"Any personnel guy will say he gets disappointed but you have to also look at it from a positive note and say if you get three starters from a draft, that's a good thing as well," general manager John Dorsey recently said of his first draft with the Chiefs.
The Chiefs haven't reached that milestone from the 2013 draft yet. Fisher is a starter and Kelce will join him full-time this season. But Davis is a backup and will be as long as Jamaal Charles is around.
Usually, merely counting starters isn't a good measure of a draft's success anyway. Sometimes a guy is just filling a hole rather than making a difference. Fisher in the past two seasons has been an example.
Sometimes a backup can be a difference-maker. Davis has been a strong kick returner for the Chiefs. If he can continue being that but play better when he provides some relief for Charles, he'll be a good pick for the Chiefs.
That's why counting impact players might be a better measure. This draft class has one of those in Kelce, who almost single-handedly prevented the Chiefs' passing game from being a complete fiasco last season.
Another thing to consider from that 2013 draft class is the Chiefs didn't have a second-round draft pick, having sent it to the San Francisco 49ers as part of the deal that brought quarterback Alex Smith to Kansas City.
So the Chiefs got a starting quarterback, one of the best tight ends in the league, a starting tackle and a kick returner/change-of-pace running back in 2013. The haul will look much better if Fisher ever develops the way the Chiefs initially envisioned.