Professional Career
Blackledge was the seventh pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, chosen by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was picked behind John Elway but ahead of Dan Marino, astounding both Marino (who believed that he was better than Blackledge) and Blackledge himself (who had expected to be picked in the middle of the round). He played for five seasons (1983–1987) before ending his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1988–1989) but underperformed in his NFL career compared to high expectations of him, a fact magnified by the impressive quarterbacks also appearing in the 1983 NFL Draft, including Elway, Marino, and Jim Kelly. Critics of Blackledge attributed his failure at the professional level to his inability to "read" NFL defenses. Blackledge is widely regarded as the Chiefs' biggest draft bust along with Trezelle Jenkins. It was the failure of Blackledge that expedited the demotion of Chiefs President Jack Steadman, to be replaced by Carl Peterson.
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