Kansas City received the Jets' No. 178 selection for Charles…
Kansas City received the Jets' No. 178 selection for Charles Jackson, but that pick immediately carried prior obligations. Draft-transaction records show the Chiefs had already promised the selection to Dallas in the 1983 Lawrence Ricks deal. Dallas, not Kansas City, used No. 178 on receiver Karl Powe. The Chiefs therefore converted Jackson into an asset that discharged an earlier debt rather than adding a new player.
Kansas City Chiefs Received
- pick 1985 7th round pick (178th overall; subsequently conveyed to Dallas, Karl Powe)
New York Jets Received
- player Charles Jackson
Trade Analysis
The 1985 Exchange
Kansas City sent veteran linebacker Charles Jackson to the New York Jets on April 26, 1985. In return, the Chiefs received the seventh-round selection that became No. 178. The immediate trade is straightforward, but the later history of that pick matters because the player attached to No. 178 was not a Kansas City selection.
What the Jets Got
Jackson became a useful two-year contributor in New York. He appeared in all 16 games in 1985 and all 15 games in 1986. NFL records credit him with 22 tackles in 1985 and 25 in 1986, including two sacks in his second Jets season. The Jets therefore received actual defensive snaps and multi-season roster value from the player they acquired.
Where Pick No. 178 Went
Kansas City had previously acquired running back Lawrence Ricks from Dallas in 1983 in a deal that obligated the Chiefs to send draft compensation back to the Cowboys. Draft-transaction records trace the Jets' 1985 No. 178 selection through Kansas City to Dallas as part of that earlier obligation. Dallas ultimately used No. 178 on wide receiver Karl Powe. Powe's career cannot be credited to Kansas City.
How to Value Kansas City's Side
The pick still had economic value to the Chiefs because it satisfied part of a prior commitment. But it did not create a new Kansas City player, while Jackson produced two seasons of work for New York. That makes the old description of this as a Chiefs win misleading.
Final Verdict
New York Jets Win. The Jets earn a B for turning a seventh-round choice into two seasons of linebacker contribution. Kansas City earns a C because the acquired pick had value as compensation owed elsewhere, but it did not produce a new Chiefs roster asset. The key historical correction is that Karl Powe belonged to Dallas' draft class, not Kansas City's.