In the vacuum that includes the Chiefs and the media that cover the team, the club is supposedly one of the worst in the league when it comes to signing first round draft choices to that initial contract. Some of the pundits and talk show hosts are already rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of a pair of first round holdouts this year at Arrowhead Stadium with Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert.

Based on what they write and what they say, who could possibly think otherwise that the Chiefs drag their feet and are extra tough in negotiations, especially when it comes to their earliest selections.

The truth, however, is something quite different. Over the most recent five-year period of signing first-round picks (2003-07), the Chiefs rank in the middle of the league when it comes to getting their first choice signed. They are neither the team that is the earliest of signers or the latest. They aren’t even close to being the team that suffers the most first round holdouts.

That would be the Arizona Cardinals. They’ve had six first-round picks in that five-year period and only twice did they get their man signed in July.

There are six teams at the other end of the spectrum; they were able to sign their first round draft choices before the end of July: Dallas, Denver, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

We use the end of July for a reason. The fact that a player misses the start of training camp is inconsequential. If he signs by the end of July, that generally means he’ll miss no more than five or six days of practice work, time easily made up especially in this day of off-season programs. It’s when the holdouts stretch into August and beyond that cause problems for the draft choice and the team.

The Chiefs had four first round picks in those most recent five seasons. Here’s when they signed a contract:

• 2003-Larry Johnson, July 17.
• 2005-Derrick Johnson, July 31.
• 2006-Tamba Hali, July 27.
• 2007-Dwayne Bowe, August 5.

Bowe was the only negotiation that stretched into August. Obviously, that brief holdout did not have a serious effect on his first season, as Bowe broke every rookie receiving standard in the team’s record books and was the leading rookie receiver in the NFL.

Among the 31 other NFL teams, 17 clubs had a first-round draft choice over the last five years that held out longer than Bowe.

Here are the facts. Decide for yourself where the Chiefs rate when it comes to getting their No. 1s signed.

Based on the last five years, here’s something to look for when it comes to first round signings, not only with the Chiefs, but around the league: those five seasons had a total of 160 first round selections and one-third of them (53) signed on July 26, 27 or 28. And, 74 percent (119 of 160) signed before July 31st.

Already this year’s group is unusual in that three of the 31 selections already have a signed contract: first pick Jake Long, third choice Matt Ryan and fourth selection Darren McFadden. In the previous five years combined there were only three players who signed before July 1st among all the first-round picks: Carson Palmer signed on April 25, 2003 with Cincinnati, Jason Babin signed on June 26, 2004 and Mario Williams signed on April 28, 2006 with Houston.

The facts in this debate no longer matter to the Chiefs/Carl Peterson Haters. For every John Tait (September 9th signing) they throw out, they forget to mention Dale Carter (signed on June 1st). For every Ryan Sims (August 28th signing), there was a Victor Riley (signed on July 2). The Chiefs have not been the best or the worst team at getting contracts for their first-round picks. They are pretty average.

But the key thing about an urban myth is this: you never let the facts get in the way of the myth.