The last post on my Pro Bowl comparisons comes at a very competitive position: Middle Linebacker. The Chiefs have had some great linebackers over the years, and Derrick Johnson, a Pro Bowler for the first time this season, is adding to that strong legacy.
Just like my explanation for Bobby Bell in the Tamba Hali comparisons, defensive statistics were not kept religiously like they are today, so Chiefs MLBs who made the Pro Bowl before things such as tackles were recorded can only be talked about in brief. But it's still a nice little trip down memory lane, and a good history lesson for myself as well as anyone reading.
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975 - Willie Lanier: One of the greatest Middle Linebackers to ever play the game, Lanier was a man among boys during his 11 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. During that time, he was also named to two AFL All-Star games (1968, 1969), and was selected to the All-Pro list 8 times. Lanier was a 2nd round pick in the 1967 draft out of Morgan State, and would become a pivotal anchor in the strong defense that lead to the Chiefs only Super Bowl win. During the 1971 Pro Bowl, he was actually selected the Most Valuable Player (a weird concept that a defensive player could be MVP when you think of the Pro Bowls of today). Lanier was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986, and his number 63 has forever been retired by the Chiefs, the only team he ever played for.
1988 - Dino Hackett: Believe it or not, the NFL still did not keep official defensive stats except for sacks and interceptions in 1988. Tackles were a stat that was kept by the individual team, and unfortunately, the Chiefs do not list Hackett's 1988 season. What we do know is that the 1986 second round pick out of Appalachian State had 3 sacks that season, and the league determined he was good enough to make his one and only Pro Bowl in 1988. While I said Hackett's tackles in 1988 aren't available, the Chiefs do list him as having the second most tackles by a Chiefs rookie during the 1986 season, with 140 (those numbers the Chiefs keep are always a little high though). He played for the Chiefs from 1986 to 1992.
2011 - Derrick Johnson: Johnson followed up a Pro Bowl snub season in 2010 with an even better and stronger Pro Bowl invite year in 2011. Johnson would finish the season with 131 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions, 9 pass deflections, and was selected as the Chiefs MVP by his teammates at the end of the season. It's the 2005 first round pick's first Pro Bowl, and if he continues to be the best player on the Chiefs defense, it won't be his last. I hope Johnson enjoys the Pro Bowl as much as I enjoy watching him play defense for the Chiefs.
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