Derrick Johnson: Hall of Fame or Not?

Derrick Johnson: Hall of Fame or Not?

Derrick Johnson is having another  Derrick Johnson type season: 40 tackles and a sack, an INT including a TD (a 55 memorable yards pick-6). DJ has averaged 120 tackles for the past five years and his totals this year should come close to those numbers. One of the broadcast announcers calling the Kansas City Chiefs game in Oakland on Sunday made a statement, something like, “Derrick Johnson has missed more tackles than anyone in Chiefs history.” That’s a bit like saying MIcaelJordan has missed more shots than anyone ever because DJ is the Chiefs all-time leading tackler and by the time he’s done wearing red and gold it won’t even be close.

History

Gary Spani, who played from 1978 to 1986, is second in team history with 999 tackles, now works for the organization as the Director of Special Events. Spani owned the record fro tackles in a single season at 157 in 1979 and that stood until Mike Maslowski came along in 2002.  Maslowski, who played for the Chiefs from 1999 to 2003, had 162 tackles in a single year. The greatest number of tackles Derrick Johnson has had in a single year is 131 but DJ has had more than 85 tackles or more in a season 8 times and this year looks to be no different.

Coming out of the University of Texas in 2005, DJ was drafted 15th overall by the Chiefs but his reputation was one of speed and slipping blocks to get to the ball carrier as opposed to being the kind of linebacker who blows through blockers to make a play. I have often thought that his style of play kept him from gaining the national spotlight at the NFL level or essentially from being featured on sports center’s highlights. The Dick Butkus and Ray Lewis kind of hitters of the world, as well as their larger-than-life personalities, overshadow those who play with Derrick Johnson’s approach to the linebacker position and DJ’s soft demeanor off the field just doesn’t lend itself to garner huge amounts of attention.

Although Derrick Johnson never tends to boast, he said this in a conversation with BJ Kissel one year ago before achieving the Chiefs all-time tackles record,

“It’s going to speak for itself. It’s going to answer the questions if you’re questioning if I’m tough, if I’m consistent and if I’m reliable. It’s a blessing just to get to that point where you say, Man, I have a chance to be at the top of that list.”

In Sunday’s game, Derrick Johnson levied exactly the kind of hit that gets people talking and makes it’s way onto the highlight reels. Here’s his hit on Oakland’s 5-foot-8, 207 pound RB Jalen Richard,

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Of course, it’s not only hits like that, which should be making us ask the question: is Derrick Johnson a Hall of Fame player in the making? Now is as good a time as any to be thinking about what the totality of DJ’s career, and career stats, might be and whether or not those would qualify him for the National Football League Hall of Fame.

While Derrick Johnson may not have the greatest numbers for a linebacker he is within a stones trhow of the top ten all time tacklers. In a piece that appeared on sportslistsoftheday.com called, “Ray Lewis and Top 20 Players with the Most Tackles in NFL History” this list below was provided of the top 20 tacklers at that time. I have updated the list to reflect the all-time leader, London Fletcher:

Tackle data is not available prior to 2001 so we may not know the complete numbers of players like Jack Ham or Dick Butkus… we just know they were outstanding and fearsome (I’ve checked and double-check the stats for tackles in a career and the best results I could find were these above and I’m unsure of how they complied data on Jessie Tuggle because his career lasted from 1987 to 2000). However, that’s how I feel about Derrick Johnson… without all the grizzle or fuss. In 11 seasons on the field Derrick has 3 more passes defensed than Ray Lewis and 3 more forced fumbles than London Fletcher.

What do you think Chiefs fans? Does Derrick Johnson deserve to be considered for the Hall if he turns in another 100+ tackle season this year and next? He doesn’t appear to be slowing down any!

From Derrick Johnson’s Instagram account.