Derrick Johnson played 182 Games in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform after being drafted 15th Overall in 2005.  The former Dick Butkus Award winner from the University of Texas did not start out flashy but for his first five seasons he was a dependable Outside Linebacker.  He would move to Inside Linebacker in the 2010 season and from 2010 to 2013 he would have minimum 100 Combined Tackles.  2011 would see him go to his first Pro Bowl and his first (and only)) First Team All Pro.  Johnson would repeat his appearance to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2013 and after an injury plagued season in 2014 he would have another 100 Tackle and Pro Bowl Season.  When it is all said and done, the chances are that Derrick Johnson won’t receive the overall due he should for his work in Kansas City but he was very good.

Another defensive superstar from the 1960s, Jerry Mays came out of SMU and in his second season was already an AFL All-Star and an AFL Champion, assisting the then Dallas Texans win an AFL Championship.  Incredibly agile, Mays would be an AFL All-Star at both Defensive End and Defensive Tackle, Mays was a six-time All-Star and one time Pro Bowl Selection and was chosen First Team All-Pro twice (1965 & 1966) and was a team captain in both Kansas City’s Super Bowl I loss and Super Bowl IV win.  He entered the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1972, as the third inductee.

Sherrill Headrick was not drafted by anyone in either the National Football League or the American League but the former star at TCU would find a home with the Dallas Texans and he immediately became a standout Linebacker in the new American Football League.  Headrick was named an AFL First Team All-Pro in his first three seasons of football and he would assist the Texans in winning an AFL Title in 1962, the last year that the franchise was in Texas.

E.J. Holub, the first man who would have his number retired at Texas Tech would make professional football history as in the 60s, he was a rare player to start at two different positions (Linebacker and Center).  WIth today's football climate, we are unlikely to ever see that again.

John Alt was a 1st Round Draft Pick from the University of Iowa in 1984 and he would eventually lock himself as the team’s starting Left Tackle.  By the early 1990s, he would establish himself as one of the best at his position and he would be rewarded with two Pro Bowl Selections (1992 & 1993) though he arguably made a case to have gone to a couple more.  He would play all 179 of his NFL Games with Kansas City, and the Chiefs Hall of Fame called his name in 2002.

Art Still was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection who would also be chosen for a pair of Second Team All-Pro nods (1980 & 1984).  The Defensive End was the second overall pick in 1978 from the University of Kentucky and he developed into an excellent pass rusher on the NFL level.  Still would twice have a 10 Sack season, with a career-high 14.5 in 1984.  He would be named the team’s MVP twice and was chosen for the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1998.

Deron Cherry was a team MVP at Rutgers where he was both a Safety and a Punter.  He went undrafted in 1981 however was signed as a Free Agent by the Chiefs where he attempted to become the team’s Punter.  It didn’t stick but he was brought back to tryout at Safety and the rest as they say is history.

When you are a Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs you can realistically only hope to be the second-best ever in franchise history due to the greatness of first ballot Hall of Famer, Tony Gonzalez, though that being said, Travis Kelce is making a lot of noise to supplant Gonzalez as the top Tight End in franchise history.  He is already far more famous!

Yep…another defensive star from the late ’60s/early ’70s. 

Johnny Robinson is arguably the greatest Safety in Kansas City Chief history though he did not start his professional career that way.

Jim Tyrer was definitely the top Offensive Lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs throughout the 1960s and there is a case to be made that he was among the top tier in the AFL.  Tyrer was a First Team AFL All-Pro five times (and also a First Team All-Pro twice) and a vital part of the O-Line that protected Len Dawson for years.   Notably, he was also a seven time AFL All-Star, a two time Pro Bowl winner and he was a part of three AFL Titles and the Super Bowl IV win.

Emmitt Thomas is the franchise leader in Interceptions (58, one more than Johnny Robinson) and was a two-time league leader in that statistic (1969 & 1974).  Making a case as the greatest Cornerback in Chiefs history, Thomas played thirteen of his NFL seasons with Kansas City and he was named to the AFL All-Star Team once (’68) and was a four-time Pro Bowl Selection (1971, 1972, 1974 & 1975), the last of which was First Team All-Pro worthy.  In that season his league-leading 12 Interceptions was matched by an also league-high 214 Interception Return Yards.  Like so many on the upper echelon of this list, Thomas was a member of the Super Bowl IV winning team and was also an AFL Champion in 1966.

If you are reading this from the top to the bottom you are probably realizing that the late 60’s/early 70’s Kansas City Defense was pretty damned good and here we are with another defensive stud from that era in our top ten.

Buck Buchanan was a proven force at Grambling; so much so that the Kansas City Chiefs made him the first overall draft pick in the 1963 AFL Draft, the first time a black player was chosen at that spot.

Tony Gonzalez is arguably the greatest Tight End in NFL history and even if you don’t agree with that you can’t dispute that he was the most successful in terms of offensive potency.

In terms of athleticism, Bobby Bell was well ahead of his time as he was a larger athlete (though he would not be considered that today) with blistering speed.  Bell was named the Outland Trophy winner at the University of Minnesota and when the Chiefs drafted him late in the 1963 Draft they may not have expected to sign him, but luckily for them, they did. 

Derrick Thomas was the fourth overall Draft Pick out of The University of Alabama where he was the Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top Linebacker.  That defensive prowess translated to the pro game immediately as he would be named the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1989 and was chosen for what would be his first of nine Pro Bowls.  In his second season, he solidified himself as an elite defensive player in the league by going to what would be his first of three straight First Team All Pros and he would also lead the NFL in Sacks that year.

We certainly could have made a case for Len Dawson at the top of this list.  There is also merit to stating that Dawson was the greatest Quarterback in the AFL throughout the 1960’s.

The Kansas City Chiefs have had their share of great players on the Offensive Line, but there is one who stands above the rest; Will Shields.

The retirements just keep on coming in the National Football League!

Linebacker, Derrick Johnson just signed a one-day contract with the Kansas City Chiefs so that he could retire at Arrowhead.  He had played with the Oakland Raiders last year after playing with Chiefs from 2005 to 2017.  

Johnson was drafted 15^thoverall from the University of Texas where he was slotted immediately as the team’s Left Outside Linebacker.  He would switch to Right Inside Linebacker in 2010 and would go on a four-year streak of 100 or more tackles.  He would be named to the Pro Bowl in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015 and was a First Team All-Pro in 2011.  His career at Kansas City would see him record 27.5 Sacks, 14 Interceptions and 1,151 Tackles.

Coincidentally, we have almost completed our Notinhalloffame.com All-Time Top 50 Kansas City Chiefs and Johnson is currently penciled in at #13.

We here at Notinhalloffae.com would like to wish Derrick Johnson the best in his post-playing career.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB. Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players and executive.  As such it is news to us that the Kansas City Chiefs have announced that they are Brian Waters will be inducted into their franchise Hall of Fame.

Waters was undrafted out of North Texas and after the Dallas Cowboys signed and released him the Chiefs signed him and he made the 2000 roster.  By 2002, he was Kansas City’s starting Left Guard and in 2004 he would go to his first of five Pro Bowls as a Chief, with the others coming in 2005, 2006, 2008 & 2010.  He was also a two-time First Team All-Pro.  Waters played 163 Games for Kansas City before signing with the New England Patriots for the 2011 Season.

Waters becomes the 49^thperson and 45^thplayer to enter the Chiefs Hall of Fame.  Coincidentally, we are working on our All-Time Top 50 Kansas City Chiefs and Waters is pegged at the #19 spot.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Brian Waters for earning this honor.