Kansas City Chiefs Greatest Defensive Players Ever – Part One

When I initially brainstormed the idea for this article and the related ones to follow, I figured they would be quick and easy articles. Piece of cake, I thought, “I’ll just submit two or three articles on the top ten defensive, offensive, and special teams players.” Boy, was I wrong!

I was rather naïve to think I could do justice to the greatest Chiefs defensive players in just one article, let alone capture them all. Unfortunately, I must break the articles into two parts, in what could prove a futile attempt, to capture and relate just how special these players were and still are to the Chiefs and Chiefs Kingdom.

Please realize that the players listed are not in any particular order. It was hard enough to just select among the many amazing Chiefs defensive players. Attempting to rank them would be sheer torture.

Derrick Thomas – Linebacker (1989-2000)

When new Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer took over the Chiefs in 1989, one of his first and smartest decisions he made in his ten-year tenure as head honcho for the Chiefs was to draft a six-foot-three, 244-pound linebacker out of Alabama by the name of Derrick Thomas in the first round, fourth overall.

Thomas, the first defensive player selected in the draft that year, behind QB Troy Aikman, OT Tony Mandarich, and RB Barry Sanders had an immediate impact in his first year as a Chief, garnering Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1989. Thomas would account for 75 tackles and ten sacks in his rookie year.

Most longtime Chiefs fans will never forget the Veterans Day game with the Seattle Seahawks at Arrowhead. Thomas devoted the game in tribute of his fallen father, an Air Force captain, Robert James Thomas, who was shot down flying a B-52 in a mission over Vietnam in 1970. Thomas would sack Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg for an NFL-record seven sacks.

Future Hall of Fame New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke highly of Thomas.

“Fast, If he beat you off the edge, it was all over, and he beat a lot of guys off the edge. He did a good job of anticipating the snap count. He had a great first step, could bend, could get underneath, sometimes, the tackle’s punch. He was a great edge rusher, period. Probably as good of one-step quickness as, like, Von Miller or guys like that that could really win on one step and then it was all over.”

Thomas played his entire NFL career as a Chief. Thomas finished his career prematurely after the 1999 season with 126.5 sacks, 45 forced fumbles (an NFL record), 642 tackles, 19 fumble recoveries, four defensive touchdowns, three safeties, and one interception.

Thomas was selected to nine consecutive Pro Bowls from 1989 to 1997, was selected the NFL Man of the Year (for his charity work with his foundation, Third and Long) in 1993, and won the Butkus award in 1988.

Sadly, on January 23, 2000, Thomas was on his way to Kansas City International Airport, when his SUV left the road due to snowy conditions. Thomas, who had not been wearing his seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and left paralyzed from the waist down. Although Thomas was improving, he died of a pulmonary embolism just over two weeks later.

In 2009, after four years on the ballot (shame on you HOF voters!), Thomas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That same year, the Chiefs officially retired his #58, and no Chief ever wore the jersey again after his death.

The Chiefs MVP Award given each year to a player voted by their teammates is named the Derrick Thomas award in his honor.

Many NFL experts consider Thomas one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. I would argue that he is the greatest. He is most definitely one of the greatest Chiefs ever.

Junious “Buck” Buchanan (1963-1975) – Defensive Tackle

Junious “Buck” Buchanan was first drafted 265th overall in the 19th round by the New York Giants in the NFL 1963. The young Buchanan passed on their offer, opting instead to sign with the AFL Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs who drafted him in the first round, first overall. Buchanan was the first African-American number one draft choice in Professional Football.

.@Chiefs made history by selecting Buck Buchanan first in the 1963 AFL draft. Buchanan broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first African American to go #1 in a Pro Football league draft. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/zSCrLZ5Nei — NFL Films (@NFLFilms) February 13, 2018

The Chiefs were impressed with the six-foot-seven, 270-pound defensive tackles size, but were equally impressed with his athletic ability and instincts which proved successful in foiling opposing offenses.

Buchanan was a member of the 1970 Chiefs team that beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. He also was on their AFL Championship teams in 1966 and 1969. He was selected to the AFL All-Star team (1964-69) and selected to the All-Pro team in 1971. Buchanan played in two Pro Bowls and was selected to the AFL All-Time Team.

Buchanan certainly earned the respect of coaches, teammates and opponents alike. Former Chiefs Head Coach Hank Stram said of his favorite Defensive tackle,

“A big guy will be strong, and he might be quick, but he is rarely fast. Or sometimes he’s strong and fast but not quick. But Buck had it all – big, strong, fast, and quick. Plus, he had a great attitude.”

Ex-Raider coach John Madden mused,

“He revolutionized the game. Guys that size usually played on the outside. Buck was the first tall guy to play the inside. When a tall guy with his type of speed is rushing, he takes a couple of steps and then – boom – he would be on the quarterback.”



Perhaps former Raiders offensive lineman Gene Upshaw paid Buchanan the greatest compliment of all.

“I was big, but Buck was bigger and stronger and turned me every which way but loose. When you played Buck, you couldn’t sleep the night before a game. You don’t imagine a guy 6″-8″, 300 pounds being so quick. You’d go to hit him, and it was like hitting a ghost.”



Like Thomas, Buchanan played his entire career as a Chief, retiring after 14 seasons in which the durable defensive tackle played 182 games in the AFL and NFL, missing only one game. Also like Thomas, Buchanan is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, enshrined in 1990.

Buchanan passed away from lung cancer at age 51 in this Kansas City home in 1992. The Chiefs retired his uniform number 86.

Willie Lanier (1967-1977) – Linebacker

After losing Super Bowl II to the Green Bay Packers by a score of 35-10, head coach Hank Stram knew that the Chiefs had to get tougher on defense. As a result, the Chiefs selected linebackers Jim Lynch (47th overall) and Willie Lanier (50th overall) in the second round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft.

Lanier and Houston Oilers Garland Boyette were the first African-American middle linebackers in professional football history.

Nicknamed Contact by his fellow Chiefs teammates due to his all-out, reckless, and vicious (by today standards) style of play. Reminded of his on-field nickname years later, Lanier replied,

“Since I, unfortunately, followed the style of tackling that we were taught at that time – that was to use your head first of hitting players in the middle of their body. It was done in a rather aggressive manner.”

So intense and hard-hitting was Lanier on the field, Chiefs equipment manager had to outfit his helmet with extra padding, not on the inside, but rather on the outside of the helmet to protect the poor souls that unfortunate enough to be targeted by Lanier.

Although a wrecking ball on the field, Lanier was incredibly disciplined as a linebacker for the rough and tumble AFL and NFL of the sixties and seventies. This discipline, combined with his agility and speed intimidated opposing defenses and struck fear in the other teams’ ball carriers.

Lanier, along with outside linebackers Jim Lynch and Bobby Bell formed what many NFL experts consider the best linebacking trio ever in the NFL. The trio epitomized the tough, take-no-prisoners style of defense that opposing teams feared and respected.

“We had the kind of team that didn’t back down from anybody,” Lanier later recounted. “If they wanted to intimidate us, we could intimidate as well as they could. Our team was too big and too good to intimidate.”

Lanier ended his career after 11 seasons and 149 games in 1977 with 27 interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. The Chiefs promptly retired his jersey number, #63.

Lanier was elected to the first six Pro Bowls of the AFL/NFL-merged NFL. He was only the second Chief inducted into the Hall of Fame. Lanier also won the NFL Man of the Year Award for his charitable contributions and activities in 1972.

Like teammate Buchanan, Lanier was also a member of the 1970 Chiefs team that beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Lanier number 42 on their list of the “100 Greatest Football Players”, the highest ranking Chief.

Hopefully, you enjoyed the first trek of our stroll down “Chiefs Memory Lane.” I am a huge history buff and an even bigger Chiefs history buff. While I know we all want to look ahead to the upcoming season, I think it’s imperative that we take the time to remember the great ones who came before. Not only does this allow us the thrill of living past glory and remember greatness, it reminds us of what greatness is so we may more easily recognize and appreciate it in our current Chiefs.

The second part of the article will be published tomorrow. However, I am very much interested in your thoughts. Who did I include that does not belong? Who did I miss? Please let me know.

Bonus Fun Fact: The Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears are tied for the most players selected as the NFL Walter Man of the Year Award (formerly known as the NFL Man of the Year Award) with five: Willie Lanier, Len Dawson, Derrick Thomas, Will Shields, and Brian Waters.

Part Two will go LIVE on Saturday at noon.

Michael Travis Rose — ArrowheadOne

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