Kansas City Chiefs have found many legends in draft’s second round

#4 – Jim Lynch, Linebacker

With the 47th overall selection in the 1967 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected linebacker Jim Lynch from Notre Dame. It would be the first of two linebackers the team drafted in the second round of the ’67 draft, and both would help transform Kansas City’s defense from the one that surrendered 35 points to the world champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl I, to the one that would dominate Super Bowl IV on its way to the franchise’s first Super Bowl Championship.

We’ll get to the second pick a little later, but for Lynch’s part, he played 11 seasons with the Chiefs, and missed only three games in that time (all in his final season). Often overlooked and unheralded next to his Hall of Fame counterparts in the linebacking corps, Lynch himself was a dominant player against the pass and the run. Tackles, sacks and forced fumbles were not recorded stats at the time, but Lynch recorded 17 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries in his career.

In 1968, Lynch was elected to his one and only Pro Bowl, though many believe that his lack of selections was due in large part to who he was surrounded by (which now includes SIX Hall of Famers). Much to the lament of many, Lynch has not found his way in to the halls of Canton as of yet.

Lynch was a lynchpin of a dominant Chiefs defensive unit, and is well deserving of his place as the fourth greatest second round draft pick in Chiefs history.