The 20 best linebackers in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs

From franchise heroes to defensive giants to someone whose mom was a linebacker (yep!), the list of the best Kansas City Chiefs linebackers makes for an intriguing journey down memory lane. Some entrants will be obvious and others definitely not so much, but that's what makes these sorts of franchise rankings so fun.

What does complicate the picture is how much to extract from the present in a list like this. The Chiefs defense has been a pillar for their recent title runs, so history will remember them fondly, but it's also important not to let recency bias rule the day. That can make it difficult to ascertain the best places for current Chiefs players.

Still, we press on in the name of coming up with our top 20. Here are the best linebackers to ever suit up for the Chiefs

Criteria for Selection

For our list, we tried to balance longevity with the team and the ability of a player to build up a body of work compared to their actual on-field impact in any given season. Is one player who dominated for a single year but struggled to stay healthy better or worse than a player who was steady for several? That's a subjective call, but we tried to balance that approach by giving credit to both and not ignoring any one side.

It also helps, in any conversation about linebackers, to acknowledge that some players are more one-dimensional than others, and that also came into play.

The 20 best linebackers in Chiefs history

20. Willie Gay Jr.

At this point, no one is quite sure what Willie Gay Jr. will accomplish in the NFL, but no one who watched the Chiefs over the last few years would doubt his ability to find a significantly higher ceiling with even more experience — despite him now being with the New Orleans Saints.

The Chiefs selected Gay in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft as an uber-athletic linebacker whose measurables were elite. Despite weighing 246 pounds, Gay turned in a 40-yard dash time of 4.46 seconds, and his vertical and broad jump were both impressive. The Chiefs knew he was a bit raw, but the upside made him worth the investment at No. 63 overall.

Lingering injuries and a short suspension stunted his development early, but by the time he was entering a contract year in 2024, Gay looked at home in the second level of a championship defense in which his speed, agility, and instincts made a significant difference.

19. Walt Corey

Interesting note about Walt Corey: As the youngest of 16 brothers and sisters, he likely felt right at home in the crowded locker rooms of early NFL stadiums.

Beyond the reality-show number of children running around the Corey household, he claims this place on our list in part because of his solid seven-year career but also in part for his tenure as a coach and coordinator. Maybe we're breaking some rules here in doing so, but a list without Corey is one that ignores the steady production of a player and the longevity of a coach.

Corey alternated between starts on the left and right sides of the Chiefs' linebacking corps from their earliest moments as the Dallas Texans. He was even named an AFL All-Star in 1963 and went on to play in the first Super Bowl ever in 1967. Following his retirement, he coached at the collegiate level for five seasons before returning to the franchise in '72 to coach the same position he played.

Corey coached for Marv Levy's entire tenure in K.C. despite predating him, and he even followed Levy to Buffalo, where he served as defensive coordinator for a team in four Super Bowls, working with the likes of Bruce Smith.

18. Chris Martin

Some players on this list are unfortunate cases of the Chiefs letting talent slip away when there was plenty left in the tank. Chris Martin is a reverse tale.

Martin came to the NFL as a productive linebacker out of Auburn who went undrafted in the 12 rounds of the 1979 NFL Draft. The New Orleans Saints offered him a shot to compete for the active roster, and he remained in the league for the next 12 seasons.

After spending his first five-plus years with the Saints and Vikings, he arrived in Kansas City in 1988 and stayed there through 1992. Martin had 15 sacks in 59 starts for the Chiefs with a highlight reel that would undoubtedly include a fumble recovery of 100 yards against the Miami Dolphins. His career concluded after two more seasons with the Rams.

17. Smokey Stover

If you're scratching your head because you thought Smokey Stover was an old comic strip, you're not wrong. Smokey just also happened to be the primary handle for Stewart Stover, a longtime linebacker for the Chiefs from the club's inception.

Stover was a two-way player for UL-Monroe as a fullback and linebacker from 1958-59, the latter of which he was named the team's MVP. From there, he signed on to play with the Dallas Texans in 1960, and Hank Stram told him to focus full-time on defense despite him leading the Warhawks in rushing.

The end result was a fairly regular starting linebacker for the next seven seasons as the team transitioned from Dallas to K.C. Stover racked up 15 sacks and seven interceptions in 98 games with the Chiefs.

16. Whitney Paul

Sometimes those who are in charge are the ones in the way. That's certainly the case with former NFL player Whitney Paul.

The Chiefs selected Paul as a light defensive end (220 pounds) out of Colorado in the 10th round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and due to positional needs when John Matuszak nearly overdosed, they installed Paul in the same role. If he was already light in college, he was definitely too small to hold down an edge position, but the Chiefs coaches insisted on it for his first two seasons in the league.

When Marv Levy arrived as head coach in 1978, he switched the defense to a 3-4 set that elevated Paul to outside linebacker, and the results spoke for themselves with four sacks and three interceptions in his first year. He followed that with eight sacks the following season and manned the outside spot for four total seasons (and six years overall with K.C.) before leaving to play for the New Orleans Saints for the next four years.

15. Tom Howard Sr.

Tom Howard Sr. came to the NFL as a light and quick specimen who weighed only 215 pounds but somehow carried a big physical hit along with an uber-athletic profile. The Chiefs drafted him out of Texas Tech in 1977 after an All-American season honored his collegiate accomplishments.

From there, Howard went on to play seven seasons with the Chiefs and another two with the Rams, showing off a diverse skill set that allowed him to make plays on the ball in coverage or against the run. He ended his seven seasons in K.C. with seven fumble recoveries, including two for touchdowns, and five interceptions.

Interestingly enough, his son, Thomas Howard Jr., also played eight seasons in the NFL with the Raiders, Falcons, and Bengals.

14. Nick Bolton

No slight intended to those with stronger catalogs due to more seasons played, but Nick Bolton belongs somewhere further up the list than what his stat totals would allow, and this feels about right — somewhere outside the top 10 but not so far that people forget just how menacing his skill set can be.

While Bolton has only played two full seasons and half of another, the truth is that he's a decisive tackler with killer instincts and a great jump. He might be as well-rounded as some others on the list, but he's exemplary at what he does best — getting downhill — and there's something to be said for the intangibles angle here.

The fact that the Chiefs are trying to bring him back on a second contract speaks volumes, as does the level of trust Steve Spagnuolo has in making him his primary leader and communicator on the field. Bolton's got some great seasons ahead of him, and we're pretty sure he'll be climbing this list eventually anyway.

13. Marvcus Patton

It's a shame Marvcus Patton didn't arrive in K.C. until his final four seasons because he was such an interesting story on and off the field.

The son of a mother who played football herself — yes, a mom who was a linebacker — Patton followed in her shoes by suiting up for every single NFL game in his 13-year career with Buffalo, Washington, and Kansas City.

Few linebackers arrive at a new destination at age 32 ready to play four more impactful seasons, but that's what Patton served up for the Chiefs from 1999 to 2002. Think of him in his twilight years grabbing 12.5 sacks, deflecting 19 passes, and intercepting seven more. He also forced four fumbles.

Patton retired from the game with more in the tank, an eye-popping reality for a player with 13 NFL seasons under his belt.

12. Dino Hackett

If you hear the phrase "tackling machine" around these parts a few times, it's because the Chiefs have employed their fair share.

Barry Dean Hackett, a.k.a. Dino, was a dynamic sideline-to-sideline force at Appalachian State during his college years in the mid-'80s and set numerous school records for tackles, including 18 solo tackles in a single game and 200 total tackles in the 1985 season. That season earned him first-team All-American honors and drew the attention of Chiefs scouts who pictured him doing the same at the professional level.

The Chiefs submitted his name in the second round of the '86 draft, and Hackett was an quick study as he finished third in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He enjoyed six solid seasons with the Chiefs, including one Pro Bowl campaign in 1988, before finishing his career with a single season in Seattle.

11. Tracy Simien

Despite putting up strong production at TCU as a fairly raw defensive lineman (with a higher assumed ceiling ahead of him), Tracy Simien went undrafted in the 1989 NFL Draft. He led the Horned Frogs with 15 tackles for loss and four sacks as a senior, and the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to convince him to sign on thereafter.

When things didn't work out in the Steel City, the Chiefs offered Simien a chance to slide into an inside linebacker spot, and he grew to be one of the best run-stoppers in franchise history. From 1991 to 1997, he played in 109 games and made 84 starts with a knack for making plays on the ball (five interceptions and seven fumble recoveries).

Simien finished his career with the San Diego Chargers before retiring to go into coaching.

10. Donnie Edwards

On Feb. 28, 2002, the Chiefs made one of the dumbest decisions in the history of the franchise. They decided not to pay Donnie Edwards a roster bonus coming his way worth just under $3 million.

At the time, Edwards was a do-it-all linebacker, the sort of three-down leader in the heart of the defense who could handle himself with any assignment, whether dropping in coverage, attacking gaps, blitzing the passer, et al. He was also as reliable as a player gets and went on to play several more seasons of even better football.

What were the Chiefs thinking?

This is important when discussing Edwards, because the truth is that he would likely be several spots higher on this list had the Chiefs not allowed the rival Chargers to sign him to a five-year deal for his finest seasons, including two All-Pro campaigns. As it is, Edwards had 11 interceptions, 16.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and 761 tackles over eight years in K.C.

Instead of placing Edwards somewhere in the Nos. 3-5 range on this list, he's relegated to a fringe spot in the top 10, knowing the Chiefs' financial dealings robbed them of an impact defender for years.

9. Gary Spani

One of the most underrated defenders in Chiefs history, Gary Spani graduated from the College Football Hall of Fame to the Chiefs Ring of Honor by aptly translating the considerable skill set that made him the first All-American at Kansas State into an impressive career in K.C.

Spani led the Chiefs in tackles for a half-decade — from 1978-81 — and held the Chiefs' record for most tackles in a single season with 157 from 1979 to 2002. It was Gary Spani's career tackles record of 999 that Derrick Johnson broke in 2015, setting a new club mark, and that sort of consistency in the heart of the defense is what links both players.

8. E.J. Holub

E.J. Holub's story makes for a great piece of Chiefs trivia as he's the only player to start in two Super Bowls at two different positions.

Holub was actually a two-time All-American center at Texas Tech while also playing linebacker on the defensive side in the late-'50s. The Dallas Texans drafted him in the first round of the 1961 AFL Draft, and he chose them over the Dallas Cowboys, who selected him in the second round of the NFL Draft in that same year.

As a linebacker for the Chiefs, Holub was a five-time All-Pro with 17 sacks and nine interceptions over seven seasons before knee problems forced the Chiefs to alter his position back to center. In those years, he made second-team All-Pro in 1969 as he settled into his new role in the heart of the offensive front.

Holub was the first player in Texas Tech history to have his jersey number retired, and he was also immortalized in the College Football Hall of Fame. The Chiefs added his name to their Ring of Honor in 1976.

7. Jim Lynch

The case for Jim Lynch's importance is an interesting one because of the surrounding particulars. It's the same sort of subjective reasons that can lead to either "Patrick Mahomes is only as good as he is because he plays for Andy Reid" or "Andy Reid only has the championships he has because of Patrick Mahomes." At some point, there's a way to keep from giving someone any credit at all.

For Lynch, it's not his fault he was the third and youngest linebacker in the most talented linebacking corps the Chiefs have ever employed. Next to Lynch were two players in the top three linebackers of all time for the Chiefs, which means it can be hard to tell how much credit to give Lynch knowing he didn't exactly draw the toughest assignments.

That said, Lynch was already a lights-out defender coming out of Notre Dame, where he won the Maxwell Award in '66. He was the second-round choice of the Chiefs in '67 and started for Kansas City for most of the next decade.

With 10 interceptions in his first four years to go with two All-Pro appearances in that span, it's safe to say he wasn't just riding the coattails of his teammates but also adding to the overall impact.

6. Justin Houston

Scott Pioli didn't hit as many home runs (mixed sports metaphor alert) as Chiefs fans would have predicted as general manager, but he nailed the selection of Justin Houston in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Houston was known as a premier pass-rushing talent out of Georgia, but character concerns dropped him down draft boards around the league. That allowed K.C. to claim him at No. 70 overall. For eight seasons, Houston served as the team's best pass rusher since Derrick Thomas, logging 78.5 sacks in that span — including a franchise-record 22 in 2014.

After that season, the Chiefs backed up the proverbial truck, and injuries limited Houston to the point where the fan base turned on him. Bridges were burned, and the Chiefs attempted to trade him as the 2019 offseason began. Instead, they eventually released him, and the Colts came calling days later with a two-year deal.

Amazingly, Houston has put up another 33.5 sacks since leaving the Chiefs in 2019 while K.C. has relied on a rotation of short-term veteran signings like Melvin Ingram, Alex Okafor, and Carlos Dunlap. It's too bad for all parties that Houston couldn't have accomplished all of that in red and gold for the sake of his legacy.

5. Sherrill Headrick

The Chiefs' earliest defensive units were known for featuring physical standouts in the second level, and Sherrill Headrick was one such player. Nicknamed "Psycho" by his teammates, Headrick was one of the finest inside linebackers in AFL history and was named to five of the league's All-Star teams. He was also a five-time All-Pro.

When you hear stories about the loss of the physical nature of the game and how players used to play through pain, Headrick is a textbook example. There's the time he put a protruding bone back in his finger after suffering a compound fracture, only to keep playing. There's the time versus Houston when he literally fractured his vertebrae, only to play that game and even start the next week after receiving the official diagnosis.

While such a reputation is reckless and unnecessary, it also made him that much scarier to play against, which only enhanced the reputation of an already-stout Chiefs defense.

4. Derrick Johnson

At one point, it's amazing that Derrick Johnson ever needed a "come to Jesus" moment at the professional level. The year was 2009, and Todd Haley was the exciting young coordinator in his first head coaching role. One of the most dramatic decisions he made in his tenure was to turn the team's former first-round middle linebacker into a part-time role player off the bench.

Years later, Johnson described that season as a tougher-to-handle process than trying to come back from a torn Achilles. However, whatever issues he needed to work out were worked out in that period because he set career marks with 122 total tackles and 16 pass deflections along with three forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown.

Beginning in 2011, Johnson went to the Pro Bowl in four of the next five seasons, and first-team and second-team All-Pro honors also slipped in following the 2011 and 2015 seasons, respectively. By the 2016 season, DJ was still active yet also held the franchise's all-time tackles record — the only player to ever eclipse 1,000 with the team.

3. Willie Lanier

It feels appropriate to move from Derrick Johnson to Willie Lanier because they are the two greatest middle linebackers in Chiefs history and represent the past and the present in that regard. To know one is to appreciate the other in at least understanding what each brought to the table.

Lanier was the heart of the Chiefs' first championship defense, an early draftee in 1967 who ended up making every Pro Bowl from 1968 to 1975. He grabbed the starting MLB role four games into his rookie year and missed just one start in the next 11 seasons, racking up 27 interceptions, 18 fumble recoveries, and four sacks in his career.

Together with Bobby Bell and Jim Lynch, Lanier formed the most feared linebacking corps in Chiefs history and delivered football glory to the franchise in Super Bowl IV.

2. Bobby Bell

Drafted in 1963, Bobby Bell was the cornerstone of a heralded Chiefs defense for 12 seasons, one that helped deliver the team's first and only championship in their first several decades of existence.

Bell's versatility, playing both linebacker and defensive end, revolutionized the position with his exceptional speed, agility, and burst — one of the most athletically gifted linebackers in NFL history. As a nine-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro, Bell and his teammates led the Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV while delivering several other key wins and accomplishments for the franchise in its earliest years.

Bell's reputation was built upon game-changing plays, whether referring to his 26 interceptions (including six returned for touchdowns) or 15 fumble recoveries (taking two of them for defensive scores). In 1983, he became the first Chiefs player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and opened the door for several of his teammates to join him.

1. Derrick Thomas

No matter how painful it was to keep Bobby Bell out of the top spot, only one linebacker warrants this spot. He's arguably the only player outside of Patrick Mahomes who could warrant so much fan support and appeal.

Derrick Thomas is the most beloved defensive player in Chiefs history, and that's because he was the single most fearsome pass rusher to ever wear the uniform. It's the seven sacks in a single game. It's the 126.5 sacks in 11 seasons before his career ended when he clearly had so much talent left. It's the four fumble recoveries for touchdowns and the nine Pro Bowl honors.

Thomas went from being named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1989 to being named to the NFL's All-Nineties team. In between, he claimed the NFL's first 20-sack season, forced an incredible 41 fumbles, had 27 multi-sack games, and even recorded three safeties.

In a move that shocked everyone in Chiefs Kingdom and the rest of the NFL, Johnson tragically died due to a pulmonary embolism stemming from a serious car crash following the '99 season. No one knows how much longer he would have played, but the Chiefs immediately moved to retire his number.

There will never be another like him, and that makes him No. 1 on our top linebackers list.