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 will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives.   As such, it is important to us that the Kansas City Chiefs have announced that Derrick Johnson will become the 55th member of the franchise Hall of Fame this year.

Johnson was drafted by the Chiefs 15th overall in 2005 from Texas, where he would immediately become a starting Linebacker.  Playing 13 of his 14 NFL seasons with Kansas City, Johnson accumulated 14 Interceptions, 27.5 Sacks, 103 Tackles for Loss, and 1,154 Combined Tackles for the squad, while earning four Pro Bowls and a 2011 First Team All-Pro Selection. The Chiefs made the playoffs six times while Johnson was on the roster.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Derrick Johnson for his upcoming honor.

The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next twenty-five of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 276 to 300:

276. Keith Millard
277. Derrick Johnson
278. Stanley Morgan
279. Leon Gray
280. David Akers
281. Buster Ramsey
282. Beattie Feathers
283. Russ Francis
284. Carson Palmer
285. Keith Brooking
286. Dennis Smith
287. Frank Cope
288. Charles Mann
289. Ed “Too Tall” Jones
290. Rich Gannon
291. Seth Joyner
292. E.J. Holub
293. Mel Gray
294. Bart Oates
295. Fred Arbanas
296. Michael Vick
297. Bill Stanfill
298. George Svendsen
299. Hanford Dixon
300. Mike Quick 

*Denotes First Year of Eligibility.

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Derrick Johnson played all but the last season of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, and the former 1^st-round pick from Texas would slowly work his way to the upper echelon of NFL linebackers, and he would be named to four Pro Bowls out of five from 2011 to 2015.  Johnson, who was also named a First Team All-Pro in 2011, would have five years where he had more than 105 Combined Tackles and retired with 1,168 overall tackles, 27.5 Quarterback Sacks, and 14 Interceptions.

Taken 15th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Texas, Derrick Johnson arrived in Arrowhead Stadium carrying massive expectations as a Dick Butkus Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner. Initially lining up at outside linebacker under Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards, Johnson proved to be a reliable, highly active force, racking up 95-plus tackles in three of his first four seasons. However, his career arc changed completely when he made the permanent shift inside to middle linebacker in 2010.

That position swap unlocked a decade-defining stretch of elite playmaking. Operating as the heart and soul of Kansas City's defense, Johnson strung together four consecutive 100-tackle campaigns from 2010 through 2013. His breakout high-water mark arrived in 2011, when he set a single-season franchise record with 179 combined tackles (131 solo), earning his first career Pro Bowl selection and First-Team AP All-Pro honors.

Combining baseline sideline-to-sideline range with lightning-fast Diagnostics, Johnson made a living shooting gaps before interior linemen could climb to the second level. He earned back-to-back Pro Bowl nods again in 2012 and 2013, solidifying his standing as one of the premier inside linebackers in the NFL. Even after suffering a torn Achilles in the 2014 season opener, Johnson staged a triumphant return in 2015, posting 116 combined tackles, 4.0 sacks, and earning his fourth career Pro Bowl invitation alongside Comeback Player of the Year consideration.

During the 2016 campaign, Johnson permanently eclipsed Gary Spani to become the all-time leading tackler in Kansas City Chiefs history. Over his 13 seasons in Arrowhead, he anchored multiple playoff rosters across different coaching eras—transitioning seamlessly from the rebuilding late 2000s to the championship-caliber culture built under Andy Reid.

After a brief six-game tenure with Oakland in 2018, Johnson signed a one-day contract in May 2019 to officially retire as a Chief. He later was immortalized locally when he was named the 55th member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

With Kansas City, Johnson had 27.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, and 1,154 combined tackles.

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.