DerrickThomas

Derrick Vincent Thomas was a linebacker who played his entire 11-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs after being drafted 4th overall out of Alabama in 1989. He's a two-time first-team All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Thomas won the Butkus Award at Alabama in 1988 as the nation's top linebacker before Kansas City made him the fourth overall pick in 1989, and he was immediately dominant, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. In just his second season, he set the NFL's single-game sack record with seven against Seattle — a mark that still stands — while finishing that year with a career-high 20 sacks, then a franchise record.

Thomas recorded double-digit sacks in seven of his 11 seasons and remains the Chiefs' all-time leader in sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries. He was also honored for his off-field work, winning the NFL's Man of the Year award in 1993 for the literacy foundation he founded to serve at-risk youth in Kansas City.

In January 2000, Thomas was paralyzed in a car accident during a snowstorm; he died two weeks later from a pulmonary embolism at age 33. The Chiefs retired his No. 58 and renamed their team MVP award in his honor.

Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009 and is remembered as one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history.