Tag: Derrick Thomas MVP

Kansas City Chiefs announce Derrick Thomas MVP, Mack Lee Hill Award winner

#Chiefs players have voted and named the latest winners of the Derrick Thomas MVP and the Mack Lee Hill Award.

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced their team MVP and their rookie of the year for the 2022 NFL season.

For those who don’t know, the team’s annual MVP award is named after Chiefs legend Derrick Thomas, one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, who tragically passed away in 2000. The Mack Lee Hill Award honors a rookie or first-year player and is named after former Chiefs RB Mack Lee Hill, who died during knee surgery in 1965.

Players in Kansas City vote each year to name one player Derrick Thomas MVP and another the Mack Lee Hill Award winner following the conclusion of the season. The votes have been tallied for the 2022 NFL season.

This marks Patrick Mahomes’ second Derrick Thomas MVP. He last earned the award in the 2018 NFL season after his prior MVP campaign. This year he was named league MVP once again, recording league-leading marks in passing yards (5,250) yards, touchdowns (41), touchdown percent (6.3), yards per game (308.8) and quarterback rating (77.6). He also broke the NFL’s total yardage record and led the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII despite playing through a high ankle sprain.

As for Isiah Pacheco, it’s interesting to see him named the Mack Lee Hill Award winner when the team had such a stellar rookie class. This just goes to show you how much the rookie running back is respected by his teammates for his season-long performance. Pacheco worked his way up to the starting position, making his first career start in Week 7 and he never surrendered the job for the remainder of the season. He’d finish the year with over 200 carries for 1,027 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Brett Veach said there was a late-round running back who would become a 1,000-yard rusher and Pacheco turned out to be that guy.

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Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu thanks coaches, teammates after being named Derrick Thomas MVP

#Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu thanked his teammates and coaches after earning his second Derrick Thomas MVP nod in three seasons in Kansas City.

Kansas City Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu earned his second career Derrick Thomas MVP award for his performance in the 2021 NFL season and postseason.

Players and coaches vote on both the Derrick Thomas MVP and the Mack Lee Hill Award (rookie of the year) following the conclusion of every season. The Chiefs shared a message from Mathieu on their official social media channels with the veteran safety reacting to his team MVP win.

“Chiefs Kingdom, Tyrann Mathieu here,” Mathieu began. “It is, once again, such an honor to accept the Derrick Thomas team MVP award. You know, credit goes out to my coaches and my teammates for believing in me, for helping support me. It’s such an honor to represent Chiefs Kingdom. So, go Chiefs.”

The unquestioned leader of the Chiefs’ defense, this marks Mathieu’s second Derrick Thomas MVP win since first joining the team as a free agent in 2019. He earned the first after the team’s Super Bowl LIV campaign, also one of Mathieu’s most productive seasons in the league.

It’s befitting that a player like Mathieu wins an award named after a player who embodied defensive leadership and dominance. He doesn’t seem to take the notion lightly and it surely will only provide more motivation for the veteran safety moving forward.

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Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu named Derrick Thomas MVP for 2021

The #Chiefs have selected S Tyrann Mathieu as their Derrick Thomas MVP winner for the 2021 NFL season.

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced their team MVP for the 2021 NFL season.

The award is aptly named after Chiefs legend Derrick Thomas, a perennial standout defender and one of the best pass rushers in NFL history who tragically passed away in 2000. The latest player bestowed this award is none other than Tyrann Mathieu, who is taking home his second Derrick Thomas MVP Award in his three seasons with the team. He earned his first following the team’s Super Bowl-winning season in 2019, which was his first on the team. He now becomes the seventh Chiefs player to win the award multiple times, joining Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, Priest Holmes, Trent Green, Marcus Allen and Thomas as the only players to accomplish that feat.

Mathieu started in 16 games during the 2021 regular season, recording 76 total tackles (tied for second-most on the team), one sack, three fumble recoveries (most on the team), one tackle for loss, six passed defended, three interceptions (most on the team) and one defensive touchdown. The defense saw its challenges this season, but Mathieu remained steadfast in his production and on-field leadership.

Mathieu’s exemplary performance on and off the field earned him the team’s nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Fans voted him as the Nationwide Walter Payton Man of the Year Charity Challenge winner.

The veteran goes into the 2022 NFL offseason with questions about his future with the team as a pending free agent. That said, there are no questions about the type of player that he’s been during his time in Kansas City.

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