Kansas City Chiefs: Every First Round Draft Pick Since 2000

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EVERY CHIEFS FIRST ROUND PICK – 2006 NFL DRAFT: TAMBA HALI

Speaking of legends, Tamba Hali was another first-round draft pick by the KC Chiefs who went on to become a special player. Hali was the 20th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and initially played as a defensive end. He didn’t switch to linebacker until the 2009 season when Todd Haley came to Kansas City as the new head coach.

Hali won the Mack Lee Hill Award his rookie year after starting all 16 games and totaling 41 tackles and eight sacks. He continued to be a playmaker for the Chiefs, starting at least 15 games every year for the first nine years of his career.

It was always just so much fun watching Hali wreck havoc on opposing offenses and when he was paired up with Justin Houston in 2011, quarterbacks didn’t stand much of a chance. The two became one of the best pass-rushing duos in the NFL for a number of years.

Hali was a fantastic player and was rewarded for his efforts many times in Kansas City, with two separate contracts. The first one worked out fine, but the second one ended up being something the Chiefs would later regret. Hali got old fast and barely played in 2016 and 2017. He was let go before the third year of his deal.

Hali ended his time in Kansas City with 453 tackles, 89 and a half sacks, and five Pro Bowl selections in what will certainly lead to an entry in the Ring of Honor in the near future. Even though his career as a Chief didn’t end how we all wanted it to, it’s hard not to consider Hali as one of the best Chiefs of all-time.