Luke Kuechly

Luke Kuechly’s professional football career lasted a modest eight seasons, but he managed to pack a lot of productivity into 125 career regular-season and playoff games.

Kuechly was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the ninth pick of the 2012 NFL Draft after a three-year collegiate career at Boston College. In two of those seasons, he led the nation in tackles, and he finished second the other season, his freshman year. 

His nose for the ball never diminished.

As a rookie, Kuechly led the National Football League with 205 tackles (according to the Panthers), a team record. He also intercepted two passes and defensed seven more in earning Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

The following season proved no sophomore slump: another 176 tackles — second all time for the Panthers’ franchise — and four interceptions plus seven passes defensed and two sacks. Kuechly was named AP Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Pro for the first of five times and selected to the Pro Bowl for the first of seven consecutive seasons. In a late December game against the Saints, he was credited with an NFL-record 26 tackles.

Kuechly made more than 100 tackles all eight of his NFL seasons and finished his career with 18 interceptions, 66 passes defensed, 12.5 sacks and 31 quarterback hits.

He was selected as a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s, won the Butkus Award as the league top linebacker three times (2014, 2015, 2017) and was named the Art Rooney Award winner – presented to an NFL player for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship – in 2017.

Kuechly retired shortly after the 2019 season, citing the effects of concussions.