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In January 2020, linebacker Luke Kuechly of the Carolina Panthers surprisingly announced his retirement from the NFL at the relatively young age of 28; in just eight NFL seasons, he established himself as one of the league’s premier defensive players, earning Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and Defensive Player of the Year honors. In many ways, his short, but accomplished career mirrors that of another Pro Bowl and All-Pro linebacker, Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, who likewise retired after just eight seasons – given the similarities between their careers, both in duration and impact, it is only natural to ask:
Who was better – Luke Kuechly or Patrick Willis?
The Beginning
Kuechly and Willis had similar preps-to-pros career trajectories – both were outstanding high school football players who eventually became the consensus best linebacker in college football, were drafted early in the first round of the NFL Draft, and made an immediate rookie impact.
An Ohio native, Kuechly guided his high school football team to a state title and a #1 overall ranking in a couple of national polls before committing to Boston College, where as a true freshman, he led both the team and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in tackles en route to ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. A 3x All-ACC and 2x First Team All-American selection, he led the nation in tackles as both a sophomore and junior, ultimately winning a slew of awards his junior year, including ACC Defensive Player of the Year, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy, and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. As a result of this success, Kuechly declared early for the 2012 NFL Draft and was selected ninth overall in the first round by the Panthers; as a rookie, he had a league-leading 164 total tackles, 1.0 sack, and a pair of interceptions en route to Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.
As for Willis, he grew up in poverty in Tennessee and had to take care of his younger siblings, but nevertheless excelled at football, basketball, and baseball in high school; in football, he earned All-State, Regional MVP, and West Tennessee Player of the Year honors, and was the first player to win Mr. Football honors for both running back on offense and linebacker on defense in the same season. For college, he attended Ole Miss and improved in each of his four seasons – as an upperclassman, he was a 2x First Team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) and 2x All-American selection, and as a senior, won SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, the Butkus Award, the Jack Lambert Award, and the Conerly Trophy. Selected 11th overall in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the 49ers, Willis became an immediate star – in his rookie season, he led the NFL with 174 total tackles and added 4.0 sacks to not only win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but also earn the first of seven Pro Bowl selections and the first of five All-Pro nods (he was the only rookie on the All-Pro team).
Career Comparison
During their NFL careers, Kuechly and Willis were perennial Pro Bowl and All-Pro players and each player was arguably the league’s best inside linebacker at his respective zenith; however, both dealt with nagging injuries/health issues that ultimately played a role in their decisions to retire before turning 30 years old.
Kuechly built on his stellar rookie season with 156 total tackles (including a single-game record of 26 tackles in a game vs. the New Orleans Saints), 2.0 sacks, and 4 interceptions in 2013 to not only earn the first of seven straight Pro Bowl nods (i.e. every year for the rest of his career) and the first of five All-Pro selections, but also won Defensive Player of the Year honors; in the process, he became just the second player in league history win Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons (after Lawrence Taylor) and only the eighth player to ever win both awards during his career (after Taylor, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Dana Stubbefield, Charles Woodson, Brian Urlacher, and Terrell Suggs). This was followed by two more All-Pro seasons in 2014 and 2015:
- 2014: a league-high 153 total tackles with a career-best 3.0 sacks and an interception
- 2015: 118 total tackles, 1.0 sacks, and 4 interceptions (including a touchdown return) despite missing three games
In 2016, Kuechly missed the last six games of the season with a concussion (which would become a recurring issue), but still racked up over 100 total tackles. He returned to Pro Bowl form the next couple of seasons with 125 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions in 2017 (though again missed time due to concussion concerns) and 130 total tackles, 2.0 sacks, and an interception in 2018. With 144 total tackles and 2 interceptions in 2019, Kuechly became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career total tackles; however, in the offseason, he surprisingly announced his retirement at just 28 years of age.
Likewise, Willis was a perennial Pro Bowl and All-Pro caliber player, in fact earning Pro Bowl honors every full season of his career. As an encore to his rookie campaign, he amassed 141 total tackles, 1.0 sack, and an interception, including the first touchdown of his career on an 86-yard interception return. From 2009 to 2012, he was an All-Pro each year:
- 2009: again led the league with 152 total tackles, plus 4.0 sacks and a career-high 3 interceptions (including another touchdown return)
- 2010: 128 total tackles and a career-high 6.0 sacks
- 2011: 97 total tackles, 2.0 sacks, and an interception in 13 games
- 2012: 120 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and two interceptions
As teams schemed their offenses around Willis and with the addition of fellow Pro Bowl linebacker NaVorro Bowman in the middle of the 49ers’ 3-4 defensive scheme, Willis’ tackle numbers went down, but his effectiveness did not. In fact, in the 2012 season, all four of San Francisco’s linebackers were either First or Second Team All-Pro selections: Willis, Bowman, and outside linebacker Aldon Smith on the First Team, Ahmad Brooks on the Second Team. Individually, Willis’ final Pro Bowl season came in 2013 on the strength of 104 total tackles and 3.0 sacks, though he did miss two games with injury. During an injury-plagued 2014 season, he played the first six games with a nagging toe injury, but underwent season-ending surgery and then decided to retire early from football at age 29.
With eight NFL seasons each, Kuechly and Willis are separated by a total of six career games (118 for Kuechly vs. 112 for Willis). During this time, Willis racked up more solo tackles, but Kuechly piled up more assisted tackles and overall, accumulated more total tackles; Kuechly had 100+ total tackles in every season of his career, while Willis did it 6x. Additionally, Willis was more adept at rushing the passer and forcing fumbles, whereas Kuechly picked off more passes. Both players were 7x Pro Bowlers, 5x All-Pros, and Rookies of the Year, with Kuechly also winning Defensive Player of the Year honors once. Given their dominance, but lack of longevity, it will be interesting to see if either player is one day enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Regular Season Statistics
| Luke Kuechly | Player | Patrick Willis |
| 8 (2012-2019) | Seasons | 8 (2007-2014) |
| 118 | Games Played | 112 |
| 690 | Solo Tackles | 733 |
| 402 | Assisted Tackles | 217 |
| 12.5 | Sacks | 20.5 |
| 18 | Interceptions | 8 |
| 7 | Forced Fumbles | 16 |
| 2 | Defensive Touchdowns | 2 |
| 7x | Pro Bowls | 7x |
| 5x | All-Pro | 5x |
| – | Super Bowls | – |
| 1x Defensive POY, Defensive ROY | Other Awards | Defensive ROY |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
In joining losing teams as high first-round draft picks, Kuechly and Willis helped transform the Panthers and 49ers, respectively, into championship contenders, both eventually making it to the Super Bowl, but falling just short of football’s pinnacle.
In four career playoff appearances, Kuechly’s best run came during the 2015 season, when he and league MVP quarterback Cam Newton led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 vs. Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos; in a 24-10 loss, Kuechly racked up 10 total tackles with a sack.
Similarly, in guiding the 49ers to three straight playoff appearances (2011-2013) during the Jim Harbaugh era, Willis played in Super Bowl XLVII vs. Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens; however, the 49ers would lose by a close 34-31 final score despite 10 total tackles by Willis.
Playoff Statistics
| Luke Kuechly | Player | Patrick Willis |
| 7 | Games Played | 8 |
| 28 | Solo Tackles | 60 |
| 33 | Assisted Tackles | 11 |
| 2.0 | Sacks | 2.0 |
| 3 | Interceptions | 1 |
| – | Forced Fumbles | – |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; concussion issues for Kuechly and nagging injuries for Willis contributed to each player’s premature retirement at a time when many players are just entering their prime. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams, which Kuechly and Willis are both a part of for the 2010s), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years. However, due to the fact that both Kuechly and Willis played only eight seasons in the NFL, I have modified it in this comparison to a “(half)-decade of dominance”.
(Half)-Decade of Dominance
| Luke Kuechly | Player | Patrick Willis |
| 2012-2014, 2017-2018 | (Half)-Decade of Dominance | 2007-2010, 2012 |
| 79 | Games Played | 79 |
| 462 | Solo Tackles | 548 |
| 266 | Assisted Tackles | 167 |
| 9.5 | Sacks | 15.5 |
| 11 | Interceptions | 6 |
| 4 | Forced Fumbles | 10 |
| 1 | Defensive Touchdowns | 2 |
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
The performance trends across each player’s (half)-decade of dominance are the same – Willis racked up more solo tackles, sacks, and forced fumbles, while Kuechly amassed more assisted tackles, total tackles, and interceptions, though the numbers are all very close.
My Thoughts
In many ways, Luke Kuechly and Patrick Willis are similar to two great contemporary inside linebackers who preceded them in Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher – dynamic do-it-all talents who were tackling machines, yet could also rush the passer and drop back in coverage as needed; though each had his own personal reasons, football fans were surely sad to see both Kuechly and Willis retire while still in their arguable primes. Perhaps at his zenith, Willis may have been the more dominant player, but later in his career, many pundits felt that his linebacking partner NaVorro Bowman was just as good, if not better. In contrast, Kuechly was the unquestioned heart and soul of the Panthers’ defense his entire career and arguably never had the same amount of defensive talent around him; even so, he was incredibly consistent year in and year out and managed to do something Willis did not in winning Defensive Player of the Year.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Luke Kuechly
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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