Dee Ford
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Ford in 2014 | |||||||||||
| No. 55 Kansas City Chiefs | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Outside linebacker | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 19, 1991 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Odenville, Alabama | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Odenville (AL) St. Clair County | ||||||||||
| College: | Auburn | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2016 | |||||||||||
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Dee Ford (born March 19, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Auburn.
Early years
Ford attended St. Clair County High School in Odenville, Alabama. As a senior, Ford recorded 90 tackles, including 38 tackles for loss and 18 sacks, intercepted a pass, and broke up three while being named to the Class 4A All-State team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. As a junior, he posted 87 total tackles with 16 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks.
Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was ranked as the 62nd best outside linebacker prospect in the nation.[1]
In addition to playing football, Dee Ford is known for his exceptional piano playing abilities.[2]
College career
Ford attended Auburn University from 2009 to 2013. During his career, he had 19.5 sacks. As a senior in 2013, he was an All-SEC selection.[3][4]
Statistics
| Defense | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hurries | Deflections | Starts |
| 2009 | Auburn | 12 | 2.5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | Auburn | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2011 | Auburn | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | Auburn | 34 | 6.5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| 2013 | Auburn | 29 | 14.5 | 10.5 | 17 | 1 | 11 |
| Career | 93 | 27.5 | 20.5 | 40 | 3 | 19 | |
Professional career
Kansas City Chiefs
Ford was selected 23rd by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1st round of the 2014 NFL Draft, after he was regularly regarded as a top linebacker in the 2014 draft class.[5][6]
2014 season
Ford was quickly given high expectations by many fans and analysts, however a lack of playing time spurred from the Chiefs already having Pro Bowl linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali, causing him to only record seven total tackles on the season along with one and a half sacks.[7]
2015 season
After a somewhat disappointing 2014 campaign with a lack of snaps on defense, Ford did not gain too many extra defensive snaps as the Chiefs retained Justin Houston after franchise tagging him. He did not record a sack on the season until Week 14, which he had a career game where he recorded double his career sacks to that point, with three sacks.[8] He recorded one more on the season, and finished with four sacks and 21 total tackles on the season, a slight improvement from his rookie campaign.
2016 season
With Justin Houston being announced to be possibly out for the year after having an ACL surgery in February, Ford was expected to start at the outside linebacker position, opposite of teammate Tamba Hali.[9] Dee Ford began his 2016 campaign slow, only marking one and a half sacks through the first four games of the season, however against the Oakland Raiders he recorded five total tackles and two sacks, marking him his second multi-sack game of his career. He did not record a sack against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, and only recorded one tackle total on a down effort, however the Chiefs still won 27-21. In Week 8, the Chiefs faced the Indianapolis Colts, where Ford arguably had his best performance of his career, marking three and a half sacks and five total tackles as the Chiefs won 30-14.[10]Against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, Ford continued his breakout season as he recorded two more sacks to go along with three tackles as the Chiefs won 19-14. In Week 10, many speculated that Justin Houston would return, possibly limiting Ford's snaps, however Houston rested the game and Dee Ford marked a sack and three tackles in a winning effort against the Panthers. Through Ford's first nine games of his 2016 season, he was tied with Lorenzo Alexander as the NFL's sack leader.[11]
2017 season
On May 1, 2017, the Chiefs picked up the fifth-year option on Ford's contract.[12]
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD | STF | STF YDS | KB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | KC | 16 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | KC | 14 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | KC | 15 | 38 | 25 | 13 | 10.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| Career[13] | 49 | 68 | 49 | 19 | 15.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 0 | |
References
- ↑ Dee Ford. Rivals.yahoo.com (April 20, 2011). Retrieved on 2015-11-15.
- ↑ Marcello, Brandon (January 3, 2014) Auburn defensive end Dee Ford's piano playing entertains teammates until curfew. AL.com. Retrieved on November 15, 2015.
- ↑ Auburn lands three Tigers on coaches' All-SEC first team; Four players overall. Al.com (December 2013). Retrieved on November 15, 2015.
- ↑ Tre Mason, Reese Dismukes, Dee Ford On Coaches' All-Sec. Auburntigers.com (December 10, 2013). Retrieved on 2015-11-15.
- ↑ Chiefs bring Dee Ford to Kansas City with 23rd pick. Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com (May 8, 2014). Retrieved on 2015-11-15.
- ↑ http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-mock-draft/2014/5/7/5687666/2014-nfl-draft-rankings
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/16707/dee-ford
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/blog/kansas-city-chiefs/post/_/id/15072/dee-ford-plays-the-game-of-his-career-in-chiefs-win-over-chargers
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/15040673/kansas-city-chiefs-lb-justin-houston-miss-upcoming-season-acl-surgery
- ↑ http://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/400874557
- ↑ http://www.nfl.com/stats/player?seasonId=2016&seasonType=REG&Submit=Go
- ↑ Kissel, BJ (May 1, 2017). "Kansas City Chiefs Pick Up Fifth-Year Option on LB Dee Ford". Chiefs.com.
- ↑ "Dee Ford Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 15 November 2016.