Derrick Johnson, with help of two unique moves, on cusp of Chiefs’ career tackle record

Ramik Wilson and D.J. Alexander are in a good position, and they know it.

The Chiefs’ two young inside linebackers, both midround picks in this year’s NFL Draft, cherish the opportunity to watch and learn under 11-year veteran Derrick Johnson, a three-time Pro Bowler who is seven tackles away from passing Gary Spani as the franchise’s career leading tackler.

“He’s what I want to be,” Alexander said of Johnson, who has 993 tackles to Spani’s 999.

Wilson agrees, and on a recent day, he found himself incredulously watching a YouTube video titled “Derrick Johnson schools the Raiders” that features Johnson stuffing 245-pound running back Michael Bush four times in four plays near the Chiefs’ goal line in 2011.

“I was like, ‘Man, this dude is a legend,’ ” Wilson said. “... When you’ve got a vet with 900-something career tackles, you watch his every move.”

The two specifically appreciate that Johnson can holler out opponents’ plays before they happen, but that’s not uncommon. There have been plenty of smart inside linebackers before, but replicating Johnson’s unique playing style is about more than athleticism and instincts.

Over the years, Johnson, 32, has developed two finishing moves. Wilson watched Johnson use one of those moves, his cut tackle, multiple times in the aforementioned YouTube video, and fans should see Johnson use both Thursday night (7:25 on CBS and NFL Network) as he closes in on the tackle record against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.

“You’ve got to take on blocks sometimes,” Johnson said with a grin. “But there’s times where the way I make plays is, I slither under something or duck under a block or hit a guy in the legs in the backfield.”

Johnson breaks out the “slither” move when he’s correctly identified the opponent’s running play and the direction it is headed. Then he’ll shoot through a gap on the line of scrimmage — sometimes on the backside of the play — and chase the ball carrier.

“Our defensive line is really good, so the offensive line pays a lot of attention to them,” Johnson said. They’ll “double them, try to come up on me … a lot of times, they’re taking too long to do that, and by the time that happens, I’m in the backfield.

“I’m an athletic linebacker, and speed kills.”

Teammates say Johnson makes plays with the slither move relatively infrequently.

“That’s not normal, I’m going to tell you that right now,” Wilson said with a laugh. “Because if you don’t make the play, that’s going to leave a big crease, a big lane, so that running back can just run through.”

A rookie like Wilson probably would not even try to make such a play, lest he abandon his defensive responsibility and earn the wrath of the coaches. But the coaches trust Johnson.

“He can jump underneath a block and make a great play,” defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said. “Anybody can do that, but he seems to have the really good instincts to not be wrong very often.”

In this way, Johnson reminds Sutton of another inside linebacker he coached, three-time Pro Bowler Jonathan Vilma.

“We have no drills to teach that, I can tell you that — that comes with the player,” Sutton said. “I think he’s one of those guys who, I know if you’re on offense, he has to be a pain in the rear because he can do those things that you say shouldn’t happen.”

Like chop down a tailback in one fell swoop. That’s the other part of Johnson’s arsenal — a tackling technique that defensive backs use, most linebackers can’t imitate and running backs fear.

Sometimes, when Johnson has sniffed out a play quickly, he’ll run to the ball carrier — say, someone who has just caught a screen pass — and aim his shoulder pad right at the player’s thigh, bringing the man down in a heap.

“He’s one of the best (cut-tacklers) I’ve ever seen,” outside linebacker Tamba Hali said. “I don’t even know how to tackle like that. If you hit the guy, and you don’t hit him right, he could bounce off.”

The mere mention of this technique brings a smile to Johnson’s face; since high school, it’s something he’s always had a knack for.

“You see a lot of DBs do it — they go in there and cut the guy’s legs through the thighs and go through him and knock his feet off the ground,” Johnson said. “It’s almost like a cut block from a lineman.”

And just like defensive linemen hate cut blocks, so do running backs.

“They say, ‘Stay off my legs man, stay off my legs!’ ” Johnson recalled with a laugh. “I just say, ‘Man, that’s how I tackle.’ ”

Wilson again notes this technique isn’t one he and other linebackers can replicate.

“There’s a lot that can go wrong on that,” Wilson said. “He still has his head up … (but) you can get a knee to the helmet. You don’t know what you’re going to see, what you’re going to do … the runner might hurdle you.

“He’s just, kind of like a DB. He’s so athletic, it works. I’m not going to try that.”

That’s why Johnson was initially concerned when he tore an Achilles tendon in last year’s season opener.

“That’s the one thing I was worried about, (if) my speed is going to be there, because that’s how I make a lot of my plays,” Johnson said.

But after an arduous 11-month rehab process, Johnson’s moment of truth occurred Aug. 4.

The Chiefs were in their second day in pads at training camp, and during a full-contact 11-on-11 period, Johnson watched a screen pass to running back Charcandrick West develop to his left.

Johnson sprinted through the gap and smashed his shoulder on West’s thigh, taking his legs out from under him.

“When you do something really good, you’ve got to perfect it,” Johnson said. “And I’ve gotten really good at it.”

Johnson spoke this offseason about needing to retrain his eyes after the Achilles injury. But he started feeling like his old self during the Chiefs’ 27-20 season-opening win Sunday at Houston.

“You know, I’m almost there,” Johnson said. “I think the first quarter, I kind of was like a high school kid, just jumping gaps here and there. I wasn’t reading like I should.

“But as I settled down throughout the game, I played a lot better. Watching film, looking back, this game (Thursday) hopefully I can start faster than I did last week. This is the home opener, so this is going to be big.”

Not just because it’s Thursday night football, either. Setting the tackle record will solidify his spot in Chiefs lore, and Spani is looking forward to seeing Johnson do it.

“I’ll just say job well done,” Spani said. “It just proves (a lot) to yourself. Other than chasing that ring, you don’t get a lot of times you’ll get a pat on the back (in this game), but this is a pretty nice” one.

Spani added that setting the record will say a lot about the kind of football player Johnson has turned into, the kind who young players such as Alexander and Wilson want to be like: respected, with a unique flair for the position, and really, really good.

“It’s going to speak for itself,” Johnson said of the record. “It’s going to answer the question if I’m tough, if I’m consistent, if I’m reliable, if I’m durable. It’s going to answer a lot of questions.

“And man, it’s a blessing to get to that point where you say, ‘Man, I have a chance to be at the top of the list, regardless of how many years I’ve been here.’ That’s pretty awesome.”

This story was originally published September 16, 2015 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Derrick Johnson, with help of two unique moves, on cusp of Chiefs’ career tackle record."