A leader through and through 🍯🦡
Congrats, @Mathieu_Era! pic.twitter.com/4l691htVrj
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 17, 2022
Kansas City Chiefs S Tyrann Mathieu earned his second career Derrick Thomas MVP award for his performance in the 2021 NFL season and postseason.
Players and coaches vote on both the Derrick Thomas MVP and the Mack Lee Hill Award (rookie of the year) following the conclusion of every season. The Chiefs shared a message from Mathieu on their official social media channels with the veteran safety reacting to his team MVP win.
“Chiefs Kingdom, Tyrann Mathieu here,” Mathieu began. “It is, once again, such an honor to accept the Derrick Thomas team MVP award. You know, credit goes out to my coaches and my teammates for believing in me, for helping support me. It’s such an honor to represent Chiefs Kingdom. So, go Chiefs.”
The unquestioned leader of the Chiefs’ defense, this marks Mathieu’s second Derrick Thomas MVP win since first joining the team as a free agent in 2019. He earned the first after the team’s Super Bowl LIV campaign, also one of Mathieu’s most productive seasons in the league.
It’s befitting that a player like Mathieu wins an award named after a player who embodied defensive leadership and dominance. He doesn’t seem to take the notion lightly and it surely will only provide more motivation for the veteran safety moving forward.
