Chicago Bears: Top 10 draft picks in franchise history

2. Richard Dent, Defensive End: Eighth Round, No. 203 Overall, 1983

While the Chicago Bears got great value out of drafting Plank, they got superhuman value out of Richard Dent. With all due respect to Plank, the Bears got a Hall of Fame player out of the bargain bin of the draft.

In today’s NFL Draft, there are 256 picks (32 picks in each of the seven rounds and 32 compensatory picks). Dent would be near the “Mr. Irrelevant” area. Imagine someone like that today coming up and making it to the Hall of Fame!

Interestingly, Dent, the 203rd selection of the draft, played in 203 career games. He recorded 137.5 sacks, ranking third in NFL history when he retired (he is currently seventh today). He had a period between 1984-1993 in which he recorded double-digit sacks in eight of the ten seasons (including five consecutive seasons between 1984-88).

In the Bears’ incredible Super Bowl XX victory, Dent was the MVP. He had five tackles, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a pass deflection. In the previous two playoff games that season he had nine tackles and 4.5 sacks. He also won a ring with the 1994 San Francisco 49ers.

Dent was an integral part of a defense many consider the best in the league’s history. He harassed quarterbacks and running backs and made life miserable for left tackles who tried to keep him at bay.

Seeing someone like Richard Dent become a Hall of Famer was an incredible treat. While something like that doesn’t happen very often, it goes to show that with hard work and dedication it could happen.