NFL: Examining the greatness of Bobby Wagner, Luke Kuechly

When the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers faced off last week we saw two of the greatest middle linebackers to every play.

In Week 12, NFL fans witnessed the greatest combination of any two linebackers sharing the field as opponents since Patrick Willis and Ray Lewis faced off against one another. Seattle Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner and Carolina Panthers’ Luke Kuechly are the two greatest middle linebackers of the current generation of football players. Although they have not surpassed their predecessors, Willis and Lewis, both Wagner and Kuechly are the current faces of their position in the NFL.

Both middle linebackers played well on Sunday. Even though he was on the losing team, Kuechly had the most combined tackles among all players in the game with 12. Not to be outdone, Wagner had the second most combined tackles during the game with 11. Both players had ample opportunities to display their sideline to sideline range against the run game. The Carolina Panthers ran the ball 27 times and the Seattle Seahawks ran in 28 times.

There were also nearly equal opportunities for the star linebackers to make plays in the passing game. Carolina threw the ball 30 times while Seattle threw in 31. In the end the Seahawks had the ball for 30 minutes and 26 seconds, slightly more than Carolina’s 29 minutes and 34 seconds of possession time. Thanks to these nearly symmetrical stats, we all got to see about an equal showing from Wagner and Kuechly on Sunday.

Now, before I get into the historical qualifications of Wagner and Kuechly, I just want to run through some of their accolades, starting with Kuechly. The 6-3, 238-pounder was drafted ninth overall out of Boston College in the 2012 draft by the Panthers. He won the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year by leading the league in combined tackles. While he did not make the Pro Bowl as a rookie, he has made it every year since (five times).

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In four of those five seasons Kuechly was selected as a First Team All-Pro, an honor awarded to the best players at their positions. The only season he was not a First Team All-Pro was 2016, when he missed six games, but he still was selected as a Second Team All-Pro. In 2013, just his second season in the NFL, Kuechly won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Moving on to Wagner, he was drafted out of Utah State in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft with the 47th overall pick by the Seahawks. The 6-0, 245-pounder made an instant impact on the Seahawks defense. He recorded 140 combined tackles in his rookie season, which was the seventh most in the league that year. Wagner made his first Pro Bowl appearance in his third season, despite missing five games.

He’s been a perennial Pro Bowler ever since. He’s also been a First Team All-Pro selection in three of his six completed seasons (2014, 2016, and 2017). Although he didn’t earn First Team honors in 2015, Wagner was still a Second Team All-Pro. He is one of several high-profile defenders, along with Von Miller and Patrick Peterson, who are still seeking a Defensive Player of the Year award.

What was so important or impressive about their matchup though? Both played well but neither did anything headline worthy. As I teased earlier, this was a historic matchup. Kuechly and Wagner are walking the path to Canton. If you don’t believe that these two are historically relevant, let’s compare them to a pair or recent Hall of Famers.

I mentioned Lewis earlier, but now I’m also bringing in Brian Urlacher since he was just inducted into the Hall of Fame. In his first six seasons, Lewis made five Pro Bowls, was a three-time First Team All-Pro, and won the 2000 Defensive Player of the Year award. In comparison, Kuechly has been to five Pro Bowls, was a four-time First Team All-Pro, was the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year, and the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year.

While I’m not saying Kuechly is as good as Lewis, he’s not, I think comparing the accolades collected by the two through their first six seasons shows just the path Kuechly is following.

Wagner doesn’t compare as well to Lewis both in accolades and in play style. I think he’s a better comparison for Urlacher. In his first six seasons, Urlacher made five Pro Bowls, was a three-time First Team All-Pro, won the 2000 Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and was the 2005 Defensive Player of the Year. Wagner has been to four Pro Bowls and has been a three-time First Team All-Pro through six seasons.

Looking back at the numbers, there’s really no reason why Wagner didn’t make the Pro Bowl in his second season other than perhaps a lack of popularity. But the only thing separating Wagner from an all-time great is his lack of a Defensive Player of the Year award. That’s really the only thing separating him from other players of his skill level.

Because I mentioned him in the opening, I wanted to include the accolades from Willis’ first six years in the NFL. In six seasons, he made six Pro Bowls, was a five-time First Team All-Pro, and won the 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year award. It’s worth mentioning that you cannot entirely judge a player’s future based on their first six years in the league. Willis, despite his incredible start, only played eight years in the NFL because of injuries. And yes, I think Willis was a better player than Urlacher.

Kuechly and Wagner took different paths to reach this point in their careers. Kuechly attended college for three years and was a two-time All-American. Wagner played in college for four years and never earned the acclaim that his Boston College counterpart did. And yet, they both stand on the pinnacle of becoming legends.

They both crossed the 900 combined tackles mark this season, only seven years into their NFL careers. Kuechly is only 27 years old and Wagner is just 28. They have a lot of high-level football left in them. While Kuechly has been the better of the two linebackers up to this point, who knows how things will turn out in the second half of their careers. Wagner has had fewer concussions and serious injuries than Kuechly so there’s a chance he plays at a higher level longer.

Greatness is occurring right now in front of our faces. These are two all-time greats and they just played on the same field on Sunday. They didn’t produce any super explosive plays, but they put on a technical masterpiece and displayed the versatility and range that makes them the two best middle linebackers in football. Hopefully we’ll get another Seahawks and Panthers matchup while these two are still in their primes.