Tyson Jackson is a bust, obviously, because he isn’t Richard Seymour. I’ve read that on Arrowhead Pride and other websites almost every week for the past couple years. But then I remembered an interview that Scott Pioli gave right after the 2009 draft saying that he thought he had drafted his own version of Russell Maryland, when Maryland played for Dallas.

Check out the article from Chris if you haven’t read it, it’s a good read. http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2009/4/25/853691/the-chiefs-selection-of-de-tyson

“I remember Coach Johnson a long time ago in conversations Bill and I had had with him and in separate conversations about Russell Maryland. That year they were due to pick the fourth spot overall and they traded up from four to one to get Russell Maryland, a player who played in the league for 10 years, had only 24 and a half sacks over the course of his career and only went to one Pro Bowl. But Coach Johnson talked about the importance of Russell Maryland – again, different positions – how he allowed him to play the defense they wanted to play and what an important component he was even though he didn’t rack up sacks or only went to one Pro Bowl. What he was as a player in a very key position allowed the defense to be what the defense was.”

Wait, wasn’t Russell Maryland a bust? He was drafted #1 overall in the 1990 draft and was only selected to one Pro Bowl, he must have been a bust. But, look at the players who were around him: Deon Sanders, Darren Woodson, Tony Tolbert, etc. Here are Maryland’s career stats in Dallas.

That’s an average of 2.9 sacks and 38.2 tackles from the former #1 overall pick in the draft.

Tyson Jackson has an average of 41.3 tackles and 1 sack per season. With last year being by far his best year with 55 tackles and 1 sack.

Tyson Jackson is not a bust. Tyson Jackson isn’t Richard Seymour. He will probably never have more than a couple Pro Bowls in his career and I think that is just fine. He is an anchor in our defense and will IMO only improve with a solid Nose Tackle. Was he a reach at #3 overall, absolutely. In retrospect was Russell Maryland a reach at #1 overall, yes. But that doesn’t mean that both didn’t have success. So please Arrowhead Pride, this goes out to you, lets change Tyson Jackson’s rep on here because the media continues to label him as a bust.