Derrick Thomas never stopped challenging Neil Smith (and it made them historic)

Before they were Pro Bowlers and certainly before they became franchise legends and faces for the dominant Kansas City Chiefs' defenses of the '90s, Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas were just two young pass rushers asked to trust each other.

In 1988 and 1989, the Chiefs were picking near the top of the annual NFL Draft with a great need to build new foundations for a team that won only 8 total games in 1987-88. With the second overall selection in '88, they grabbed Smith as a brute force up front ouf of Nebraska. The following year, they selected Thomas at No. 4 overall and landed the best pass rusher in franchise history.

Smith said the vision all along was for the two prized prospects to "grow together", to learn how to work in tandem to take the Chiefs to the next level.

Neil Smith recently spoke about what made Derrick Thomas so productive and how the duo pushed each other toward greatness.

“Marty [Schottenheimer] and Bill Cowher came to me and said, ‘You’re going to be special. The two of you,’” Smith recently recalled on The Chiefs Zone with Farzin Vousoughian. “They told us to grow together, learn each other, and stick with each other. And without hesitation, I did it. Derrick was my guy.”

From that moment forward, Smith and Thomas formed one of the most feared pass-rushing tandems in NFL history. Between 1989 and 1996, they combined for 171.5 sacks—90.5 from Thomas and 81 from Smith—and helped transform K.C. into a perennial playoff contender. During that span, the Chiefs ranked in the top 10 in total defense five times.

Not that anyone needs further confirmation that Thomas was one of the NFL's greatest sack artists, but Smith had a unique perspective on the Alabama product's elite skill set.

“His skill level was off the chain,” Smith said. “He could turn the corner on a dime. He had great hustle, great endurance… and if he wanted to play the run, he could shut that down too.”

Their franchise-defining partnership extended beyond Chiefs football. In 1992, the duo launched the Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith Third and Long Foundation, which is focused on supporting at-risk youth through education and scholarships.

Today, Smith still carries that torch, most recently by helping raffle off Thomas’s preserved Mercedes-Benz to raise funds. “That car meant a lot to him,” Smith said. “And the owner’s manual is still signed by Derrick. It’s special.”

Smith credits Thomas not only with shaping his career but also with pushing him to elevate his game—sometimes to the detriment of his financial status. “We competed at everything,” said Smith. “I got tired of giving him my money. So I had to step it up. I became MVP in ’92 and ’93 because I was sick of losing to him.”

Now a Chiefs Hall of Famer himself, Smith still awaits the same honors in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame that Thomas eventually received. Yet when he talks about legacy, it’s not stats or rings that come up first. It’s the brotherhood. “I didn’t play this game to make the Hall of Fame,” Smith said. “I played it because I loved it. And Derrick… he made me love it more.”