9. Dennis Johnson, linebacker – 1980
At number nine a six-foot-three linebacker out of USC who weighed 234 pounds. There was a lot to like about linebacker Dennis Johnson and his ability to find the football was instrumental in his selection.
Johnson started out as a special teams contributor and backup, for his first two seasons and plugged when needed as a starter, but finally got to start nine games for the Minnesota Vikings in his third season.
Following that, Johnson was the team’s starter in 1983 and 1984 before returning to a backup role in 1985. It’s hard to measure his impact as an inside linebacker since tackles weren’t a regularly recorded statistic when he was a player.
Playing in Minnesota for five and a half seasons, Johnson ended his career wearing purple and gold with five fumble recoveries and one sack, along with however many tackles he would have accumulated.