Tyrann Mathieu, Nick Bolton receive notable team awards from Kansas City Chiefs

Tyrann Mathieu, a free agent safety, for the second time in 3 years picked up a prestigious award from the Kansas City Chiefs. And a rookie out of Missouri picked up the team’s rookie award.

Mathieu on Tuesday received the Kansas City Chiefs’ MVP for the 2021 season,

The Kansas City Chiefs annually vote on two such honors: the “Derrick Thomas Award,” which recognizes the team’s most valuable player, and the “Mack Lee Hill Award,” which is presented to the team’s top first-year player. The Chiefs announced both recipients on Tuesday, naming safety Tyrann Mathieu as the winner of the “Derrick Thomas Award” and linebacker Nick Bolton as this year’s “Mack Lee Hill Award” recipient.

Mathieu also won the Derrick Thomas MVP Award in 2019 after he and defensive end Frank Clark helped revitalize Kansas City’s defense en route to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in 50 years.

Ladies & Gentlemen, this season’s Derrick Thomas MVP Award winner 🏆 pic.twitter.com/8m7sGkTuM3

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 15, 2022

Mathieu, a two-time Pro Bowl pick and two-time first-team All-Pro selection during his tenure in Kansas City, tied for third on the Chiefs last season. He finished with 76 total tackles, including 60 solo tackles, with two tackles for a loss, three interceptions and six passes defended in 2021.

Bolton made the most tackles (112) for any rookie in franchise history. He was 1 of only 3 players this season to record at least 110 tackles and 10 tackles-for-loss, as he became just the ninth rookie to hit each of those marks since 2000.

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.