Phil Hansen

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Phil Hansen was a second round draft pick out of North Dakota State and was the 12th defensive lineman taken in the 1991 draft, the 54th pick overall.

"If not for the fact that he played at a division II school, Phil Hansen would have been a first round draft pick," proclaimed Bills General Manager Bill Polian.

Polian even dared to say that Hansen would end up becoming the best defensive lineman taken in the 1991 draft. Even though Polian and the Bills had an excellent record of drafting small college players that ended up becoming solid NFL stars, Andre Reed for example, few people outside the organization took his statement seriously. The Dallas Cowboys had the very first pick in the draft and had chosen Russell Maryland, a defensive tackle. Surely Polian couldn't possibly think that Hansen would be better than the first over all pick in the draft? Over the eleven seasons that Hansen played for the Bills, Polian's prediction might have been forgotten by most but his words did ring true. Hansen would not only go on to start in more games than Maryland but would record two dozen more sacks than the first round bonus baby.

Hansen made his first start with the Bills on September 8, 1991 as a rookie. He had replaced an injured Bruce Smith. He had held his own most of that season as Bruce didn't play much, due to a complicated knee injury. On November 24th, Hansen sacked New England Patriots quarterback Hugh Millen for his first of many throughout his eleven year career. He went on to make the NFL's all rookie team that season.

He became a full-time starter in 1992, finished the season with eight sacks, second on the team. He recorded at least one sack in six consecutive games, tying Bruce Smith's 1986 team record. Hansen shined in the playoffs that season, recording a team high 11 tackles in the great Houston comeback game and batted a Dan Marino pass skyward before intercepting it in the AFC Championship game.

Throughout his eleven seasons, Hansen would go on to make many more memorable plays, he was a steady if not spectacular performer. He was often over shadowed  by others on the team and would go unnoticed in other NFL towns. He never made the Pro Bowl or All Pro. In 1995 he had a career high 10 sacks and was still third on the team in that stat. That's how it was with Phil Hansen but it never seemed to matter to him. He was getting paid an unimaginable amount of money to play a game that he loved since he was a boy and he considered himself the luckiest man alive. Hansen probably wouldn't have been comfortable in the spotlight anyway. During his last season with the Bills in 2001, Hansen never let anyone know that that season would be his last. At the time of his retirement speech, Hansen stated that he didn't want to be a distraction to his teammates, this being his reason for waiting till the season was over until calling it quits. He went on to thank the assistant trainers, ball boys, parking attendants and maintenance people. These are people that aren't even listed in the Bills media guide but Phil Hansen knew them all by their first names. He finished his career second all-time in sacks and was the undisputed leader of the team during his final seasons. It wasn't his superlative play that made Hansen an all-time Buffalo Bill as much as it was his professionalism and character, in those two categories he is number one. Many Buffalo Bills players said that phil hansen is the type of guy I want my son to grow up and be like. He more than likely will never make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and may not even make it onto the Bills' Wall of Fame, which would be a crime if he didn't, but he is a no brainer on my list and should be on yours as well.