Chicago Bears: 5 Biggest Draft Steals of the Super Bowl Era

#3:  Doug Buffone

A lot of current Bears fans only recollect the name Doug Buffone as a colored Chicago-based radio personality who recently passed away. They didn’t know he used to be a linebacker for their favorite football team, and a good one at that. Buffone never went to the Pro Bowl in his 14-year career, which is a travesty because the guy had some really great years. Unfortunately he had the hard luck of playing on some terrible teams in the 1970s. Not to mention living in the shadow of Dick Butkus, the greatest Bears linebacker ever.

So here’s a memorable stat. Buffone had 24 interceptions in his career. Again, he’s a linebacker. In four separate seasons he picked off at least three passes. The sad part is both tackles and sacks weren’t recognized stats, so people couldn’t get a grasp of just how good a player the former 4th round pick was. If nothing else he was a key cog in help draft the organization out of the dark ages in the late ’70s, making the playoffs twice in three years before retiring.