It was January this year when K.J. Wright applauded by the football world. After six years in his National Football League (NFL) career, finally, he received the recognition he had been aiming for. He was named to National Football Conference (NFC) for the Pro Bowl for the first time.
Kenneth Bernard Wright, Jr. was born on the 23rd of July, 1989 in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Olive Branch High School in Mississippi, where he played football, basketball, and track. On his senior years, he recorded 91 tackles where 48 of them were solo tackles. He was offered with a top scholarship from Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina. He was listed as the number 19 prospect in Mississippi. He was named first-team by the Clarion-Ledger on all-state defensive line.
In his college years, he played for Mississippi State. He was the number 34 and played the linebacker position. He was promoted as a starter on the defensive unit as an outside linebacker in his sophomore year. In his senior year, Wright started ten out of twelve games. He finished his college years with 259 tackles which 131 of them were his solo, nine sacks, three fumbles and 14 passes defended.
In 2011, the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He then started as a starter after Aaron Curry was traded to Oakland. He played 12 games which he recorded 65 tackles, 50 of them were his solo, two sacks, three passes defended and one forced fumble. It was the year 2012 when he started playing as the weak side linebacker in the 15 games for the Seahawks. In this year, he recorded 98 tackles, 68 solo tackles, one sack, five passes defense and one forced fumble. In 2013, Wright played 13 games where he recorded, 80 tackles, 46 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks and four passes defended. He showed his contribution in the victory of Super Bowl XLVIII. This was when the Seattle Seahawks won their first NFL title with a score of 43-8 against Denver Broncos.
In December 2014, K. J. Wright became the second highest paid outside linebacker after signing a four-year contract extension with the Seahawks. Wright has also appeared in Super Bowl XLIX where they were defended by the New England Patriots. In this game, he has shown a dominant linebacking corpse alongside Bobby Wagner. On this time, he has also started post season games which he recorded in his 16 games, 107 tackles, 73 solo tackles, two sacks, four passes defended and three forced fumbles.
In the first half of 2015, he has recorded 71 tackles in which 45 of them were his solo, one sack, three passes defended and four forced fumbles. With this, he was graded by the Pro Football Focus as the second best linebacker.
In 2016, K.J. Wright played 16 games. He recorded 126 tackles, 72 solo, four sacks, five passes defended and one forced fumble. It is considered the most productive and impressive season of his NFL career. With his lead, he made his team on top of the 2016 season.
K.J Wright is very excited in going to Pro Bowl especially in going with his teammates, Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril. The Seahawks now have seven defensive starters with one Pro Bowl on their profile.
