Keith Traylor

Linebacker (1987-88)

Keith Traylor enjoyed a stellar high school career at Malvern (Ark.) High School.  He was named All-State and All-Conference at linebacker two years, and was also All-State and All-Conference in basketball and football.  He was rated among the ten best prospects in the state of Arkansas.

Keith started his college career at Coffeyville Community College.  He was a two-year starter for Dick Foster at linebacker in 1987 and 1988.  In two seasons, he totaled 229 tackles, 14 sacks and nine interceptions.

Keith transferred to Central State (Oklahoma) where he played another solid two years.  He posted a career total of 146 tackles, five sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.  He was named First Team All-Lone Star Conference as a junior.

Traylor was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round (61st overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft. He started two of the 16 regular season games in which he played for Denver as a rookie, recording 27 tackles. His first start of his NFL career came against the Seattle Seahawks on September 15, when he opened at an inside linebacker spot in place of the injured Michael Brooks. Traylor responded with nine tackles in the game. He also started the following week against the San Diego Chargers and recorded ten stops. He saw action in both playoff games following the season in a reserve role. During the playoffs, he saw some time at fullback in goal-line situations. Following the season, he was an all-rookie selection by Pro Football Weekly and Football Digest.

Keith would play 16 seasons in the NFL from 1991 to 2007, missing just the 1994 season in that time span.  He made the transition from linebacker to defensive lineman in the mid-1990’s, and the change allowed him to enjoy a long NFL career.  In his career, he played for the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.

Traylor has  a total of three Super Bowl rings; he won two with the Denver Broncos and the other with the New England Patriots.

He and wife Krista have one son, Brandon, and the family resides in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.