Hall of Fame 2023: Joe Klecko, the ultimate defensive chess piece

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will formally welcome its Class of 2023 on Saturday. This week, Yahoo Sports is highlighting each member of the nine-man class, leading up to the big ceremony.

Although the New York Jets have long been bereft of offensive firepower, they haven't had any shortage of defensive stars in recent times, especially on the line.

John Abraham posted three double-digit sack seasons in the early 2000s and Shaun Ellis notched two of his own, yet in the more than 30 years since Joe Klecko has seen the field, few Jets pass rushers, nonetheless the Jets defenders, have put together comparable tenures with the team.

While his fellow Hall of Fame inductee Darrelle Revis is largely touted as one of the most dominant defensive player in team history, Klecko's longevity and unique ability to impact the game from different spots remains unrivaled and wildly impressive.

Hidden gem

It didn't take long for the Jets to realize they found a steal in Klecko. After being selected in the sixth round of the 1977 NFL Draft, the Temple University product burst onto the scene with eight sacks, according to Pro Football Reference (sacks did not become an unofficial stat until 1982) — a Jets rookie record at the time.

Klecko stayed hot after a strong finish to his rookie season, during which the defensive end posted a sack in each of the final six games, by getting to the quarterback in each of the first four games of his second year. With at least one full sack in 10 consecutive games, Klecko still holds the franchise record.

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Through his first four seasons, Klecko continued to hover around double-digit sacks and enjoy a growing role, yet it wasn't until he and his young defensive line counterparts became fully acclimated to the NFL game that he really took off.

New York Sack Exchange

Coined in 1981, the vaunted "New York Sack Exchange" consisted of Klecko, Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam. The foursome combined for a team-record 66 sacks in 1981, including a league-leading 20.5 from Klecko.

This dominance in the trenches catapulted the Jets to their first playoff appearance since 1969, and it resulted in Klecko being named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pro Football Writers. Klecko also earned his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections.

The "Sack Exchange" continued to find success through the early-to-mid 1980s, and it is recognized as a driving factor in the NFL's decision to begin officially counting sacks.

Jack of all trades

Perhaps even more impressive than Klecko's sack totals was his unprecedented versatility.

After playing defensive end his first six seasons, Klecko moved to defensive tackle in 1983 and later to nose tackle in 1985 when the Jets switched to a 3-4 front. Klecko earned Pro Bowl honors at all those spots, making him the only player in NFL history to reach the Pro Bowl at all three positions along the defensive line. He also earned a second All-Pro nod, this time as a nose tackle, after a 7.5-sack season in 1985.

In many ways, Klecko's unheralded versatility likely contributed to the 30-plus year wait for his gold jacket. At least that is what Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure says.

"If Joe Klecko had played one position for 10 years, he'd have been considered one of the top two or three players at that position, whichever one it was," DeLamielleure, who has long advocated for Klecko's addition to the fraternity, told The New York Times.

Worth the wait

In the meantime, the Jets have kept Klecko busy with some in-house commemorations over the years.

After 11 seasons in New York left Klecko with an unofficial total of 78 sacks, good enough for second in franchise history (trailing only Gastineau), Klecko became the third player in team history to have his number retired. He was also among the inaugural inductions to the Jets' "Ring of Honor."

Now, he is finally a Pro Football Hall of Famer. And rightfully so.

"You had to always build your offense around him," legendary quarterback Terry Bradshaw told reporters on Radio Row before the Super Bowl. "First you had to protect yourself against him. Then you had to trap him, you had to try to neutralize him. If you didn't, he was so disruptive."