Bears Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Richard Dent are included in a photo gallery on NFL.com that features 30 of the top NFL players from historically black colleges. The gallery was posted in celebration of Black History Month.
Payton was selected by the Bears by the fourth pick in the 1975 draft out of Jackson State. The caption under his picture reads: "Payton is arguably the greatest running back of all time. What can't be argued is Payton retired as the game's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards. Many of those yards came during some of the dark years in Chicago Bears history, when the only reason to watch the team was to see 'Sweetness' run past, through and over helpless defenders. However, redemption would come for the former first-round draft pick from Jackson State. The 1985 Bears have been revered as one of the greatest teams in NFL history after a 46-10 victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Payton was their leading rusher."
Dent attended Tennessee State before being chosen by the Bears in the eighth round of the 1983 draft. The caption below his photo reads: "It's hard to imagine a better two-year run for a defensive end than Dent had in 1984 and 1985. He had 34.5 sacks (including a club record 17.5 in 1984) and topped it off by being selected as the MVP of Super Bowl XX. Dent and his Bears teammates were at the top of their game during the 1980s. Quite an accomplishment for a player who was drafted in the eighth round out of Tennessee State in 1983. Dent was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011."
