Kansas City, Mo. ? Running back Larry Johnson was named the winner of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Derrick Thomas Award winner for 2006 as the team’s most valuable player.

The Chiefs also said defensive end Tambi Hali was named winner of the Mack Lee Hill Award as the top rookie.

Johnson, 27, started all 16 games for the first time in his career and ran for a team-record 1,789 yards on an NFL-record 416 carries. He scored 17 touchdowns and finished second to San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson for the NFL rushing title.

Hali, the first-round draft pick out of Penn State, started all 16 games and led the team with eight sacks on the season, the third-best rookie total in franchise history. He also had 65 tackles.