Al Wilson was drafted by the Denver Broncos at the end of the first round in the 1999 NFL Draft, their first pick after the retirement of John Elway. He immediately impressed and made substantial contributions to the Broncos, starting 12 games as a rookie and coming second in the team in tackles.
For the rest of Wilsons seven year career, all in Denver, he would start and be a major contributor every game he was healthy. The early 2000s were, in retrospect, a last call for talented interior linebacker play. Running and stopping the run was vastly more important than it would be a few short years later, and because unlike in today's NFL the goal for most defenses was to play base defense most of the time, linebackers who had speed to cover the entire field were particularly valuable.