NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players: No. 4 - Dean Lowry, Boylan

Boylan's Dean Lowry is No. 4 on this list with a bullet.

The lineman was the defensive anchor of two state championship teams at Boylan. He was a three-year starter in the Big 10 at Northwestern and he's one of the very rare NIC-10 football players to became an established starter in the NFL.

At Boylan, Lowry utterly dominated. He was first-team all-conference for the 14-0 Titans in 2010, who won the first football state title in school history and the first for the NIC-10 since 1994. His senior year, he had 10 sacks among his 65 tackles, and he caught two passes, both touchdowns. The 2011 Titans again went 14-0, winning a second straight state championship. No NIC-10 team has even reached a title game since. Lowry was named conference defensive MVP and all-state by the Chicago Tribune and Champaign News-Gazette.

His high school play drew interest from dozens of schools in the Midwest. Iowa, Purdue and Indiana recruited him from the Big Ten along with MAC schools Ball State, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. In the end, Lowry chose to study economics at Northwestern.

He made an immediate impact for the Wildcats, playing all 13 games as a true freshman as a backup. He moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and was an honorable mention all-Big Ten selection as a junior and second-team all-conference as a senior. Durability was his calling card. Lowry didn't miss a game in four years and finished his college career with 139 tackles, 31 of which were for loss. Only Carlos Polk (Guilford) and Joe Coniglio (Boylan) are confirmed to have had more at the highest level of NCAA Division I football.

The Green Bay Packers took Lowry in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, 137th overall. Only Mike Junkin (Belvidere), a first round pick, and Leonard Bell (Jefferson) and Leo Stasica (Rockford), third round picks, were taken in higher rounds.

As a rookie in 2016, Lowry played in 15 of 16 games. In 2017 and 2018, he was a part-time starter. He became the every week starter at left defensive end in 2019 and has kept the job in 2020 and 2021. His ability to answer the bell each week continues to add to his value. He's yet to miss a game in high school, college or the pros because of injury.

This ranking was compiled before the 2021-2022 season. Even if you added in the points he gained from this season, as you'll see, Lowry remains No. 4 on the list. But he's perhaps three seasons away from moving all the way up to No. 1.

Although the NFL is known as the Not For Long because careers can end in a single play, Lowry is as good a better as any that he'll continue to be a productive player in the NFL for several more seasons. In 2021-2022, he started all 17 games, had 42 tackles and had career highs in sacks (five) and quarterback hits (nine).

For his career, he has 209 tackles and 15 sacks in the regular season and another 15 tackles in eight playoff games. He's now played in 104 NFL games - regular season and playoffs - starting 73. Only Preston Pearson (Freeport), with 198 NFL games, and Laurie Walquist of the long closed Rockford High School, who played 111 games in the 1920s and 1930s, have played more.

Lowry also has been a winner at every level. His Boylan teams went 28-0. Northwestern was 30-20 in his four years on campus, playing in two bowl games. The Packers have gone 66-38, including eight playoff games.

No. 4 - Dean Lowry, Boylan
Year	Level	Team	Accomplishments	Points
2010	High School	Boylan	First Team All-Conference	2
			Winning Team	1
			Conference Champion	1
			Final Four	1
			State Champion	1
2011	High School	Boylan	First Team All-Conference	2
			Conference Defensive MVP	1
			Winning team	1
			Conference Champion	1
			Final Four	1
			State Champion	1
			All-State Selection	1
2012	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Winning Record	1
			Bowl Game	1
2013	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
2014	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Honorable Mention All-Big 10	0.5
2015	College	Northwestern	Letter Winner on Power 5 Team	4
			Starter	1
			Winning Record	1
			Bowl Game	1
			Second Team All-Big 10	0.5
2016	NFL	Green Bay	4th Round Draft Pick	7
			Played in NFL	1
			Playoff Team	1
2017	NFL	Green Bay	Played in NFL	3
			Starter	1
2018	NFL	Green Bay	Played in NFL	3
			Starter	1
2019	NFL	Green Bay	Played in NFL	3
			Starter	1
			Playoffs	1
2020	NFL	Green Bay	Played in NFL	3
			Starter	1
			Playoffs	1
Totals				67

NIC-10's 100 Greatest Football Players