At halftime of the Broncos’ Week 13 matchup with AFC West rival Kansas City, the Chiefs will retire the No. 58 of late Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas, who holds franchise records for sacks, safeties, fumble recoveries, and forced fumbles.

To Elvis Dumervil, the ceremony will hold a little bit of an extra meaning. Like Thomas, Dumervil was born in Miami. His high school, Miami Jackson High School, was about a 15-mile drive from Thomas’ high school, South Miami Senior High School.

Growing up in such close quarters to the nine-time Pro Bowler, Dumervil always looked up to his hometown counterpart and his accomplishments on the football field, trying to model his game after the elite pass rusher.

“I thought he was kind of so-called undersized, playing the position that he was playing as a rusher at the time,” Dumervil said. “He was very explosive. He made big plays. He changed the game, getting off, the forced fumbles, the what — seven sacks in one game? He was a trend setter and he will always be remembered.”