Five Best Linebackers in NFL History
Having said that, I have compiled a list of the five best linebackers of all-time. Before I go any further, let me say that putting this list together was a feat of Herculean strength. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that tough, but after the first two selections there were several outstanding linebackers whose play could have merited them one of the final three positions on the list of best linebackers of all-time. Now that I have gone through that lengthy explanation, let me get down to the task at hand.
Lawrence Taylor
There is absolutely no debate – Lawrence Taylor is unequivocally the best linebacker in NFL history. Taylor, the second overall selection in the 1981 draft, came into the league and immediately began establishing the greatness that would make him a household name and a two-time Super Bowl champion.
Taylor was named first-team All-Pro in each of his first nine seasons and brought a whole new dimension to the pro game – that of an outside, speed-rushing linebacker, who could not only make plays in the field, but rush the quarterback better than a defensive lineman.
In 1986, Taylor became the first defensive player since 1971 to be named the league’s MVP. That season, Taylor recorded a career high 20.5 sacks, 105 total tackles, five passes defensed, and two forced fumbles.
Taylor recorded 142 sacks, 1,088 tackles, 33 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, and nine interceptions during his career and was selected to play in 10 Pro Bowls. However, statistics can never justify the impact Lawrence Taylor made on professional football. He literally changed the game and the way the outside linebacker position would be played forever more. Off the field issues aside – and he had plenty – Taylor is hands-down the best linebacker in NFL history.
Dick Butkus
Butkus wasn’t the most athletic linebacker to ever play the game. Heck, I can easily think of ten guys who were either faster and several, who were stronger. However, there has never been a linebacker who put the fear of God into opposing players like Butkus.
As a rookie with the Chicago Bears, Butkus was named first-team All-NFL, an honor he would record five more times. The Chicago Bears middle linebacker also played in the Pro Bowl following his rookie season and in each of the next seven years. Although Butkus, who played middle linebacker for the Bears for nine seasons, had his career cut short by a devastating knew injury, his legacy as one of the greatest linebackers of all-time had long since been set.
This quote by the former terror shows a glimpse into the mindset of the “Monster of the Midway.”
“When I went out on the field to warm up, I would manufacture things to make me mad,” he once said. “If someone on the other team was laughing, I’d pretend he was laughing at me or the Bears. It always worked for me.”
It certainly did – well enough for Butkus to become a Hall of Fame inductee and one of the best linebackers to ever play in the NFL.
Ray Lewis
This selection was quite simple for me. I simply thought to myself, “If Lewis were to hang up his cleats today, would he be considered one of the best linebackers of all-time?”
My answer? An undeniable yes.
As a matter of fact, I would probably have ranked him higher than Butkus if his career were over – but that’s a story for another day.
Lewis, the 26th overall selection of the 1996 draft, has been an All-Pro seven times in his career and was voted the Defensive Player of the Year following both the 2000 and 2003 seasons.
Lewis was also the spearhead of one of the greatest defenses in NFL history in 2000 and led the team to a Super Bowl victory in which he was named MVP.
Lewis’ sideline-to-sideline speed may be unmatched for a middle linebacker and only Butkus may surpass his enthusiasm and fear-instilling factors – although no opposing team was particularly excited to see Lawrence Taylor either. Lewis may have another three or four seasons left, but even if he never made another tackle, Lewis has been good enough to become one of the best linebackers to ever play in the NFL.
Jack Lambert
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s had so many great players – not to mention Hall of Famers, that singling out just one or two for their respective greatness almost seems unfair to the other players who contributed to their four Super Bowl victories, but hey, when you’re good, you’re good – and Lambert certainly was.
A second round selection of the Steelers in 1974, Lambert was just as imposing as the aforementioned three linebackers when he stepped on the playing field.
Lambert won the starting middle linebacker job as a rookie and never relinquished it until he retired following the 1984 season. Lambert was smart, fast and once again, menacing.
Lambert was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1974 and was selected as an All-Pro eight times in a nine-year span between 1975 and 1983 and played in nine consecutive Pro Bowls. He was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1976.
Many football observers say that Lambert was the most integral part in stabilizing the Steelers’ famed “Steel Curtain” defense. Lambert was also durable. He missed only six games because of injuries his first 10 years in the NFL and during that time resolutely established himself as one of the best linebackers of all-time.
Mike Singletary
Singletary was a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in the 1981 NFL Draft and the 38th player selected overall, but when he became a starter in the Bears lineup in the seventh game of his rookie season, he never relinquished the position until his retirement 11 seasons later. Singletary went on to start 172 games for the Bears and amazingly finished as the Bears’ first or second leading tackler each of his last 11 seasons.
Singletary was also selected to play in a team record 10 Pro Bowls, was named All-Pro eight times, and All-NFC every year from 1983 until 1991. Singletary was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for leading the Bears to the 1985 Super Bowl and again in 1988.
Not only was Singletary the cornerstone of the Bears’ innovative 46-defense, but one of the best linebackers to ever play the game. Oh, by the way, no one can forget the legendary “Mike Singletary stare.” The man almost literally bore holes through opposing offensive players before each and every play. After the snap, he’d really bore holes into opposing running backs, quarterbacks and any player that came anywhere near his vicinity.
So there you have it – the five best linebackers in NFL history. Of course there are several other outstanding linebackers who were left off of this list, but hey, I get paid to call it like I see it – and this is how I see it – even if some people think I’m as blind as a bat.
