Greatest Linebackers Of All Time In NFL History
Imagine being chased by a man weighing 300lbs who runs like a wide receiver. NFL linebackers have taken a healthy pleasure at blitzing and sacking quarterbacks, and the NFL has seen many elite linebackers over the years – these are the players who are considered the best of all time. Keep reading through our picks to see who made the list!
Mike Singletary
For over a decade, Mike Singletary terrorized opposing quarterbacks. The 10-time Pro Bowler, won a Super Bowl with the 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the greatest defensive teams ever.
Look into his eyes, even today, and you can see fire as if he is ready to play.
Brian Urlacher
Brian Urlacher played in 12 NFL seasons, all with the Chicago Bears, and had 41.5 quarterback sacks. The 2000 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year also had eight Pro Bowl selections.
Urlacher was the 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was inducted into the Pro Hall of Fame 2018 class.
Ray Nitschke
When discussing linebackers who impacted the game, not many did it as well as Ray Nitschke. Nitschke won seven championships, five NFL championships, and two Super Bowls.
Nitschke's 12-year career was entirely with the Green Bay Packers, and he is a 1978 Pro Ball Hall of Fame inductee.
Bruce Smith
Bruce Smith, a 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, was a part of the Buffalo Bills and went on to compete in four straight Super Bowls.
Smith holds the NFL record for career quarterback sacks.
Deacon Jones
Only Bruce Smith and the late Reggie White have more sacks than Deacon Jones in NFL history.
He was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in two consecutive years: 1967 and 1968.
Zach Thomas
Zach Thomas was not built like a linebacker, but he was one of the NFL's greatest players ever in that position.
Twelve of Thomas' 13 seasons were played with the Miami Dolphins, and he was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times. Thomas had over 1,700 tackles during his career.
Ray Lewis
Ray Lewis was the first and only NFL player ever to register a career 40 sacks and 30 interceptions. Lewis' 2000 Baltimore Ravens are one of the best defensive teams in NFL history.
That year, Baltimore allowed the fewest yards, recorded the most shutouts, and allowed the fewest points.
Lawrence Taylor
Hearing the name "LT" should immediately bring to mind one of the most elite players of all time, Lawrence Taylor.
Taylor is the last defensive player to win the league's MVP Award. Taylor finished his career with 132.5 sacks. LT's New York Giants won two Super Bowl championships.
Reggie White
Only one player was nicknamed the "Minister of Defense," and that was Reggie White. White recorded the second-most sacks in NFL history.
White defensively guided his 1996 Green Bay Packers to win Super Bowl XXI. He has an NFL record of nine straight seasons with 10+ sacks.
Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald won Super Bowl LVI in 2021. Donald only began playing in the NFL in 2014, yet he is on the list as one of the greatest NFL linebackers in history.
Besides his Super Bowl ring, Donald has made the NFL Pro Bowl 10 times. When he announced his retirement in 2024, he finished his career with 543 tackles and 111 sacks.
JJ Watt
J.J. Watt registered the most 20+ sacks in a season, with two, which is currently an NFL record. Watt retired from the NFL in 2022 after experiencing heart issues.
Watt and Reggie White are the only players ever to have four seasons with at least fifteen sacks.
Chuck Bednarik
Chuck Bednarik is a member of the 1967 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Bednarik was the last two-way player, center on offense, and linebacker on defense.
Bednarik has two NFL championships, both with the Philadelphia Eagles. The bruising lineman retired with eight NFL Pro Bowl selections.
Junior Seau
Junior Seau played a remarkable 20 seasons in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl 12 times.
Seau was the 1992 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and won the 1994 NFL Man of the Year Award. Seau was elected to the Pro Bowl Hall of Fame in 2015.
Derrick Thomas
Derrick Thomas anchored the Kansas City Chiefs defense in all 11 seasons of his career. With seven sacks, he is still the current NFL record holder for most sacks in one game.
Thomas retired as the Chiefs' all-time leader in sacks, safeties, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, and defensive touchdowns.
Ted Hendricks
Ted Hendricks entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 as one of the greatest linebackers ever, but he was originally drafted as an offensive Tight End.
Hendricks was the NFL's first-ever Guatemalan player, making the Pro Bowl team eight times and winning four Super Bowl titles.
Jack Lambert
Jack Lambert played a major role on one of the NFL's greatest and most intimidating defensive teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers, better known as the "Steel Curtain."
Lambert was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Lambert's Steelers dominated the NFL, winning four Super Bowl championships.
Kevin Greene
Kevin Greene was a problem for offensive coaches to plan against. Greene was the league's sack leader twice in his career, and is third all-time among NFL career sack leaders.
Greene won the 1996 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award, and was a five-time NFL Pro Bowl selection.
Demarcus Ware
Demarcus Ware retired as the Dallas Cowboys' all-time leader in sacks with 117. Ware won Super Bowl 50 as a member of the Denver Broncos and made two of nine NFL Pro Bowl selections while playing for Denver.
James Harrison
James Harrison was a mean, intimidating, and volatile defensive player. His nastiness on defense and toughness were the driving forces behind the Pittsburgh Steelers' winning Super Bowls XL and XLIII.
Harrison is the Steelers' all-time sacks leader with 80.5. Harrison was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
Rickey Jackson
Rickey Jackson helped revolutionize the linebacker position. Jackson defended by focusing less on the traditional sacks and led the NFL four times in forced fumbles.
The New Orleans Saints placed Jackson in their Hall of Fame, but he won his only Super Bowl (XXIX) playing for the Dallas Cowboys.
Terrell Suggs
Terrell Suggs's NFL career spanned 16 seasons, 15 of which were spent playing for the Baltimore Ravens. Suggs ignited the Ravens' defense to two Super Bowls (XLVII, LIV).
Suggs won the 2003 NFL Rookie of the Year Award and the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year with Baltimore.
Cornelius Bennett
Despite losing four straight Super Bowls, Cornelius Bennett and the Buffalo Bills had one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
Bennett dominated defensively for the Bills and was selected five times to the NFL Pro Bowl during his 13-year career. Bennett played eight seasons for Buffalo alongside Bills legend Bruce Smith.
Robert Brazile
Named the 1975 NFL Rookie of the Year, Robert Brazile's career only got better with time. Brazile was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl seven times in nine career seasons, all with the Houston Oilers.
Brazile, affectionately nicknamed "Dr. Doom," entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
London Fletcher
Though he was not made of iron, London Fletcher's "Ironman" streak made him one of the few NFL players to ever play in over 250 consecutive games.
Fletcher won Super Bowl XXIV with the St. Louis Rams and was selected four times to the NFL Pro Bowl.
Jack Ham
Born two days before Christmas, Jack Ham was quite the gift on defense in his NFL career. Widely considered one of the greatest outside linebackers in NFL history, Ham has four Super Bowl championships and eight NFL Pro Bowl selections.
Ham's 11 seasons all were with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Willie Lanier
The 1972 NFL Man of the Year, Willie Lanier, played his whole 10-year career for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Lanier's defense assisted the Chiefs to a Super Bowl IV victory in 1970. Lanier is a member of the College, Pro Football, and Kansas City Chiefs' Hall of Fame.
Sam Huff
Linebacker Sam Huff won the NFL championship in 1956.
Four of Huff's five Pro Bowl selections were earned while he was playing for the New York Giants. He was inducted into the New York Giants Ring of Honor and the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame for his impressive career with both teams.
Bobby Bell
Bobby Bell did most of the heavy lifting defensively while playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. Bell's entire 11-year career was played in Kansas City, and he helped deliver a Super Bowl to the city in 1970.
Bell was named to the College, Chiefs, and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Andre Tippett
Before Belichick and Brady won titles for the New England Patriots, Andre Tippett defensively anchored some bad Patriots teams over his career.
Tippett had five NFL Pro Bowl selections during his 11-year career, all played for New England. Tippett is a 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.