10 Best Nfl Linebackers of All Time, Ranked

To be a great NFL linebacker, you need size, speed, intelligence, and the ability to make the offense feel your presence whenever they dare enter your space. Linebackers hold the entire defense together and have the most varied roles on defense by far. Some guys get in the backfield every single play, while others are running with the offense's most dangerous skill players in coverage. A linebacker's job is constantly changing and critical to any defense's success, which makes watching them play so much fun. Here are the ten best NFL linebackers of all time, ranked.

10. Ted Hendricks

Ted Hendricks had two distinct excellent eras in his career. In the first, he came into the league with a Baltimore Colts squad on the heels of an upset Super Bowl loss. In his first six seasons (including one in Green Bay), Hendricks anchored the center of the field and helped get the Colts over the hump with a Super Bowl V win. During those years, he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro. Then he joined the Raiders. Across nine years in Oakland and Los Angeles, Hendricks pulled the strings for a defense that brought the franchise their first three titles. During his career, Hendricks made a living in backfields, disrupting all kinds of plays, including a whopping 25 blocked PATs and field goals.

9. Junior Seau

Unfortunately, much discussion around Junior Seau's life and career is centered around Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and its impacts on former football players. However, he was undoubtedly an impressive player. Seau spent 20 years in the league, his most outstanding with the San Diego Chargers. Across the 1990s and early 2000s, Seau was a force of nature on the field, playing the game with an unmatched intensity. He earned 12 Pro Bowls and six All-Pro selections. He won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 1994 and was selected to the 1990s Hall of Fame All-Decade team.