10. Sam Huff

Sam Huff played 13 seasons in the NFL, eight with the New York Giants and five with the Washington Redskins. He won an NFL Championship with the Giants in 1956, a season in which he finished third in voting for United Press International’s Rookie of the Year Award. He was also a first-team All-Pro selection twice, in 1958 and 1959.

Sam Huff Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 30
• Fumble recoveries: 17
• Sacks: 29

9. Bobby Wagner

Bobby Wagner has been one of the best linebackers in the NFL for almost a decade at this point, winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013. He’s been nothing but consistent since those days of Seahawks dominance in the league. He led the league in combined tackles in 2016 and 2019, and in solo tackles in 2017. He’s a four-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Bobby Wagner Career Stats (* = as of Week Two 2022):

• Interceptions: 11
• Forced fumbles: 6
• Fumble recoveries: 9
• Sacks: 25.5
• Combined tackles: 1,397*
• Solo tackles: 827*

8. Nick Buoniconti

Nick Buoniconti played 14 seasons in the NFL, seven with the Boston Patriots and seven with the Miami Dolphins. He won two Super Bowls with the Dolphins, in 1972 and 1973. He was a five-time first-team All-Pro selection, including in four consecutive seasons between 1964 and 1967 during his Patriots tenure.

Nick Buoniconti Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 32
• Fumble recoveries: 6
• Sacks 24

7. Brian Urlacher

Brian Urlacher played 13 seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears. He won both the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award, in 2000 and 2005 respectively. The four-time first-team All-Pro led the NFL in solo tackles in 2002 with 117 and yards recovered from fumbles in 2001 with 101.

Brian Urlacher Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 22
• Forced fumbles: 11
• Fumble recoveries: 16
• Sacks: 41.5
• Combined tackles: 1,361
• Solo tackles: 1,046

6. Ray Nitschke

Ray Nitschke played 15 seasons in the NFL, all with the Green Bay Packers. In that time, his teams won five league championships, including the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. The two-time first-team All-Pro selection was one of the staples of the great Packers teams of the NFL Championship/early Super Bowl eras of the league.

Ray Nitschke Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 25
• Fumble recoveries: 23
• Sacks: 16

5. Luke Kuechly

Luke Kuechly played just eight seasons in the NFL, all with the Caroline Panthers, retiring while still in his athletic prime. He won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons in 2012 and 2013. He also twice led the league in combined tackles in 2012 and 2014.

Luke Kuechly Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 18
• Forced fumbles: 7
• Fumble recoveries: 9
• Sacks: 12.5
• Combined tackles: 1,092
• Solo tackles: 690

4. Mike Singletary

Mike Singletary played 12 seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears. He was a seven-time first-team All-Pro selection, and the leader of the 1985 Bears defense, commonly remembered as one of the top defenses in the history of the league. He won AP Defensive Player of the Year that season, an award he won again in 1988.

Mike Singletary Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 7
• Fumble recoveries: 12
• Sacks: 19

3. Jack Lambert

Jack Lambert played 11 seasons in the NFL, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers. During his tenure, the Steelers won four Super Bowls and were the defining franchise of the 1970s. He was a five-time first-team All-Pro selection and a winner of the AP’s Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

Jack Lambert Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 28
• Fumble recoveries: 17
• Sacks: 23.5

2. Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus played nine seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears. He was such a great player that he overshadowed the struggles of the team throughout his tenure. No playoff appearances and no Defensive Player of the Year accolades doesn’t dampen the career of this all-time great player.

Dick Butkus Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 22
• Fumble recoveries: 27
• Sacks: 11

1. Ray Lewis

Ray Lewis, alongside Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor, is arguably the scariest linebacker in the history of the NFL. His 17 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens are the stuff of legend. Not only did he forever define that franchise, he also won two Super Bowls and was a two-time AP Defensive Player of the Year Award winner and leading the league in combined and solo tackles three times each.

Ray Lewis Career Stats:

• Interceptions: 31
• Forced fumbles: 19
• Fumble recoveries: 20
• Sacks: 41.5
• Combined tackles: 2,059
• Solo tackles: 1,568

The post Top 10 Middle Linebackers of All Time appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Khari Demos

On arguably the toughest day in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks parted ways with first Russell Wilson, then Bobby Wagner, on March 8. Those two moves marked the end of an era, as they were the last two Seahawks from the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII victory to close the 2013 NFL season.

The Wilson trade almost seemed inevitable ”” just a year after Russ’s camp released a list of teams he’d prefer to be sent to if he were to be traded. The move with Wagner came out of the left field. I mean even for Wagner, the move even caught him by surprise.

How could Seattle let that happen? The franchise’s all-time leading tackler, a team co-captain, and one of the cornerstones for a team that played in back-to-back Super Bowls. The Seahawks should have done better. So now a soon-to-be 32-year-old Wagner will hit free agency for the first time and he’ll have a huge chip on his shoulder. Coming off a second-team All-Pro selection (his eighth consecutive All-Pro nod) and his eighth straight Pro Bowl campaign in 2021, Wagner compiled a career-high 170 tackles last season.

There’s no question Wagner has built up a case for the Hall of Fame already in his 10 NFL seasons. But how does he rank all-time amongst the game’s best middle linebackers?

According to Pro Football Reference’s Pro Football ILB Hall of Fame Monitor, Wagner is currently 10th on the list with a career score of 101.33, as the average HOF score is said to be 109. The top 10 on that list are also the only MLBs in NFL history that have compiled a score of 100 or more. There are only four players above him on the list that have not made the HOF yet, but they all figure to do so ”” Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher, Luke Kuechly, and Patrick Willis.

Also of note, Wagner is one of only five players within that top 10 that has won a Super Bowl.

Despite only playing 10 seasons thus far, Wagner’s six first-team All-Pro selections (he also has two second-team selections) are tied with Pittsburgh’s Jack Lambert for second-most all-time for an MLB, trailing only Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary who each have seven, respectively. His eight Pro Bowl selections are tied for the fourth-highest MLB total of all-time, as he’s matched Urlacher, Dick Butkus, Nick Buoniconti, and Willie Lanier.

Two of the coolest stat rankings, in my opinion, for Wagner are his combined tackles and QB hits. Coming in at third all-time with 78 QB hits, the Utah State product only needs 20 more to surpass Ahmad Brooks for the most ever for an MLB since it became a stat in 2006. As for the combined tackles, he’s already ninth all-time with 1,383, as he’s one of three players to rank inside the top 10 that has played no more than 10 seasons, joining Kyle Clifton and Chris Spielman.

Moving up on the all-time tackles list should not be a problem for Wagner. Averaging 138.3 tackles per season, if Wagner were to hit that average mark next season he’d place himself sixth all-time ahead of Clifton and right behind Hardy Nickerson (1,586). And if he keeps on this pace, Wagner should be a top-five tackler of all-time before the end of the 2023 season.

Now let’s get into some comparisons. As an NFL 2010s All-Decade performer, let’s start with the team’s other MLBs, Luke Kuechly and Patrick Willis. One thing to keep in mind with both Kuechly and Willis is that their careers were cut short ”” both players only stuck out in the league for eight seasons.

Let’s start with Kuechly vs. Wagner. The former Carolina Panther superstar did win the 2012 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award over Wagner, but he also has a nod over Wagner by claiming the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, an honor Wagner has yet to achieve. Wagner does, however, have more All-Pro nods (8 total vs. 7 total).

With Wagner having outplayed Kuechly for 33 more games, it’s hard to evaluate some raw totals. Wagner wins the combine tackles (1,383 vs. 1,092), sacks (23.5 vs. 12.5), defensive touchdowns (3 vs. 1), and in QB hits (78 vs. 31). But Kuechly was much more of a ballhawk, surpassing Wagner in picks (18 vs. 11), pass deflections (66 vs. 60), as well as in tackles for loss (75 vs. 68). Both players tied with nine career fumble recoveries and they both led the NFL in tackles twice each.

Now looking at the Willis vs. Wagner debate, the former played in even fewer games than Kuechly (112 total, 39 fewer than Wagner). Wagner’s eight All-Pro nods outpaced Willis’ six total (5 first-team, 1 second-team), and his eight Pro Bowls were one more than Willis’ seven, but it’s almost unfair to pit the two against each in raw totals. Wagner’s career numbers are higher than Willis in the categories of combined tackles, INTs, pass deflections, sacks, TFLs, QB hits, and defensive TDs. But amazingly, Willis does have the advantage in forced fumbles, edging Wagner by a margin of 16-6.

Willis also matched Wagner by leading the league in tackles on two separate occasions.

Now another MLB I believe Wagner stacks up to comparatively is a fellow All-Decade performer, and that’s 2000s selection, Zach Thomas. Most known for his tenure with the Miami Dolphins, Thomas also led the league in tackles twice (2002, 2006). Wagner’s eight All-Pros are just one more than Thomas’ seven (5 first-team, 2 second-team). Wagner also has the edge in Pro Bowls over Thomas, coming in at an 8-7 margin.

Thomas has played a few more games than Wagner (184 vs. 151), and the latter had that advantage in the other comparisons. Thomas has a clear lead in tackles with his 1,734 combined total (fourth-most ever), but he also takes it with INTs (17 vs. 11), forced fumbles (16 vs. 6) and tackles for loss (74 vs. 68) even though that did not become a stat until Thomas’ fourth year in the league. Wagner has outperformed Thomas in some areas though too, including in sacks (23.5 vs. 20.5), fumble recoveries (9 vs. 8), and pass deflections (60 vs. 48), although it must be noted that PDs were not a stat until Thomas’ fourth year as well.

Another name that I want to compare Wagner to is Thomas’ fellow 2000s All-Decade MLB, Brian Urlacher. In a dominant career with the Chicago Bears, the former New Mexico Lobo tied Wagner with eight Pro Bowl selections and was named the 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Urlacher does hold the DPOY over Wagner, but his five All-Pro nods (4 first-team, 1 second-team) just fall short of the former ‘Hawk’s total.

This may be the most back-and-forth debate of them all. Wagner outpaced Urlacher in terms of seasons leading the league in tackles (2 vs. 1) and has more career tackles (1,383 vs. 1,361), despite playing in 31 fewer games. But Urlacher has the advantage in INTs (22 vs. 11), fumble recoveries (16 vs. 9), forced fumbles (11 vs. 6) pass deflections (90 vs. 60), defensive TDs (4 vs. 3), and TFLs (138 vs. 68).

All of these figures are great, but one that was not mentioned was playoff statistics. All the players mentioned above were tremendous, but they may not stack up to Wagner here. The former Seahawk has 153 combined tackles in the postseason, the second-most in NFL history only behind Lewis (218).

Overall historically, Wagner would need two more first-team All-Pro selections to tie Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Schmidt, and Bill George for the most ever for a player that plays defense primarily (8). In terms of active players, only the great Aaron Donald (7) has more first-team nods than Wagner.

So it’s safe to say Wagner should end up with a gold jacket once he hangs up the helmet. But the question now will be what team will he be adding to his HOF resume with next season?

The post Is Bobby Wagner a future Hall of Famer? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.