Inside Linebacker (ILB) Draft History

211 ILBs drafted in the NFL Draft

Since 1980, NFL teams have drafted 1,604 linebackers in the NFL Draft, 139 of them in the first round. 14 of those picks are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Lawrence Taylor (1981), Mike Singletary (1981), Rickey Jackson (1981), Andre Tippett (1982), Kevin Greene (1985) and Derrick Thomas (1989), plus 8 more. By career Approximate Value, the most productive pick was Ray Lewis (LB, Miami (FL)), taken in round 1 of the 1996 draft. The biggest value pick was Zach Thomas, a round-5 selection in 1996 who made 7 Pro Bowls. Of the picks made through 2025, 155 (10%) made at least one Pro Bowl and 84% appeared in at least one NFL game. The most common school was Penn St., with 42 picks. nflverse groups most inside and outside linebackers under "LB", so these figures cover all linebackers.

Figures cover the 1980–2026 drafts. Source: nflverse.

Top Inside Linebackers by Career Sacks

#▼	Player▼	Draft Year▼	Pick▼	Sacks▼
1	Connor Barwin	2009	#46	56.5
2	Karlos Dansby	2004	#33	43
3	Ray Lewis	1996	#26	41.5
4	James Farrior	1997	#8	35.5
5	Tedy Bruschi	1996	#86	30.5
6	Takeo Spikes	1998	#13	29
7	Roquan Smith	2018	#8	21.5
8	Fredd Young	1984	#76	21
9	Patrick Willis	2007	#11	20.5
10	Zach Thomas	1996	#154	20.5
11	Eric Barton	1999	#146	20
12	D'Qwell Jackson	2006	#34	19.5
13	Daryl Washington	2010	#47	18
14	James Laurinaitis	2009	#35	16.5
15	Vincent Brown	1988	#43	16.5
16	Bradie James	2003	#103	16
17	Eugene Lockhart	1984	#152	16
18	Johnny Rembert	1983	#101	16
19	Avery Williamson	2014	#151	15.5
20	Brian Cushing	2009	#15	13.5

All ILB Draft Picks

Year	Rd	Pick	Team	Player	Pos	College
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Dylan Moses	ILB	Alabama
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Justin Hilliard	ILB	Ohio State
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Paddy Fisher	ILB	Northwestern
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Tuf Borland	ILB	Ohio State
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Anthony Hines III	ILB	Texas A&M
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Amen Ogbongbemiga	ILB	Oklahoma State
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Erroll Thompson	ILB	Mississippi State
2021	—	—	Undrafted	Justin Hughes	ILB	Kansas State
2020	1	23	LAC	Kenneth Murray	ILB	Oklahoma
2020	—	—	Undrafted	Jordan Mack	ILB	Virginia
2020	—	—	Undrafted	David Woodward	ILB	Utah State
2020	—	—	Undrafted	Joe Bachie	ILB	Michigan State
2020	—	—	Undrafted	Michael Pinckney	ILB	Miami
2020	—	—	Undrafted	Dante Olson	ILB	Montana
2020	—	—	Undrafted	Francis Bernard	ILB	Utah
2019	3	89	IND	Bobby Okereke	ILB	Stanford
2019	5	143	NYG	Ryan Connelly	ILB	Wisconsin
2019	5	162	MIN	Cameron Smith	ILB	USC
2019	6	207	PIT	Ulysees Gilbert III	ILB	Akron
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Te'Von Coney	ILB	Notre Dame
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Terrill Hanks	ILB	New Mexico State
2019	—	—	Undrafted	T.J. Edwards	ILB	Wisconsin
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Josiah Tauaefa	ILB	UTSA
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Tre Lamar	ILB	Clemson
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Otaro Alaka	ILB	Texas A&M
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Jeff Allison	ILB	Fresno State
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Joe Dineen Jr.	ILB	Kansas
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Khalil Hodge	ILB	Buffalo
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Kendall Joseph	ILB	Clemson
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Bryson Allen-Williams	ILB	South Carolina
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Azeez Al-Shaair	ILB	Florida Atlantic
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Natrez Patrick	ILB	Georgia
2019	—	—	Undrafted	Nate Hall	ILB	Northwestern
2019	—	—	Undrafted	E.J. Ejiya	ILB	North Texas
2018	1	8	CHI	Roquan Smith	ILB	Georgia
2018	1	22	TEN	Rashaan Evans	ILB	Alabama
2018	3	88	GB	Oren Burks	ILB	Vanderbilt
2018	4	106	DEN	Josey Jewell	ILB	Iowa
2018	4	122	BAL	Kenny Young	ILB	UCLA
2018	7	225	MIN	Devante Downs	ILB	California
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Nick DeLuca	ILB	North Dakota State
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Mike McCray	ILB	Michigan
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Chris Worley	ILB	Ohio State
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Tre' Williams	ILB	Auburn
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Myles Pierce	ILB	The Citadel
2018	—	—	Undrafted	Jason Cabinda	ILB	Penn State
2017	2	57	HOU	Zach Cunningham	ILB	Vanderbilt
2017	5	155	TEN	Jayon Brown	ILB	UCLA
2017	5	161	IND	Anthony Walker Jr.	ILB	Northwestern
2017	6	195	BUF	Tanner Vallejo	ILB	Boise State
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Marcus Oliver	ILB	Indiana
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Keith Kelsey	ILB	Louisville
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Harvey Langi	ILB	BYU
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Connor Harris	ILB	Lindenwood
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Ben Boulware	ILB	Clemson
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Riley Bullough	ILB	Michigan State
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Brooks Ellis	ILB	Arkansas
2017	—	—	Undrafted	Kevin Davis	ILB	Colorado State
2016	1	20	NYJ	Darron Lee	ILB	Ohio State
2016	2	41	BUF	Reggie Ragland	ILB	Alabama
2016	4	113	CHI	Nick Kwiatkoski	ILB	West Virginia
2016	4	125	IND	Antonio Morrison	ILB	Florida
2016	4	131	GB	Blake Martinez	ILB	Stanford
2016	7	232	WAS	Steven Daniels	ILB	Boston College
2016	7	246	PIT	Tyler Matakevich	ILB	Temple
2016	7	250	CLE	Scooby Wright III	ILB	Arizona
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Jared Norris	ILB	Utah
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Steve Longa	ILB	Rutgers
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Terrance Smith	ILB	Florida State
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Beniquez Brown	ILB	Mississippi State
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Dominique Alexander	ILB	Oklahoma
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Will Ratelle	ILB	North Dakota
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Gionni Paul	ILB	Utah
2016	—	—	Undrafted	Raphael Kirby	ILB	Miami
2015	2	43	HOU	Benardrick McKinney	ILB	Mississippi State
2015	4	118	KC	Ramik Wilson	ILB	Georgia
2015	—	—	Undrafted	A.J. Tarpley	ILB	Stanford
2015	—	—	Undrafted	Trey Depriest	ILB	Alabama
2014	3	77	SF	Chris Borland	ILB	Wisconsin
2014	5	151	TEN	Avery Williamson	ILB	Kentucky
2014	7	242	DEN	Corey Nelson	ILB	Oklahoma
2014	7	253	ATL	Yawin Smallwood	ILB	Connecticut
2014	—	—	Undrafted	Shayne Skov	ILB	Stanford
2014	—	—	Undrafted	Max Bullough	ILB	Michigan State
2014	—	—	Undrafted	Brock Coyle	ILB	Montana
2013	1	30	LA	Alec Ogletree	ILB	Georgia
2013	2	45	ARI	Kevin Minter	ILB	LSU
2013	2	50	CHI	Jon Bostic	ILB	Florida
2013	2	50	CHI	Jonathan Bostic	ILB	Florida
2013	—	—	Undrafted	Kevin Reddick	ILB	North Carolina
2013	—	—	Undrafted	John Lotulelei	ILB	—
2012	1	7	TB	Mark Barron	ILB	Alabama
2012	1	9	CAR	Luke Kuechly	ILB	Boston College
2012	5	147	BUF	Tank Carder	ILB	TCU
2012	6	188	DEN	Danny Trevathan	ILB	Kentucky
2012	—	—	Undrafted	Shawn Loiseau	ILB	Merrimack
2012	—	—	Undrafted	Vontaze Burfict	ILB	Arizona State
2011	3	67	DEN	Nate Irving	ILB	N.C. State
2011	3	84	TB	Mason Foster	ILB	Washington
2011	—	—	Undrafted	Nicholas Bellore	ILB	Central Michigan
2011	—	—	Undrafted	Orie Lemon	ILB	Oklahoma State
2011	—	—	Undrafted	Derrell Smith	ILB	Syracuse
2011	—	—	Undrafted	Alex Wujciak	ILB	Maryland
2011	—	—	Undrafted	Jeff Tarpinian	ILB	—
2010	2	47	ARI	Daryl Washington	ILB	TCU
2010	2	63	IND	Pat Angerer	ILB	Iowa
2010	2	63	IND	Patrick Angerer	ILB	Iowa
2010	4	102	HOU	Darryl Sharpton	ILB	Miami
2010	5	167	MIN	Nathan Triplett	ILB	Minnesota
2009	1	15	HOU	Brian Cushing	ILB	USC
2009	2	35	LA	James Laurinaitis	ILB	Ohio State
2009	2	46	HOU	Connor Barwin	ILB	Cincinnati
2009	—	—	Undrafted	Darry Beckwith	ILB	LSU
2009	—	—	Undrafted	Dannell Ellerbe	ILB	Georgia
2009	—	—	Undrafted	Worrell Williams	ILB	—
2009	—	—	Undrafted	Josh Mauga	ILB	Nevada
2008	3	74	CAR	Dan Connor	ILB	Penn State
2007	1	11	SF	Patrick Willis	ILB	Mississippi
2007	6	179	WAS	H.B. Blades	ILB	Pittsburgh
2007	7	240	LAC	Brandon Siler	ILB	Florida
2007	—	—	Undrafted	Nate Harris	ILB	Louisville
2007	—	—	Undrafted	Jon Abbate	ILB	Wake Forest
2007	—	—	Undrafted	Zach Latimer	ILB	Oklahoma
2006	2	33	HOU	DeMeco Ryans	ILB	Alabama
2006	2	34	CLE	D'Qwell Jackson	ILB	Maryland
2006	6	178	BUF	Keith Ellison	ILB	Oregon State, El Camino, San Diego State
2005	2	36	TB	Barrett Ruud	ILB	Nebraska
2005	3	70	MIA	Channing Crowder	ILB	Florida
2005	4	125	GB	Brady Poppinga	ILB	BYU
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Mike Goolsby	ILB	Notre Dame
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Marcus Lawrence	ILB	South Carolina
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Liam Ezekiel	ILB	—
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Jonathan Pollard	ILB	—
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Martin Patterson	ILB	—
2005	—	—	Undrafted	Robert Rodriguez	ILB	UTEP
2004	2	33	ARI	Karlos Dansby	ILB	Auburn
2004	4	101	ATL	Demorrio Williams	ILB	Nebraska, Kilgore
2004	4	130	LA	Brandon Chillar	ILB	UCLA
2004	—	—	Undrafted	RYAN FOWLER	ILB	—
2004	—	—	Undrafted	BRYAN HICKMAN	ILB	Kansas State
2004	—	—	Undrafted	CARL DIGGS	ILB	—
2004	—	—	Undrafted	GRANT WILEY	ILB	West Virginia
2004	—	—	Undrafted	ROD ROYAL	ILB	McNeese State
2004	—	—	Undrafted	JONATHAN HARRELL	ILB	Northern Iowa
2004	—	—	Undrafted	MAURICE JONES	ILB	—
2004	—	—	Undrafted	RICH SCANLON	ILB	Syracuse
2004	—	—	Undrafted	REED BOYD	ILB	Texas
2003	4	103	DAL	Bradie James	ILB	LSU
2002	3	89	JAX	Akin Ayodele	ILB	Purdue, Coffeyville CC
2002	5	141	CLE	Andra Davis	ILB	Florida
2000	3	86	SF	Jeff Ulbrich	ILB	Hawaii, San Jose State, Gavilan College
1999	3	85	DAL	Dat Nguyen	ILB	Texas A&M
1999	5	146	LV	Eric Barton	ILB	Maryland
1999	5	158	DEN	David Bowens	ILB	Western Illinois, Michigan
1998	1	13	CIN	Takeo Spikes	ILB	Auburn
1997	1	8	NYJ	James Farrior	ILB	Virginia
1996	1	26	BAL	Ray Lewis	ILB	Miami
1996	3	86	NE	Tedy Bruschi	ILB	Arizona
1996	5	154	MIA	Zach Thomas	ILB	Texas Tech
1995	2	57	NE	Ted Johnson	ILB	Colorado
1995	3	96	BUF	Damien Covington	ILB	N.C. State
1995	5	144	BUF	John Holecek	ILB	Illinois
1993	1	15	GB	Wayne Simmons	ILB	Clemson
1990	9	225	ARI	David Bavaro	ILB	Syracuse
1988	2	43	NE	Vincent Brown	ILB	Mississippi Valley State University
1988	3	57	CIN	Kevin Walker	ILB	Maryland
1987	1	1	SEA	Brian Bosworth	ILB	Oklahoma
1987	2	41	GB	Johnny Holland	ILB	Texas A&M
1987	10	279	NYG	Chuck Faucette	ILB	Maryland
1986	8	217	DEN	Bruce Klosterman	ILB	South Dakota State, Iowa, Waldorf College
1986	11	285	KC	Aaron Pearson	ILB	Mississippi State, Itawamba JC
1985	2	43	CIN	Carl Zander	ILB	Tennessee
1985	3	64	TB	Ervin Randle	ILB	Baylor
1985	5	120	NYJ	Troy Benson	ILB	Pittsburgh
1984	1	14	MIA	Jackie Shipp	ILB	Oklahoma
1984	3	76	SEA	Fredd Young	ILB	New Mexico State
1984	4	105	NYG	Gary Reasons	ILB	Northwestern State (LA)
1984	6	152	DAL	Eugene Lockhart	ILB	Houston
1984	7	177	CIN	Leo Barker	ILB	New Mexico State
1983	4	101	NE	Johnny Rembert	ILB	Clemson, Cowley County Community Coll
1981	2	43	LA	Jim Collins	ILB	Syracuse
1981	4	91	DAL	Scott Pelluer	ILB	Washington State
1981	7	183	PIT	David Little	ILB	Florida
1980	4	94	KC	Dave Klug	ILB	Concordia College
1980	7	171	LA	Ben Apuna	ILB	Arizona State, Mesa CC
1980	7	181	NYG	Chris Linnin	ILB	Washington
1979	2	37	DET	Ken Fantetti	ILB	Wyoming
1979	2	45	SEA	Joe Norman	ILB	Indiana
1979	4	85	KC	Frank Manumaleuga	ILB	San Jose State, UCLA, De Anza College
1979	5	135	NE	John Zamberlin	ILB	Pacific Lutheran University
1979	6	148	DEN	Jeff McIntyre	ILB	Arizona State, Los Angeles Southwest College
1979	10	266	ATL	Bruce Beekley	ILB	Oregon
1978	2	34	GB	Mike Hunt	ILB	Minnesota
1978	5	129	NE	Bill Matthews	ILB	South Dakota State
1978	11	282	BUF	Jerry Blanton	ILB	Kentucky
1977	1	13	MIA	A.J. Duhe	ILB	LSU
1977	3	78	LA	Kurt Allerman	ILB	Penn State
1976	4	105	NYG	Harry Carson	ILB	South Carolina State
1976	5	128	LA	Carl Ekern	ILB	San Jose State
1976	6	162	NYG	Dan Lloyd	ILB	Washington
1976	6	168	SF	Robert Pennywell	ILB	Grambling State
1976	9	256	HOU	Art Stringer	ILB	Ball State
1975	1	14	CIN	Glenn Cameron	ILB	Florida
1975	2	29	ATL	Ralph Ortega	ILB	Florida
1975	2	42	BUF	Bob Nelson	ILB	Nebraska
1975	12	290	CLE	Dick Ambrose	ILB	Virginia
1974	1	8	DET	Ed O'Neil	ILB	Penn State
1974	1	14	DEN	Randy Gradishar	ILB	Ohio State
1974	2	46	PIT	Jack Lambert	ILB	Kent State
1974	3	58	NYJ	Godwin Turk	ILB	Southern, California
1974	4	89	PHI	Frank LeMaster	ILB	Kentucky