Middle Linebacker (MLB) Draft History

100 MLBs 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 middle linebackers under "LB", so these figures cover all linebackers.

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

Top Middle Linebackers by Career Sacks

#▼	Player▼	Draft Year▼	Pick▼	Sacks▼
1	Karl Mecklenburg	1983	#310	79
2	Bobby Wagner	2012	#47	39.5
3	Marvcus Patton	1990	#208	27.5
4	Pepper Johnson	1986	#51	25.5
5	Larry Foote	2002	#128	25
6	Keith Brooking	1998	#12	22
7	Eric Kendricks	2015	#45	21.5
8	Al Wilson	1999	#31	21.5
9	Hardy Nickerson	1987	#122	21
10	Mike Singletary	1981	#38	19
11	Matt Millen	1980	#43	17
12	Jordan Hicks	2015	#84	16.5
13	Paul Posluszny	2007	#34	16
14	Greg Biekert	1993	#181	16
15	E.J. Henderson	2003	#40	15.5
16	Jeff Herrod	1988	#243	14.5
17	NaVorro Bowman	2010	#91	14
18	Kwon Alexander	2015	#124	13.5
19	Alex Anzalone	2017	#76	13
20	Jack Del Rio	1985	#68	13

All MLB Draft Picks

Year	Rd	Pick	Team	Player	Pos	College
2018	1	16	BUF	Tremaine Edmunds	MLB	Virginia Tech
2018	3	70	SF	Fred Warner	MLB	BYU
2017	1	21	DET	Jarrad Davis	MLB	Florida
2017	2	54	MIA	Raekwon McMillan	MLB	Ohio State
2017	3	75	ATL	Duke Riley	MLB	LSU
2017	3	76	NO	Alex Anzalone	MLB	Florida
2017	5	161	IND	Anthony Walker	MLB	Northwestern
2017	5	168	LV	Marquel Lee	MLB	Wake Forest
2016	2	34	DAL	Jaylon Smith	MLB	Notre Dame
2016	2	36	JAX	Myles Jack	MLB	UCLA
2016	4	99	CLE	Joe Schobert	MLB	Wisconsin
2016	4	109	NYG	B.J. Goodson	MLB	Clemson
2015	2	45	MIN	Eric Kendricks	MLB	UCLA
2015	2	48	LAC	Denzel Perryman	MLB	Miami
2015	3	84	PHI	Jordan Hicks	MLB	Texas
2015	4	124	TB	Kwon Alexander	MLB	LSU
2014	2	40	DET	Kyle Van Noy	MLB	BYU
2014	3	73	BUF	Preston Brown	MLB	Louisville
2014	4	119	DAL	Anthony Hitchens	MLB	Iowa
2014	7	233	NYJ	Trevor Reilly	MLB	Utah
2013	2	38	LAC	Manti Te'o	MLB	Notre Dame
2013	6	185	DAL	DeVonte Holloman	MLB	South Carolina
2012	2	47	SEA	Bobby Wagner	MLB	Utah State
2012	4	129	LV	Miles Burris	MLB	San Diego State
2012	7	210	MIN	Audie Cole	MLB	N.C. State
2011	4	109	TEN	Colin McCarthy	MLB	Miami
2011	7	242	SEA	Malcolm Smith	MLB	USC
2010	1	8	LV	Rolando McClain	MLB	Alabama
2010	3	91	SF	NaVorro Bowman	MLB	Penn State
2010	4	103	WAS	Perry Riley	MLB	LSU
2009	5	150	MIN	Jasper Brinkley	MLB	South Carolina, Georgia Military
2008	1	10	NE	Jerod Mayo	MLB	Tennessee
2008	2	37	ATL	Curtis Lofton	MLB	Oklahoma
2007	1	25	CAR	Jon Beason	MLB	Miami
2007	2	34	BUF	Paul Posluszny	MLB	Penn State
2007	5	164	CAR	Tim Shaw	MLB	Penn State
2006	3	76	NYJ	Anthony Schlegel	MLB	Ohio State, Air Force
2006	5	168	PHI	Omar Gaither	MLB	Tennessee
2005	2	45	SEA	Lofa Tatupu	MLB	USC, Maine
2005	3	95	ARI	Darryl Blackstock	MLB	Virginia
2005	6	194	JAX	Pat Thomas	MLB	N.C. State
2004	2	60	NO	Courtney Watson	MLB	Notre Dame
2004	3	80	CIN	Caleb Miller	MLB	Arkansas
2004	3	96	CIN	Landon Johnson	MLB	Purdue
2003	2	40	MIN	E.J. Henderson	MLB	Maryland
2003	5	166	GB	Hunter Hillenmeyer	MLB	Vanderbilt
2002	1	23	LV	Napoleon Harris	MLB	Northwestern
2002	4	128	PIT	Larry Foote	MLB	Michigan
2001	1	11	CAR	Dan Morgan	MLB	Miami
2001	4	110	BUF	Brandon Spoon	MLB	North Carolina
2000	1	9	CHI	Brian Urlacher	MLB	New Mexico
2000	3	90	TB	Nate Webster	MLB	Miami
2000	4	128	TEN	Peter Sirmon	MLB	Oregon
2000	6	177	NYG	Dhani Jones	MLB	Michigan
1999	1	31	DEN	Al Wilson	MLB	Tennessee
1998	1	12	ATL	Keith Brooking	MLB	Georgia Tech
1998	2	39	BUF	Sam Cowart	MLB	Florida State
1998	3	72	PHI	Jeremiah Trotter	MLB	Stephen F. Austin State
1998	3	84	TB	Jamie Duncan	MLB	Vanderbilt
1996	4	126	PIT	Earl Holmes	MLB	Florida A&M
1995	5	141	DET	Stephen Boyd	MLB	Boston College
1994	2	53	SF	Kevin Mitchell	MLB	Syracuse
1994	6	194	HOU	Barron Wortham	MLB	Texas-El Paso
1993	1	4	NYJ	Marvin Jones	MLB	Florida State
1993	3	71	WAS	Rick Hamilton	MLB	UCF
1993	7	181	LV	Greg Biekert	MLB	Colorado
1992	2	38	PIT	Levon Kirkland	MLB	Clemson
1992	4	97	MIA	Dwight Hollier	MLB	North Carolina
1992	7	180	NYG	Corey Widmer	MLB	Montana State
1992	10	253	IND	Steve Grant	MLB	West Virginia
1991	7	174	TB	Calvin Tiggle	MLB	Georgia Tech, Lees-McRae College
1990	8	208	BUF	Marvcus Patton	MLB	UCLA
1988	2	41	DAL	Ken Norton	MLB	UCLA
1988	2	51	CHI	Dante Jones	MLB	Oklahoma
1988	9	243	IND	Jeff Herrod	MLB	Mississippi
1987	1	8	BUF	Shane Conlan	MLB	Penn State
1987	2	45	SEA	David Wyman	MLB	Stanford
1987	4	93	PHI	Byron Evans	MLB	Arizona
1987	5	122	PIT	Hardy Nickerson	MLB	California
1987	8	203	DET	Dennis Gibson	MLB	Iowa State
1986	1	5	LA	Anthony Bell	MLB	Michigan State
1986	2	51	NYG	Pepper Johnson	MLB	Ohio State
1986	2	52	MIA	John Offerdahl	MLB	Western Michigan
1986	11	296	DAL	Garth Jax	MLB	Florida State
1985	3	68	NO	Jack Del Rio	MLB	USC
1983	5	117	SF	Riki Ellison	MLB	USC
1983	12	310	DEN	Karl Mecklenburg	MLB	Minnesota, Augustana (SD)
1981	2	38	CHI	Mike Singletary	MLB	Baylor
1980	2	43	LV	Matt Millen	MLB	Penn State
1979	5	125	NYJ	Stan Blinka	MLB	Sam Houston State
1979	7	174	CHI	Lee Kunz	MLB	Nebraska
1979	12	322	PIT	Ed Smith	MLB	Vanderbilt
1978	8	219	WAS	Don Hover	MLB	Washington State
1977	9	250	MIN	Scott Studwell	MLB	Illinois
1975	3	70	DAL	Bob Breunig	MLB	Arizona State
1975	5	115	BUF	John McCrumbly	MLB	Texas A&M, Tyler JC
1975	6	151	CHI	Tom Hicks	MLB	Illinois
1975	12	299	NYJ	Bert Cooper	MLB	Florida State
1974	4	97	DAL	Ken Hutcherson	MLB	West Alabama
1974	10	251	LA	Greg Hartle	MLB	Newberry