John Harold "Jack" Lambert (born July 8, 1952) is a former NFL linebacker in American football. He was a member of four winning Super Bowl teams in his 11 year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and is recognized among fans of the team as one of the best players in team history.

Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL). He is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of football, and has been ranked as the top defensive player in league history by former players, coaches, media members, and news outlets such as the NFL Network, and Sporting News.

Ray Anthony Lewis (born May 15, 1975) is an American football linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Since being drafted by the Ravens in 1996, he has been selected to twelve Pro Bowls and been named an Associated Press All-Pro ten times. He won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003; he was the sixth player to win the award multiple times. He was also the second linebacker to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award and the first linebacker to win the award on the winning Super Bowl team. Widely considered to be among the best linebackers of all time, Lewis was ranked as the 18th best player in league history by the NFL Network in 2010. He played college football at the University of Miami.

Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus (born December 9, 1942) is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time. Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. He became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. He played nine seasons in the NFL for the Chicago Bears. Billed at 6 ft 3 in, 245 lbs., he was one of the most feared and intimidating linebackers of his time.

Michael "Mike" Singletary (born October 9, 1958) is an American football coach and former professional football player. He is currently the linebacker coach and assistant head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.

After playing college football for the Baylor Bears, Singletary was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 2nd round of the 1981 NFL Draft and was known as "The Heart of the Defense" for the Chicago Bears' Monsters of the Midway in the mid-1980s. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary later pursued a career as a coach, first as a linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens, then as the linebackers coach for the San Francisco 49ers. He was the team's interim head coach in 2008, and coached the 49ers until he was fired in 2010.

Derrick Vincent Thomas (January 1, 1967 – February 8, 2000), nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker and defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire 11-year career for the Chiefs after being drafted fourth overall in the 1989 NFL Draft. Thomas, part of the class of 2009 entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was a premier football player throughout the 1990s and is considered one of the best pass rushers of all-time. In 1990 against the Seattle Seahawks, he set an NFL record with seven sacks in a single game. On February 8, 2000, Thomas died from a massive blood clot that developed in his paralyzed lower extremities and traveled to his lungs. His paralysis was the result of severe injuries sustained in a car accident weeks earlier.

Ham was the Pittsburgh Steelers second-round draft pick (34th overall) in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Penn State, where he was an All-American. He won the starting left linebacker job as a rookie. He was First-team All-Pro six years and was named to eight straight Pro Bowls. He was named the greatest outside linebacker of all time by a consortium of professional sports writers, beating Lawrence Taylor for this honor. Jack Ham was blessed with tremendous quickness, according to Steelers coach Chuck Noll and teammate Andy Russell he was the "fastest Steeler for the first ten yards, including wide receivers and running backs", this was on a team which included John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and Frank Lewis.

Drafted in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft (53rd overall) from the University of Pittsburgh, Jackson was a member of the first Bum Phillips draft in New Orleans. He played in all 16 games his rookie season and was named to the NFL All-rookie team. In 1983 he was First-team All-NFC, the first of seven seasons in which he'd receive post-season honors in the NFL, including being six-time Pro Bowl selection (1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1992, 1993). Jackson was a four-time First-team All-Pro and a two-time Second-team All-Pro selection. In 1994, Jackson joined the 49ers, where he won his first and only Super Bowl.

Jackson recorded 10 or more sacks in six different seasons and led the NFL in fumble recoveries in 1990 and 1991. He finished his career with 136 (8 unofficial in 1981) sacks and 8 interceptions, which he returned for 68 yards. He also recovered 29 fumbles. At the time of his retirement, his 28 defensive fumble recoveries were the second most in NFL history behind Jim Marshall's 29. He still leads the Saints in career sacks with the team with 123.

In his entire 13 seasons as a Saint, Jackson missed only 2 games, and those 2 games were a result of an automobile accident he suffered in 1989. He played the remainder of the 1989 season with his jaw wired and wearing a special helmet, still managing to accumulate 7-1/2 sacks on the year.

He was a member of the Saints' famed "Dome Patrol", a four-man linebacking corps which the NFL Network ranked as the best in NFL history. In his first year as a finalist in 2010, Jackson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jacksons' bust, sculpted by Scott Myers, was unveiled at the Enshrinement Ceremony on August 7, 2010. He is the first member of the Hall of Fame to be inducted primarily for his contributions as a Saint.

Tiaina Baul Seau Jr. better known as Junior Seau, is a retired American football linebacker. He was drafted fifth overall by the San Diego Chargers during the 1990 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Southern California and was the progenitor of the "NFL-USC linebacker".

A ten-time All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowl selection, Seau was a member of the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. He has also been a member of the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

Derrick Dewan Brooks is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buccaneers 28th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.

An eleven-time Pro Bowl selection and nine-time All-Pro, Brooks was named AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII.