Auburn Football: Top 25 Best Former Auburn Tigers in NFL History
1. Kevin Greene, LB
No Auburn football player has been named NFL MVP, but United Press International named linebacker Kevin Greene the Defensive MVP/Player of the Year in 1996 when he was a linebacker for the Carolina Panthers.
That season, Greene led the NFL with 14.5 sacks – the second time he ranked as the league leader and one of ten seasons in which Greene produced double-digit sacks, third behind only Hall of Famers Reggie White and Bruce Smith.
The 1996 season was one of five 14-plus sack seasons for Greene, but only the third best sack total of his career. He had 16.5 in both 1988 and 1989.
Overall, Greene was credited with 160 career sacks in 15 NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers (with whom he appeared in his only Super Bowl), Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Not bad for a player that was a walk-on for the Tigers.
He’s a five time Pro Bowler (more than any other former Auburn Tiger), a member of Pro-Football Reference’s Hall of Fame All-1990s Team, and was the third best pass rusher of the last 30 years according to an in-depth study by Football Perspective.
Kevin Greene will eventually be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (he was a finalist in each of the past four years), but for now he’ll have to settle for being the greatest former Auburn football player in NFL history.
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