Why they rank here
For seventeen seasons Ray Lewis was the emotional and tactical heart of the Baltimore Ravens defense, a middle linebacker who married ferocious hitting with brilliant diagnosis of plays. He won two Defensive Player of the Year awards and anchored one of the greatest defenses ever, the 2000 Ravens, whom he led to a Super Bowl XXXV title while earning game MVP honors. He captured a second ring in his final season in Super Bowl XLVII. Lewis intercepted 31 passes and amassed well over 2,000 tackles, an exceptional figure that reflects both his longevity and his sideline-to-sideline range. As a field general who set the defense and inspired teammates, he redefined what a middle linebacker could mean to a franchise.
Career profile
Each bar shows how this athlete compares with the strongest in our all-time list for that metric.