NFL All-Time Defense Rank No. 3: Ray Lewis

Ranking the top 10 defensive players in NFL history…

3. Ray Lewis

Drafted 26th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 1996 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami, Lewis quickly established himself as a dominant middle linebacker. He ended up leading the team in tackles 14 times and becoming the emotional leader of their defense.

Over his entire 17-season career with the Ravens, Lewis anchored a unit that set records in 2000 for fewest points (165) and rushing yards (970) allowed in a 16-game season, earning him NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl XXXV MVP in a 34-7 win over the New York Giants.

He won another Defensive Player of the Year in 2003 with 161 tackles and six interceptions.

Lewis returned from a triceps injury in 2012 to help secure Super Bowl XLVII, a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, retiring afterward.

Lewis’s career totals include an NFL-record 2,059 tackles (1,568 solo), 41.5 sacks, 31 interceptions, 19 forced fumbles and three touchdowns across 228 games. He ranks among all-time leaders in tackles and was a 13-time Pro Bowler with 10 All-Pro selections.

Lewis’s standout attributes were his speed, tackling prowess and leadership, combining sideline-to-sideline range with elite coverage skills despite early size concerns.

Lewis’s playing style was intense and versatile: a run-stuffer who excelled in pass defense, motivated teammates with fiery speeches and disrupted plays with relentless energy.

Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, with a statue outside M&T Bank Stadium and North Avenue renamed “Ray Lewis Way,” his legacy as the greatest middle linebacker and the face of the Ravens franchise remains unmatched.

But who ranks ahead of Lewis at No. 2 all-time?