Baltimore Ravens: Top 10 outside linebackers in franchise history

PBN Nest Talk By Chris Schisler

Video: The Top 10 Outside Linebackers in Baltimore Ravens history

The Baltimore Ravens have had some amazing outside linebackers so this list wasn’t hard to make at all. The top five of this list are about as good as any franchise probably has and the Ravens have only been around since 1996. That’s part of why the Ravens are so known for their dominant defense.

Instead of lumping all the outside linebackers and inside linebackers together, I split the second level of the defense into two separate Nest Talk videos. As with any top 10 list, I felt like honorable mentions were needed here. Let’s talk about some players who almost made the cut, but ultimately weren’t in the top 10.

Pernell McPhee has a strong case to be included. McPhee is in his second run with the Baltimore Ravens. During his first time in Baltimore, he was an exciting young player who could get after the quarterback. In the 2011 season when he was just a rookie, McPhee had six sacks. In his contract year with the Ravens, he had 7.5 sacks. McPhee went to the Chicago Bears in free agency and also played for Washington. Now he’s a veteran leader who offers a little pass rush and a lot of value in run defense.

Another current Ravens player that has a chance to become part of this list is Tyus Bowser. The story with Bowser isn’t written yet. He just signed a second contract with the purple and black. If he turns it on as a pass rusher he has a chance to break into the top 10.

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A more vintage option is Cornell Brown, an outside linebacker who was with the Ravens from 1997 to 2004 and never played for another NFL team. He started 14 games in 2002 and was a solid role player for the franchise.