Chicago Bears: Top 10 linebackers in franchise history

1. Dick Butkus (1965-73) — 22 interceptions, 25 fumble recoveries

Dick Butkus was one of the most feared human beings, let alone linebackers, of all time. When he went after you, you genuinely needed to fear for your life. He wanted to separate a player’s soul from his body. He played the game mad, to the point of manufacturing slights by opposing players.

Whenever you see film on Butkus, that was what you always saw — him terrorizing opposing players. He was much more than a total brute, however.

Butkus had speed, quickness, instinct, and strength. He could cover tight ends and running backs with ease. His ability to run sideline to sideline to catch ball carriers was revolutionary at the time. When he got to them he did an excellent job of ripping the ball out of their hands.

Butkus was an 8-time Pro Bowl player and a five-time All-Pro. He was not only a member of the 1960s All-Decade team, but also the All-1970s team. Also, he was named to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. Oh, and let’s not forget that he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons (1969-70).

To show how great Butkus was in forcing turnovers, he matched Urlacher’s interception total and had 14 more forced fumbles. Butkus played in only 119 games while Urlacher played in 182.

Next: Chicago Bears top 10 wide receivers of all time

From the first time Butkus put on a Chicago Bears uniform he had just one goal in mind — to be the best player ever. He became the Bears’ best linebacker and one of the best players in the history of the game.