Former NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt has named Bucs legend Derrick Brooks as the NFL’s best weakside linebacker of all time.

Wannstedt, who works for The33rdTeam.com website, came up with the list of the NFL’s all-time top defensive fronts. Brooks was the only Buccaneer to make the list.

After spending 14 seasons in Tampa Bay, Brooks is the most decorated Buccaneer in team history. Brooks made a franchise-record 11 Pro Bowls during his Bucs career and also was named a five-time first-team All-Pro (1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005) and a four-time second-team All-Pro (1997, 1998, 2001, 2003).

A former first-round draft pick in 1995 along with legendary defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Brooks helped turn around the woebegone Bucs, eventually leading the team to its first ever Super Bowl appearance and win – a 48-21 victory over Oakland in 2002. That was also the year that Brooks won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, and the former Florida State star also had a key pick-six in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Dave Wannstedt Heaps Praise On Derrick Brooks

Bucs legends Derrick Brooks & Lee Roy Selmon – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Here’s what Dave Wannstedt had to say about Derrick Brooks being his top weakside linebacker of all-time.

Derrick Brooks had 25 interceptions. That’s the first thing that jumps out. He is also third all-time in career tackles. So, this guy made plays. He is a complete player and an every down linebacker.

In the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tampa 2 defense, which is zone, a lot is asked of the linebackers. You have got to be instinctive enough, be able to recognize routes and line up against a slot receiver, a tight end and a running back.

When you look at the famous Tony Dungy Tampa 2 defense, the guy that really made it work and was one of the cornerstone pieces was Brooks.

Derrick Brooks joined Baltimore’s legend middle linebacker Ray Lewis and the late, great Junior Seau, who played 20 seasons in the NFL for San Diego (13 seasons), Miami (three) and New England (four) as Wannstedt’s all-time linebackers. All three linebackcers are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Wannstedt was the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 1993-98, and coached against Brooks, as the Bears and Bucs both played in the old NFC Central division back then. Wannstedt was also the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2000-04, and later served as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 2005-10. He also served as a defensive coordinator in both the NFL and college ranks.

His last coaching gig was in Tampa Bay in 2013 when he served as the Bucs special teams coordinator under Greg Schiano. You can view Wannstedt’s entire all-time front seven by clicking here to visit The33rdTeam.com.

Derrick Brooks Is The Most Decorated Buccaneer Of All-Time

In addition to Derrick Brooks’ Pro Bowl berths, All-Pro recognition and NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors, Brooks also made the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He’s still the Bucs’ all-time leading tackler (2,198), and his 25 career interceptions rank fifth in franchise history. Brooks’ 221 career starts rank second in team history behind Ronde Barber.

Brooks was also named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2000 and inducted into the Bucs Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014.