Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-time Mount Rushmore

20 Aug 2000: Derrick Brooks #55 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers calls out instructions during the game against the New England Patriots at the Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Buccaneers defeated the Patriots 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart/Allsport /

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TAMPA, FL – NOVEMBER 16: Derrick Brooks #55 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates a play against the Minnesota Vikings at Raymond James Stadium on November 16, 2008 in Tampa, Florida. The Bucs defeated the Vikings 19-13. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) /

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Mount Rushmore: LB Derrick Brooks

His play-making ability from the outside linebacker position was as good as has ever been seen in the NFL. The same year that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made University of Miami defensive tackle Warren Sapp the 12th-overall pick, the franchise selected Florida State University defender Derrick Brooks with the 28th-overall selection in 1995.

Thought to be undersized by some, the 6-foot, 232-pound performer never missed a game in 14 seasons with the franchise. That’s 224 regular-season contests and 11 postseason tilts. In 12 of those campaigns, he amassed at least 100 tackles. There were just 13.5 sacks but more significantly, Brooks picked off 25 passes during the regular season and returned six for scores. An 11-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro, the former Seminole was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002.

Of course, that was also the season in which the Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII at San Diego. Jon Gruden’s team picked off Rich Gannon five times and Brooks took back one of those thefts 44 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter in the franchise’s finest moment. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 200s, he was an easy first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame selection in 2014.

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