Bear Goggles On
Fansided

Chicago Bears: 30 greatest players in franchise history

By Conor Dorney

Walter Payton #34, Running Back for the Chicago Bears during his final game in the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 27 December 1987 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Bears won the game 6 - 3. Visions of Sport. (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)
Walter Payton #34, Running Back for the Chicago Bears during his final game in the American Football Conference West game against the Los Angeles Raiders on 27 December 1987 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Bears won the game 6 - 3. Visions of Sport. (Photo by Mike Powell/Allsport/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
14 of 30
Next
Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

17. player. 57. . LB. 2003-14. Lance Briggs

While the Bears whiffed on a majority of their selections from the 2003 NFL Draft, the struck gold in the second and third rounds with Charles Tillman and the No. 17 player on our list, linebacker Lance Briggs.

Hailing from the University of Arizona, Chicago brought in Briggs in the hopes of creating a destructive second level of the defense alongside Brian Urlacher. Urlacher had already established himself as one of the best young defensive players in the league, and Briggs soon helped the team bring another vaunted linebacking corps to fruition.

Following his rookie season, Briggs put up six consecutive seasons of 100 or more total tackles and was named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 2005-2011.

Had Briggs not played the bulk of his NFL career alongside an all-time great like Brian Urlacher (who we’ll get to later in this list), perhaps his accomplishments would be viewed in an even greater light? The linebacking duo of Urlacher and Briggs will certainly go down as one of the best in franchise, and perhaps league history, which is quite the accomplishment.

Briggs hung up his spikes after the 2014 season after spending the entirety of his 12-year career with the team. Where might be the next stop for one of the franchise’s all-time great linebackers? It could very well be Canton, Ohio.

Home/Bears All-Time Lists