Dave Butz was a good player for a long time.  That’s a simple way to put it, but it is true.  

He spent the first two seasons of his career (1973-74) with the St. Louis Cardinals, then was traded to the Washington Redskins, where he played solidly for years.  Something clicked in 1982, and he began to establish himself as a premier Defensive Tackle in the National Football League and was a huge part of Washington's Super Bowl XVII Championship squad.  In 1983, he accumulated 11.5 Sacks while winning First Team Pro Bowl honors, his first (and only) Pro Bowl Selection, and winning the coveted AP Defensive Player of the Year.  Butz was a Second Team All-Pro the year after and played until 1988, winning a second Super Bowl Ring in the process.

While his run at the top may seem short, he was still good enough to be named to the 1980s All-Decade Second Team.

A 2^nd Round Pick from Clemson, Levon Kirkland became a starter in his second season in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1993).  Kirkland worked as an Inside Linebacker and had seven seasons (six with Pittsburgh and one with Seattle), during which he had over 100 Combined Tackles.  He later made the Pro Bowl in both 1996 and 1997, earned a First Team All-Pro selection in the latter year, and was named NFL Alumni Linebacker of the Year.  He would also be named to the 1990s All-Decade Second Team.

Before the Washington Redskins had the famed “Hogs” Offensive Line of the 80s and 90s, they had a Georgian named Len Hauss, who was their starting Center from 1964 until he retired in 1977.

Hauss won that job during his rookie season, and it was a role that he was meant to have.  He seemingly improved annually, earned five Pro Bowl selections, and was a key factor in Washington's first Super Bowl appearance in 1972.  Hauss would also be named to two Second Team All-Pros.

Rich Saul did not accomplish that much in the first half of his career, where he bounced around the Rams O-Line for the first five years, but there was definite value in the former Michigan State Spartan.  Saul became the starting Center in 1975, and from 1976 to 1981, he made the Pro Bowl and was clearly among the upper echelon of Centers for the last half of the 70s.  The Rams went to Super Bowl XIV, and he was part of the reason they succeeded during that time frame.