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.

An exceptionally popular player in Cleveland (local McDonald’s franchises even had a sandwich named after him for a time), Michael Dean Perry was a defensive beast who, with the Browns, led a strong defense.  MDP would go to five Pro Bowls as a Brown (his sixth coming with Denver), and he was a First Team All-Pro and Second Team All-Pro twice.  He was also named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1989.  Not too bad for someone considered a little undersized, but nobody doubted his quickness off the snap.