Michigan Football's All-Time All-NFL Team: Defense & Special Teams

Last week, we released our All-NFL team for offensive players who formerly donned the Maize and Blue. Here, we break down our team of defensive and special teams players. Making this list has everything to do with what these players achieved in the NFL and not what they did in college.

While some former players such as Charles Woodson and Ty Law have landed on the list, so have current players like Brandon Graham. Take a look below at the best Michigan players to play defense and special teams in the NFL.

RELATED: Michigan's All-Time All-NFL Team: Offense

RELATED: Charles Woodson On Hall Of Fame Selection: 'I'm Going To Live Forever'

Alan Branch played from 2007-17 with four different organizations, but is most known for winning two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots (49 and 51). He racked up 284 tackles and 10.5 sacks during his career as an interior defensive lineman.

Frank Clark has only been in the league since 2015, but his accomplishments early in his career have him already on this list. Clark has accumulated 202 tackles, 55 tackles for loss and 49 sacks in his six seasons so far. Clark was clutch during the 2020 playoffs for the Kansas City Chiefs, notching game-sealing sacks in both the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans and Super Bowl 54 against the San Francisco 49ers. He played in Super Bowl 55 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coming up just short of winning two straight titles.

Len Ford, who played in the league from 1948-58, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976. He won three NFL championships in 1950, 1954 and 1955 with the Cleveland Browns, was selected to four Pro Bowls and was a four-time first-team All-Pro. At 6-5, 245, Ford was known for his combination of size, speed and quickness, and he had a knack for the ball, finishing his career with 20 fumble recoveries, which was an NFL record at the time.

Brandon Graham has only made one Pro Bowl in his career, this season, but he has been a steady force on the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line his entire career (2010-present). A second-team All-Pro selection in 2016, Graham has totaled 414 tackles and 59 sacks as a professional. The highlight of his NFL career came in Super Bowl 52, when Graham strip sacked fellow former Wolverine Tom Brady with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter and the Patriots down one possession. The play served as the final nail in the coffin for Brady's squad, and the Eagles finished with a Lombardi Trophy behind the 41-33 victory.

Alternates

After being a three-year starter for the Wolverines, James Hall was overlooked coming out of Michigan, and went undrafted in the 2000 NFL Draft, signing with the Detroit Lions. He went on to post very solid numbers in his career that lasted through 2011, putting up 514 tackles and 63 sacks.

Now the linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Larry Foote had an illustrious playing career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals from 2002-14. A fourth-round draft pick, Foote won two Super Bowls with the Steelers (40 and 43), and totaled 84 tackles and 25 sacks during his career. His best seasons came in 2005 and 2006, when he racked up 102 tackles and 90 tackles, respectively.

A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., David Harris spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with the New York Jets, after being selected by the club in the second round of the 2007 draft. He finished off his time in the league playing one season for the New England Patriots in 2017. Harris was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2009, and accumulated 1,110 tackles (ranks 50th all-time), 37 sacks and 11 forced fumbles over the course of his career.

Lamarr Woodley has a history with two of his fellow honorees. He graduated from Michigan with Harris and went on to be chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers one pick ahead of him in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He won Super Bowl 43 with the aforementioned Foote. A second-team All-Pro honoree in 2009 and a Pro Bowl pick that same year, Woodley racked up 314 career tackles, 58 sacks and five interceptions.

Alternates

A third-round pick in 1967, Frank Nunley played 10 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, helping the organization to conference championship game appearances in 1970 and 1971.

Dhani Jones totaled 889 tackles and 9.5 sacks while playing for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals from 2000-10.

Ian Gold made the Pro Bowl in 2001 and racked up 491 career tackles and 17 sacks from 2000-07.

Cato June helped the Indianapolis Colts to victory in Super Bowl 41, and made one Pro Bowl. He notched 499 career tackles.

A first-round pick by the New England Patriots in 1995, Ty Law is a three-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time first-team All-Pro pick. He led the league in interceptions on two different occasions, seven seasons apart — in 1998 and 2005 — showing both his high-level talent and his longevity. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2019 class.

The 1997 Heisman Trophy winner, Charles Woodson was honored on the field at Super Bowl 55 for being selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2021 class. Woodson won Super Bowl 45 with the Green Bay Packers, and was selected to nine Pro Bowls. He has made four first-team All-Pro teams and has four second-team nods. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1998 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. A key piece for the Oakland Raiders and Packers throughout his career, Woodson registered 1,105 tackles, 20 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, 65 interceptions and 16 defensive touchdowns.

Alternates

Dave Brown won Super Bowl 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was selected to one Pro Bowl and twice made second-team All-Pro during his career that lasted from 1975-89. He picked off 62 balls during the course of his playing days.

A first-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007, Leon Hall made second-team All-Pro in 2009. He posted 542 tackles, 117 pass breakups and 27 interceptions in his career, before retiring following the 2018 campaign.

Thom Darden was a three-time All-Pro honoree and led the NFL in interceptions during the 1978 season. To this day, Darden's 45 career interceptions are the most of any Cleveland Brown in history.

Rick Volk won Super Bowl 5 with the Baltimore Colts, and was a three-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro selection. He started 136 games over 12 seasons and notched 38 career interceptions.

Alternates

A two-time Super Bowl Champion with the San Francisco 49ers, Dwight Hicks made four Pro Bowls and was tabbed as All-Pro one time in 1981, a season in which he notched nine interceptions. He totaled 32 picks throughout his career.

Randy Logan played 11 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles, and helped lead them to an NFC Championship Game victory in 1984. He appeared in a whopping 159 consecutive games, and totaled 23 interceptions during his career.

Now a sideline reporter for CBS, Jay Feely had a career field goal percentage of 82.6 percent and made 332 kicks. He was the NFL's made field goals leader in 2002 and made the 2005 Pro Bowl.

Don Bracken gets the slight nod over Zoltan Mesko, due to longevity. Bracken played nine seasons and punted 461 times for an average of 39.9 yards per attempt. Mesko, on the other hand, set the rookie record for net punting yard average in 2010 but only booted it away 209 times in his career.

While Desmond Howard didn't make the Michigan All-NFL Offensive Team, he is honored here as a returner. He was the MVP of Super Bowl 31 with the Green Bay Packers for returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to essentially seal the win over the New England Patriots. He was first-team All-Pro in 1996 and made the 2000 Pro Bowl.

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