ProFootballTalk.com's Top 25 In 25

No. 20:  Junior Seau.

When thinking about the best linebackers over the past 25 years, it's easy to be seduced erroneously into thinking that a guy who had a huge season or two, who was successful only when a couple of 300-pounders were gobbling up offensive linemen, and/or who ended up on the cover of a video game merits a spot on the list.

We prefer to think more broadly, and to honor players whose performance puts them among the best to have ever played the game.

Junior Seau has never been a megastar, but he has authored one of the longest and most consistent runs of greatness at any position in the history of the league.  In seventeen NFL seasons and counting, Seau has been to the Pro Bowl a dozen times, and has been named to the AP All-Pro team seven times.

Seau was an institution with the Chargers, before being dumped by the team after the 2002 season.  He joined the Dolphins for three years, and only days after retiring landed in New England. 

In his 18th NFL season, which will be his second with the Patriots, Seau could very well hoist a Lombardi for the first time.  It would be the perfect way to cap one of the most impressive careers for any defensive player in league history.

Click here for No. 19.