Derrick Brooks

The Buccaneers traded both of their second-round picks (46th overall and 63rd overall) to the Dallas Cowboys for their first-round pick (28th overall) and used the pick to draft Brooks.

Derrick Dewan Brooks (born April 18, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire 14-year career in the National Football League (NFL) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brooks played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning consensus All-American honors twice.

In his senior season in 1991, Brooks carried Pensacola to the state playoff semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champion Manatee Hurricanes of Bradenton, Florida.

While attending Florida State University, he played for the Seminoles from 1991 to 1994.

He was a four-year letterman, a consensus first-team All-American his junior and senior years, and a three-time first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection.

After playing as safety as a freshman he switched to linebacker as a sophomore.

He was a member of the 1993 Seminoles National Championship team.

He finished his career with 274 tackles, five interceptions, 8.5 sacks, 13 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.

He was selected by the Buccaneers in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Brooks in the first round (28th overall) of the 1995 NFL draft.

Brooks was the second linebacker drafted in 1995 NFL Draft, behind Washington State's Mark Fields (13th overall).

Brooks played 14 years for the Buccaneers and is widely considered one of the best players in franchise history and one of the best linebackers in NFL history.

From 1995 to 2008, Brooks started 221 of 224 games, recording 1,698 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 25 interceptions, and six touchdowns (tied for the most in NFL history by a linebacker with Bobby Bell).

As a rookie in 1995, Brooks started 13 of 16 games.

He finished the season with 78 tackles with a sack and earned first-team all-rookie honors from Pro Football Weekly and Pro Football Writers Association.

During his second season 1996, he started all 16 games and finished with a team-leading 132 tackles and his first career interception.

He was selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times, including 10 straight from 1997 to 2006, was an All-Pro nine times, was the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002, and led the team to the franchise's first Super Bowl win in Super Bowl XXXVII.

In 1997, Brooks earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl after recording 144 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two interceptions in 16 games.

In 1998, Brooks had another Pro Bowl season after recording 156 tackles and an interception.

In 1999, Brooks made the Pro Bowl for the third time and was a first-team All-Pro selection for the first time in his career.

For the season, he had 153 tackles, two sacks, and four interceptions.

In 2000, Brooks earned his fourth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl and his second consecutive first-team All-Pro selection.

He finished the season with 140 tackles, a sack, and had his first career touchdown on a 34-yard interception from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Brooks was also, along with Jim Flanigan of the Chicago Bears, the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, given to a National Football League player for his community service activities as well as his excellence on the field.

Brooks made his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl in 2001 after recording 112 tackles and three interceptions.

An 11-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-Pro, Brooks was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 en route to winning the franchise's first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Brooks' best season came in 2002.

During that year he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and helped the Buccaneers win the franchise's first Super Bowl.

He also made his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro selection for the third time.

For the season he had 117 tackles, a sack, five interceptions, and returned an NFL record, for a linebacker, four touchdowns (one off a fumble and three off interceptions).

During the Buccaneers 48–21 victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, he returned an interception off of Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon 44 yards for the clinching touchdown.

In 2003, Brooks broke Lee Roy Selmon's team record for most consecutive Pro Bowl appearances with seven.

He finished the season with 101 tackles, a sack, two interceptions, and returned an interception for a touchdown.

In 2004, Brooks made his eighth consecutive Pro Bowl and fifth- first-team All-Pro selection after recording 137 tackles, three sacks, and an interception.

In 2007, he was named to the Florida High School Athletic Association All-Century Team, which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Florida's history.

In November 2010, Florida State retired Seminoles jersey number 10 in honor of Brooks.

Following his retirement, Brooks served as co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2011 to 2017.

He was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Brooks attended Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida.