The Houston Texans selected DeMeco Ryans with the first pick in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft and watched the Alabama kid win the defensive rookie of the year that season. He became the leader of the Texans defense and during his six seasons in Houston, Ryans racked up 636 tackles from the middle linebacker position.
Ryans wound up losing his job to first round linebacker Brian Cushing, and was subsequently traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. He has been a defensive leader now for the Eagles for the past four seasons, but unfortunately for the two-time Pro Bowler, that ride has come to an end as the Eagles have released the 31-year old linebacker.