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They are brought in for different reasons -- to provide a pass rush, to shore up a suspect run defense, or because they are a good "scheme fit." They are linebackers, and while some -- like Brian Bosworth and LaVar Arrington -- have achieved glamour status, most come off the board mid-to-late first round.

Linebackers can rocket up predraft rankings by running fast at pro days and combine workouts, which often are not true indicators of those players' skills on the field. Below, we'll take a look at the stars, the busts, and everything in between.

Success criteria, first-round linebackers

Metric-wise, this is a tough one to gauge. There are many factors -- such as scheme -- that will determine a player's statistics from the linebacker position. Some guys are used more as pass rushers and some are used as run stoppers. That said, we've gone with the baseline of at least 80 games played, or at least one Pro Bowl appearance.

1989
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Chiefs	4	Derrick Thomas, Alabama	169	9	No
Bucs	6	Broderick Thomas, Nebraska	144	0	No
Cardinals	16	Eric Hill, LSU	160	0	No
49ers	28	Keith DeLong, Tennessee	64	0	Yes

Derrick Thomas was an all-time feared pass rusher. Known as "The Sandman," Broderick Thomas was one of a long line of "Next Lawrence Taylors" to not actually achieve such lofty status. Thomas, though, had some fine seasons in Tampa, and should have gone to the Pro Bowl in '91, when he notched 11 sacks. DeLong, drafted by the Niners to play a hybrid LB/DE position, never really panned out.

1990
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Chargers	5	Junior Seau, USC	241	11	No
Patriots	8	Chris Singleton, Arizona	91	0	No
Bengals	12	James Francis, Baylor	143	0	Yes
Chiefs	13	Percy Snow, Michigan State	40	0	Yes
Saints	14	Renaldo Turnbull, West Virginia	14	1	No
Packers	18	Tony Bennett, Mississippi	108	0	No

This was a linebacker-rich class and a class that, for the most part, panned out at the next level. Seau has been a all-time great, while Singleton, Francis, and Bennett were all solid. Snow was a washout, and Turnbull never made the expected impact as a pass rusher, though he had a long career.

1991
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Broncos	4	Mike Croel, Nebraska	101	0	No
Steelers	15	Huey Richardson, Florida	16	0	Yes
Bengals	18	Alfred Williams, Colorado	128	0	No

After a promising rookie year, in which he was named ROY by various publications, Croel tailed a bit, and had an undistinguished career. Richardson was a huge bust, appearing in only 16 career games, and Williams was adequate for the Bengals. Some solid 'backers including Bryan Cox, Corey Miller, and Mark Maddox came out of this draft's later rounds.

1992
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Colts	2	Quentin Coryatt, Texas A&M	82	0	No
Cowboys	24	Robert Jones, East Carolina	151	0	No

Coryatt was drafted on the basis of a Herculean physique, workout, and one hit that he made on a quick slant in which he nearly ended the life of an unfortunate college receiver. Coryatt was decent for the Colts, but never developed into the dominant force they thought they were getting. In fact, he barely snuck over the bust metric, appearing in 82 games.

1993
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Jets	4	Marvin Jones, Florida State	142	0	No
Packers	15	Wayne Simmons, Clemson	90	0	No
49ers	27	Todd Kelly, Tennessee	46	0	Yes

See a trend developing here? The 49ers take a LB/DE tweener from Tennessee, and it quickly becomes apparent that there isn't a place for him at the next level. Simmons was solid, Jones a stalwart for the Jets.

1994
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Patriots	4	Willie McGinest, USC	185	2	No
Colts	5	Trev Alberts, Nebraska	29	0	Yes
Cardinals	10	Jamir Miller, UCLA	121	1	No
Bears	11	John Thierry, Alcorn State	131	0	No
Raiders	22	Rob Frederickson, Michigan State	128	0	No

Again, a treasure trove of LBs quantity-wise, and a pretty good quality as well. McGinest sort of defined the 3-4 OLB/DE during his tenure in New England, while Miller and Frederickson were solid if not spectacular. Alberts, due in some part to a series of injuries, was the only obvious bust in this group.

1995
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Saints	13	Mark Fields, Washington State	137	1	No
Bucs	26	Derrick Brooks, Florida State	192	9	No
Browns	30	Craig Powell, Ohio State	14	0	Yes

This was a great year all-around for linebackers, with Fields and Brooks, a potential Hall of Fame candidate, both starring, and the very productive Johnson going in Round 2. John Holocek and Stephen Boyd -- two more very productive linebackers -- went in Round 5. Powell, however, appeared in only 14 games.

1996
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Jaguars	2	Kevin Hardy, Illinois	134	1	No
Broncos	15	John Mobley, Kutztown	105	1	No
Ravens	26	Ray Lewis, Miami	148	5	No

Hardy and Mobley were both very productive NFL linebackers, and the cream of this crop is, of course, your favorite player, God's own linebacker, Ray Lewis. We're starting to see a trend and that trend is that it is pretty safe to pick a linebacker in the first round.

1997
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Ravens	4	Peter Boulware, Florida State	127	3	No
Jets	8	James Farrior, Virginia	152	1	No
Vikings	20	Dwayne Rudd, Alabama	109	0	No

Another really solid year. Boulware, in spite of injuries, and Farrior have both enjoyed standout careers, and Rudd made the rounds as a solid starter. Jamie Sharper, Derek Smith, Dexter Coakley and Mike Vrabel all came out of this draft as well.

1998
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Falcons	12	Keith Brooking, Georgia Tech	129	4	No
Bengals	13	Takeo Spikes, Auburn	126	2	No
Seahawks	15	Anthony Simmons, Clemson	88	0	No
Bengals	17	Brian Simmons, North Carolina	121	0	No

Four picks -- four extremely solid NFL players. And how about the Bengals drafting two starting LBs in the same first round? A rare stroke of good drafting from a franchise better known for taking Akili Smith, David Klingler and Ki-Jana Carter.

1999
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Lions	9	Chris Claiborne, USC	99	0	No
Patriots	28	Andy Katzenmoyer, Ohio State	24	0	Yes
Broncos	31	Al Wilson, Tennessee	125	4	No

All good things must come to an end. Claiborne has been ordinary at best, and Andy Katzenmoyer was a big-name washout. Count me in among those who thought Katzenmoyer would be a stud at the NFL level. Al Wilson redeems this group. For what it's worth, Mike Peterson and Dat Nguyen went later.

2000
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Redskins	2	LaVar Arrington, Penn State	85	3	No
Bears	9	Brian Urlacher, New Mexico	105	5	No
49ers	16	Julian Peterson, Michigan State	95	3	No
Colts	28	Rob Morris, BYU	97	0	No
Titans	30	Keith Bulluck, Syracuse	111	1	No

A very solid group here, with Urlacher, a future Hall of Famer, leading the pack, followed closely by Bulluck and Peterson. Morris has been a starter most of his career, which considering his draft slot (28th) makes me wary of affixing the bust label. Arrington, like Mike Vick, is a player you give multiple chances to because of his prodigious athletic ability. After a fast start he has disappointed.

2001
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Panthers	11	Dan Morgan, Miami	56	1	No

Morgan and his multiple injuries comprise the entirety of this first-round class. Morgan was a great player -- remember his inspired performance in the Super Bowl a few years ago -- but has been undone by his inability to stay out of the training room. It's hard to call a guy this good a bust.

2002
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Raiders	23	Napoleon Harris, Northwestern	74	0	No
Rams	31	Robert Thomas, UCLA	68	0	Yes

Compared to what we've seen in previous years, these guys are both pretty blah. Harris is preparing to play for his third team, and Thomas hasn't made an impact. The fact that Harris is still considered a viable NFL starter keeps him off the bust list.

2003
Team	Pick	Player, School	Games	Pro Bowls	Bust?
Packers	29	Nick Barnett, Oregon State	62	0	No

Another quiet year, with only the productive Barnett going off the board. The second round was fruitful, however, producing Boss Bailey, E.J. Henderson and Victor Hobson. Pro Bowler Lance Briggs came in the fourth.

Crunching the Numbers: First-Round LBs, 1989-2003
Number of LBs drafted: 48

Notable busts: Andy Katzenmoyer, Huey Richardson, Percy Snow

Number of busts: 8

Bust percentage: 16 percent

Number of wideouts with at least one Pro Bowl appearance: 19

Pro Bowl percentage: 39 percent

Borderline guys who could be called busts: Quentin Coryatt, Mike Croel

For the sake of comparison
Percentage of first-round RB busts: 45 percent
Percentage of first-round QB busts: 53 percent

Conclusions
Linebacker appears to be a safe position, generating lots of Pro Bowl appearances and very few busts. There are reasons for this, the first possibly being that linebacker is an easier position to project physically, and it is also a fairly "instinctive" position, as opposed to a position like quarterback with a higher learning curve. Another reason is that I could have been too easy on my criteria; however, I think linebackers just panned out more often.

Also, a linebacker generally isn't expected to come in and be the "savior" of a franchise, in the way that many first-round RBs and QBs are. This bodes well for a bad team like Detroit, which might have reached to grab Ernie Sims last season, when it could have had Matt Leinart. Sims might not develop into a big star but is a safe bet to have a long career.

Ted Kluck is not a scientist, rather he is the author of three books, including "Facing Tyson: Fifteen Fighters, Fifteen Stories" (Lyons Press 2006) and a full-fledged draft geek. He recently spent a season playing professional football as a member of the Battle Creek Crunch (GLIFL) where he was, without a doubt, a bust.