Kevin Mitchell Madden Career 1996-2004 - Peak 74 OVR

Kevin Mitchell played defensive tackle at Syracuse and moved to inside linebacker in the pros, a thick, powerful run-stuffer San Francisco took in the second round in 1994. He won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie on the XXIX team and settled into a long career as a rotational linebacker and special-teams force, a player who logs 144 games without ever becoming a household name.

Madden rated him a solid role player throughout, mostly in the 60s and 70s, peaking at an 81 late in his career, with the occasional glitch card, a 28 that no one would recognize, mixed in. The grades fit a two-down thumper whose value was stopping the run and covering kicks rather than making splash plays, and the game read him as exactly that, a useful piece and not a star.

Mitchell spent four seasons in San Francisco, then played for the Saints and Washington before retiring after 2003. He died in 2007 at just 36 years old, of a heart attack, a sudden and sad end for a man who had given more than a decade to the game. He finished with a ring and a reputation as a hard, dependable pro, just the linebacker every defense needs and few fans remember.