Gary Brackett Madden Career 2005-2012 - Peak 91 OVR

Gary Brackett walked on at Rutgers and left the 2003 draft unselected, and Indianapolis signed him anyway. Within three years he was the Colts' defensive captain and a starting linebacker on the Super Bowl XLI team that beat Chicago 29-17 in the Miami rain. He did all of it while carrying grief few could imagine: over a 17-month stretch beginning in 2003, he lost his mother, father, and brother.

Undersized and instinctive, he finished a nine-year career with 712 tackles and 12 interceptions, every snap of it in Indianapolis. Away from the field he built the IMPACT Foundation, then later earned an MBA and opened restaurants in the city, including CharBlue. His Madden arc mirrored the underdog rise, opening at 73 in the 2004 and 2005 editions, jumping to 86 once he took command of the defense, and topping out at 91 in the 2008 game.