Generally regarded as the greatest linebacker in NFL history – and considered by some as the best football player ever – Lawrence Taylor, known as L.T., played and lived with recklessness. The second overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft by the Giants, Taylor made an immediate impact, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award his rookie season and eventually becoming an eight-time All-Pro. In 1986, he recorded 20.5 sacks and became the only linebacker to ever win a league MVP. With the speed of a running back and the strength of a lineman, Taylor, wearing No. 56, played with unprecedented aggressiveness and was an emotional leader for a Giant team that won two Super Bowls. “C’mon baby, let’s go out there like a bunch of crazed dogs and have some fun!” he famously announced to his teammates once. Off the field, though, he drank excessively and used drugs. A failed drug test in 1988 garnered a suspension, and his legal issues did not disappear after his retirement. “I live my life in the fast lane and I always have,” he said. Taylor was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999.