The 5 Best UCLA NFL Players of All Time

Troy Aikman transferred from Oklahoma and made his time at UCLA count. The Bruins went 20–4 with him as their starting quarterback, and he won the Davey O'Brien Award in 1988 while finishing third in the Heisman voting. His accuracy was a notable part of his college profile. He subsequently became the top selection in the 1989 draft and began a Hall of Fame career with Dallas.

UCLA's role in Aikman's story is supported by both team results and individual recognition. His starting record shows that the Bruins' success extended beyond an isolated highlight, while the quarterback award identifies his strongest season. That compact but accomplished college résumé makes a persuasive ranking case without relying on what he later achieved in the NFL.

Kenny Easley built a UCLA career defined by repeated recognition and substantial interception production. The safety earned All-America honors three times and finished with 19 interceptions, a conference record at the time. His play combined the physical dimension described in his linebacker comparisons with the coverage ability associated with a cornerback. He became a top-five draft selection in 1981.

Those comparisons describe the breadth of Easley's contribution without changing his position: his case here is that of a safety. Repeated All-America selections give his résumé a longevity component that a single decorated season cannot provide. The interception total adds a concrete measure of production to those honors. For UCLA, that combination makes his college performance a strong foundation for inclusion, separate from his later professional reputation.

Jonathan Ogden's UCLA career reached its individual peak in 1995, when he won the Outland Trophy and earned unanimous All-America honors. The offensive tackle stood 6-foot-9 and also became a conference champion in the shot put, adding a separate athletic accomplishment to his college record. He was selected fourth overall in the 1996 draft and later reached the Hall of Fame.

Ogden's ranking should begin with what he accomplished for UCLA rather than his subsequent professional stature. The Outland and unanimous recognition establish the national quality of his peak without requiring offensive statistics to explain his value. His shot-put championship adds context to his athletic résumé, but the football honors carry the argument. They give a lineman a compelling place alongside the school's celebrated skill-position players.

Gary Beban gave UCLA both a major bowl triumph and a season of premier individual recognition. As a sophomore, he helped produce the Rose Bowl upset of top-ranked Michigan State. He later won the 1967 Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award. His college story also included comeback victories and memorable meetings with USC, including the 1967 matchup featuring O.J. Simpson.

Beban's UCLA case benefits from achievements spread across more than his award-winning season. The earlier Rose Bowl success provides a team milestone, while the national honors establish his individual peak. His role in the USC rivalry adds school-specific significance beyond the award list. Together, those elements make this a ranking argument rooted in what he did for the Bruins, with college achievement carrying the weight.

Eric Kendricks finished his UCLA career as the school's career tackles leader and won the 2014 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker. His sideline-to-sideline play was part of the Bruins' return to national relevance under Jim Mora. He subsequently became a second-round draft selection and a longtime NFL starter, but his college record already supplied clear reasons for recognition.

Kendricks offers a useful balance of longevity and peak performance. The career tackle mark reflects accumulated involvement across his UCLA tenure, while the Butkus identifies the season when his work earned the highest positional recognition. His contribution to the Bruins' resurgence gives those individual accomplishments a team context. That combination makes his school legacy substantial without asking his professional career to establish his place here.