Breaking down the all-time Buffalo Bills inside linebackers as voted by Bills Mafia

Shane Conlan (1987 - 1992)

Shane Conlan was the eighth overall selection by the Buffalo Bills in the 1987 NFL Draft.  He played and started 12 games his rookie year, totaling 114 combined tackles, and was voted second-team All-Pro.

He was also the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1987, finishing just ahead of fellow teammate and rookie, Cornelius Bennett.  Conlan followed up his rookie campaign with a Pro Bowl berth and another second-team All-Pro nod.  In total, he finished as a three-time second-team All-Pro and three Pro Bowls.

For his career, he amassed 783 combined tackles, 545 of those with the Buffalo Bills.  He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams, who moved to St. Louis for his final season in 1995. Conlan was one of the starting middle linebackers for the Bills in three of the four Super Bowl runs for the Bills and was an essential piece to an incredible defense.

Shane is also a college national champion as part of the Penn State Nittany Lions, also known as “Linebacker University”, 1986 squad that went undefeated that season.  He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.