South Carolina Football: Ranking the top-20 NFL Gamecocks of all-time
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 8 Greatest NFL Player of All-Time:
Outside Linebacker/Defensive End Melvin Ingram
A versatile athlete who played all over the defense’s front seven for South Carolina football, Melvin Ingram (2007-2011) had his best success as a defensive tackle and defensive end in college. The All-American was taken in the first round by the San Diego Chargers in the 2012 NFL Draft and became a bench player due to battles with injuries as an undersized defensive end.
After being moved to outside linebacker, Ingram became a much better player and logged 29 sacks over three seasons from 2015-2017. The EDGE rusher was voted as a Pro Bowler in the franchise’s first three seasons after moving back to Los Angeles as Ingram started rotating between defensive end and outside linebacker.
After an injury-plagued 2020, Ingram played with the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021 but couldn’t get going. He returned to form in 2022 with a nice season with the Miami Dolphins. He is waiting on a new contract in free agency but is expected to sign with an NFL team this offseason.