It's time for the incredibly weird reason I had to ask if this was separate from the NHL draft.
In a league with wildly different offenses like this, you need the ability to play uncommonly versatile defensive schemes. You've probably heard of a Tampa 2 or heard something referred to as Tampa-style Cover 2. The reason this defense worked at all was that LB
Derrick Brooks was an alien.
As passing attacks like the Rams grew in popularity, it became vital to be able to defend deep middle of the field passes with your base defensive personnel. Tampa's solution to this was to run a Cover 2 Base with a twist. If Brooks read that the play was a pass, he took his 235 lbs and dropped into deep middle of the field coverage like he was a Free Safety. You might have seen the Eagles do this from time to time under Jim Schwartz with hilarious results. That's because Linebackers can't play Free Safety. Except Derrick Brooks.
@CanadianFlyer88 Pick your poison.