Former All-Pro linebacker Chip Banks -- the #3 overall pick in the 1982 NFL Draft -- is fighting for his life after he was shot in an apparent targeted attack in Georgia ... TMZ Sports has learned.
Cops tell us officers responded to a call about a shooting in the Atlanta area around noon on Wednesday and arrived to find 3 victims -- including Banks -- suffering from gunshot wounds.
One of the men, cops say, was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
The other two men -- including Banks -- were "alert, conscious and breathing" and transported to a local hospital for treatment, officials added.
We're told 60-year-old Banks, the 1982 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, is currently in "serious condition."
As for how the shooting went down ... cops told local media outlets Wednesday they believe a group of 5 or 6 men with masks on rolled up to the residence, shot a man in the driveway and then went inside and shot the other two men before running off.
Cops told local outlets they do not believe the shooting was random -- in other words, it appears at least one of the men was the target of a hit.
"Detectives are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident," a spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Dept. tells us. "The investigation continues."
Banks was a pretty big star in the NFL in the 1980s and early 1990s ... playing for the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts.
Banks -- who was drafted out of USC ahead of guys like Jim McMahon and Marcus Allen in 1982 -- was a 4-time Pro Bowler in his 10 seasons in the league.