By: Jake Rajala

Unearthly quarterbacks highlight the NFL, but let’s not forget about the presence of the pass rushers that prey on sacking opposing quarterbacks. There have undoubtedly been illustrious QB hunters in the history of the NFL. The top pass rusher of all time is unequivocally Lawrence Taylor. LT showed an impressive amount of controlled rage in his rookie season – as he won Defensive Rookie of The Year & Defensive Player of The Year. Taylor would then win DPOY in his sophomore season and even proceed to win NFL MVP in 1986. In fact, Taylor is the last defender to win MVP.

With that enunciated, I’m going to untwine the next best nine-pass rushers of all time.

2. Reggie White

Reggie White, also known as J.J. Watt before J.J. Watt, was a freak of nature for the Philadelphia Eagles. White registered three 18+ sack seasons in his first four years as a pro. Yes, you read that correctly. Furthermore, he garnered 21 sacks in 12 games in 1987 – which is obviously the most sacks ever by a defender in a 12-game span. He garnered eight first-team All-Pro nods in his career. He also won DPOY twice in his NFL journey.

3. Deacon Jones

The greek god-like defender, Deacon Jones, started his journey all the way back in the 60s. Nonetheless, he still mopped the floor against opposing QBs. He unveiled four seasons of 19+ sacks in his Rams tenure. He obtained 173.5 sacks in his career, as well. Strangely, he never won DPOY in his HOF career.

4. Bruce Smith

The man with 200 sacks (the record for the most career sacks), Bruce Smith, was a gift to the Buffalo Bills from the football gods. He has the same tally of first-team All-Pro nods as White. He won DPOY in 1990 & 1996. Smith has ousted an undeniably insane 13 seasons of 10+ sacks in his career – which is also an NFL record! Smith was blatantly dominant, an athletic freak, and a beacon of consistency.

5. Aaron Donald

It’s hard to deny the consistent damage that Aaron Donald unleashes on opposing offensive lines. AD has been first-team All-Pro seven times in his eight-year career! Furthermore, he’s won DPOY three times! In 2018, Donald somehow unveiled 18.5 sacks and 41 QB hits, from the DT spot. He really shined in Super Bowl LVI – where he ousted two sacks (which included a sack on the Rams last play on defense). The scary part is that Donald is still seeking more vengeance in the league.

6. Michael Strahan

The legendary New York Giants edge rusher Michael Strahan holds the record for the most sacks in a 16-game season (with 22.5 sacks) and he won DPOY in the same season. Strahan also had a potent sack season in 2018 – where he obtained 18.5 sacks. It’s also extremely important to note that the four-time All-Pro is a Super Bowl champion. Of course, Strahan also co-hosts “Good Morning America”.

7. J.J. Watt

J.J. Watt is unequivocally one of the best walk-on stories in college football. Watt proved to be a workhorse and gifted pass rusher at the professional level. He played with his hair on fire in 2012 – as he picked up 20.5 sacks and won DPOY. He decided to win DPOY in 2014 and in 2015, too. Watt has been named first-team All-Pro five times in his NFL career. He’s also shown off his ability to catch touchdowns in the past.

8. Kevin Greene

The former Rams pass rusher Kevin Greene was an absolute maniac on the football field. After having a mere zero sacks in his first season, Greene opted to transform into a mythical pass rusher. Greene registered a 16.5 sack campaign in 1988 and another 16.5 sack season in 1989. Impressively, he boasted 10 seasons of 10+ sacks. He displayed six seasons of 13+ sacks. Greene has unveiled 160 career sacks – which is quite a feat.

9. Derrick Thomas

Derrick Thomas sadly didn’t play for a long period of time – due to his early passing in 2000. Although, Thomas was still a nightmare pass-rusher in his lifetime, to say the least. The former Kansas City Chief knocked out a 20-sack season in 15 games as a sophomore. Thomas unleashed seven 10+ sack seasons in his 11-year career. He was quite proficient at forcing fumbles (with six FFs in 1990 and 8 FFs in 1992). In addition, he made nine straight Pro Bowls in the NFL.

10. Julius Peppers

Julius Peppers played for an eternity and he wreaked havoc in each phase of his career. He kicked off his career by winning DROY while playing 12 games! Peppers managed to unveil 10 seasons of 10+ sacks. He had 159.5 sacks as a whole. He has made an absolutely impressive nine Pro Bowls in his football life. Peppers truly resembles the Alien – except he might be more explosive than the extraterrestrial character.

The post 10 best pass rushers of all time appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

With early August only a few months away now, we are closer than ever to the 2022 NFL Hall of Fame induction. This year we will see Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, Leroy Butler, Art McNally, Sam Mills, Richard Seymour, Dick Vermeil, and Bryant Young enshrined on August 6th. However, in the coming years, we will see even more all-time greats being enshrined. With the likes of Drew Brees, Joe Thomas, Jahri Evans, James Harrison, Shane Lechler, and more upcoming in the following years, we should see some great classes.

One player who falls into the 2024 eligibility will be Julius Peppers, 4th all-time in sacks and one of the greatest to do it of his generation. In this article, I will be breaking down if he is worthy of a first-ballot induction, which will include who could go ahead of him in 2024, as well as what he brought to the table as a player that made him worthy of such honors. Without further ado, let us start with the 2024 class.

2024 Hall of Fame eligible players & competition for ’24 ballot

There is a lot of talent coming up for the 2024 class. Keep in mind that there will be between 4-8 players per class that are enshrined (including coaches), so there would have to be at minimum 8 total players and coaches in a class that would definitely deserve it over Peppers to not give him a first-ballot induction. With that said, here are the headliners for the 2024 class:

• Antonio Gates – TE
• Eric Berry – S
• Haloti Ngata – DT
• Jamaal Charles – RB
• Brandon Marshall – WR
• Max Unger – C
• Jordy Nelson – WR
• Sebastian Janikowski – K
• Phil Dawson – K
• Josh Sitton – G

These are essentially the primary players that would even remotely have considerations above Peppers. On top of this, some players may sneak in from the 2023 class that are not inducted that year. Out of the group of 2024 members, I would say that Peppers had the most legacy and fulfillment in his career, aside from maybe Antonio Gates who could be debated. Based solely upon the other members of the 2024 class, Peppers would likely be a lock for a first-ballot election.

Statistical comparison to other first-ballot DL

The main thing you would want to look at for a defensive lineman is where he ranks among the other Hall of Famers of all time statistically, as well as among the other first-ballot players at his position. If we want to look at sacks first, the top 10 on the list all-time are almost all Hall of Famers, and many are the first ballot. As of this moment, here is the top 10 (11 as there is a tie for 10th) and their enshrinement status:

1. Bruce Smith (200 sacks) – First ballot HOF
2. Reggie White (198 sacks) – First ballot HOF
3. Kevin Greene (160 sacks) – 13th ballot HOF
4. Julius Peppers (159.5 sacks) – ’24 class eligible
5. Chris Doleman (150.5 sacks) – First ballot HOF
6. Michael Strahan (141.5 sacks) – First ballot HOF
7. Jason Taylor (139.5 sacks) – First ballot HOF
8. Terrell Suggs (139 sacks) – ’25 class eligible
9. DeMarcus Ware (138.5 sacks) – ’22 class eligible (not selected first-ballot)
10. Richard Dent/John Randle (137.5 sacks each) – 9th ballot HOF/First ballot HOF respectively

So, 6 out of the top 11 are first ballot hall of famers, and 2 more have not had their eligibility yet. To get a more precise number, 6 out of the 9 (66.7%) that have been eligible have been first ballot members. The 3 players lower in sacks than Peppers all made it first ballot, and 2 out of the 3 above him were as well (frankly Kevin Greene should have been inducted significantly sooner regardless of this concept.) However, obviously, sacks are not the only metric to go by, so let’s take a look at his career accomplishments.

Career accolades & acumen

A good metric of the legacy score for players and how much they have done in the game is created by futurefootballlegends.com, which they call their “legends score”. This combines and weights some of the most major achievements a player can get, such as pro bowl/all-pro selections, all-decade selections, the various MVP types (MVP, SB MVP), and various other accolades. While this is not a perfect system, as you can never really define someone’s legacy solely off a few achievements, it gives us an idea of how he stacks up against previous players. Peppers received a 54 in this grading system, which is similar to Joe Thomas (58), Charles Woodson (51), Luke Kuechly (50), and many other greats. Now, again, this is not perfect, as Drew Brees has a 37, which shows this cannot be the sole argument on to base his career on. This is mainly just to show how successful he was in his career, and how he was able to bring together some phenomenal seasons over the years.

In terms of his actual achievements, he has had:

• NFL DROY
• 3 first-team all-pro selections & 3 second-team all-pro selections
• 9 pro bowl selections
• NFL 2000s & 2010s all-decade team selections
• Tied for most different quarterbacks sacked with Bruce Smith (77)
• Sacks against 30 of 32 NFL teams
• 2nd all-time in forced fumbles (51), 2nd all-time in blocked kicks (13), 6th most games played defensively ever (266 of 272).
• Inducted into North Carolina sports HOF, and nominated for 2022 college football HOF (see below)
• On top of that, had 715 tackles, 21 fumble recoveries, 11 interceptions, 6 total touchdowns, and 240 games started.

Overall, I would say with all of this combined on top of him being one of them, if not the best player in his HOF class, he should see a first-ballot induction. As rare and prestigious as they are, and as hard as it is to accomplish such a feat, Peppers had an absolutely amazing career, and should most definitely be considered for this achievement.

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