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Who are the top defensive tackles in NFL history? Here is our top 10 countdown:
Note: Updated in 2022.
10. Cortez Kennedy: the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year with a career-high 14.0 sacks, Kennedy earned eight Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections en route to being named to the 1990s All-Decade Team and the Hall of Fame.
9. Buck Buchanan: the #1 overall pick in the 1963 AFL Draft, Buchanan made eight straight Pro Bowl and four straight All-Pro teams during his Hall of Fame career while helping the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV.
8. John Randle: a 7x Pro Bowl and 6x All-Pro selection with the Minnesota Vikings, Randle accumulated 137.5 sacks en route to the Hall of Fame.
7. Randy White: a 9x Pro Bowler and 7x All-Pro at defensive tackle, White also earned MVP honors for the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl XII victory.
6. Warren Sapp: a pass-rushing force in the middle of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ “Cover 2” defense (96.5 career sacks), Sapp was arguably the best defensive tackle of the late 1990s/early 2000s with seven Pro Bowls, four All-Pro teams, 1999 Defensive Player of the Year honors, a Super Bowl title, and selections to both the 1990s and 2000s All-Decade teams.
5. Aaron Donald: since entering the NFL in 2014, Donald has been a dominant player at the defensive tackle position: the 8x Pro Bowler and 7x All-Pro was not only Defensive Rookie of the Year, but has also won Defensive Player of the Year 3x and was a unanimous selection to the 2010s All-Decade Team.
4. Bob Lilly: one of the greatest players in Cowboys history, Lilly spent his entire Hall of Fame career with Dallas, earning 11 Pro Bowl and seven All-Pro selections while helping the team win Super Bowl VI.
3. Alan Page: the first defensive player in NFL history to win MVP (during his 1971 Defensive Player of the Year season), Page was also a 9x Pro Bowl and 6x All-Pro selection as the defensive line anchor of the Minnesota Vikings’ “Purple People Eaters” defense.
2. Merlin Olsen: part of the Los Angeles Rams’ famed “Fearsome Foursome” defensive front, Olsen set a record with 14 straight Pro Bowls during his career as well as five All-Pro selections.
1. Joe Greene: one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, Greene was an integral part of four 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers championship teams – not only was he a 10x Pro Bowler and 4x All-Pro, but he was also twice named Defensive Player of the Year.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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