10 Best Defensive Ends of All Time

Defensive end is one of the most difficult and demanding positions to play in football. It’s the most important player on an NFL defense vs tight ends and tackles. For this reason, they need an exceptional combination of size, strength and athleticism to be able to rush the passer, jam tight ends and drop back in coverage. 

Many of the all-time greatest defensive players in NFL history have played defensive end. Who are the very best NFL defensive ends to ever play? Here are our top 10 using stats from Pro Football Reference. Who is your top NFL defensive end? 

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Reggie White is easily one of the best defensive ends in NFL history. White averaged at least 11 sacks in the first nine seasons of his career and led the NFL in sacks in consecutive seasons with 21 in 1987 and 18 in 1988. White made 13 Pro Bowls and was named an All Pro eight times. He was twice named AP Defensive Player of the Year, in 1987 and at the age of 38 in 1998. White retired following the 2000 season. White was cheekily nicknamed The Minister of Defense, as off the field he was an ordained Christian minister. Tragically, he passed away from an irregular heartbeat in 2004. White was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. 

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Our NFL defensive end rankings take us from the Minister to the Deacon. Eight-time All Pro Deacon Jones is not only one of the best NFL defensive ends to ever play, but one of the most important to the history of the game. Jones is credited with inventing the term “sack,” amassing quite a few in his career along the way. Though they weren’t counted as an official stat until 1982, Pro Football Reference credits him unofficially with 173.5 in his career, good for third all time. Jones retired from football following the 1974 season and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, his first year of eligibility. 

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The NFL’s all-time sackmaster should be on anyone’s list of the best defensive ends in NFL history. Not only is Bruce Smith the league’s all-time leader in career sacks with 200, he has more 10+ sack seasons than anyone else with 13 total. This remarkable consistency helped earn him 11 Pro Bowl selections in his nearly two decade Hall of Fame career. Smith was named AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1996 and led the league twice in forced fumbles, with five both times. Smith retired after the 2003 season and was inducted into Canton in 2009.

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One of the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 6’7” 295 lb Julius Peppers was a nightmare for NFL quarterbacks and offensive coordinators for nearly 17 years. The 2002 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year would go on to be named to nine Pro Bowls, 3 All Pro teams and become considered one of the top defensive ends in NFL history. Peppers’ 159.5 career sacks are fourth all-time and his 52 forced fumbles are second all-time. After playing with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, Peppers signed with the team that drafted him, the Carolina Panthers, for his final professional seasons in 2017 and 2018.

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Although JJ Watt retired in 2022, he still could have been one of the best defensive ends in the NFL in 2023. The five-time All Pro ended his stellar career with an impressive final season. Coming off shoulder surgery, he racked up 12 total sacks and 39 solo and combined tackles. Though this was his last impressive season, it certainly wasn’t his only. He was named AP Defensive Player of the Year three times and his 195 tackles for loss are second all-time among NFL players. Watt was also well known for his generosity off the field. In 2017 he earned Walter Payton Man of the Year honors for his contributions to the Houston community in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

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Jack Youngblood spent all 14 seasons of his professional career with the Los Angeles Rams. One of the best NFL defensive ends of his era, Youngblood recorded at least 10 sacks in eight different seasons–an impressive feat considering the NFL only scheduled 14 games in the first seven seasons of his career. He was named to seven Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors five times. He retired in 1984 but it wasn’t until 2001 that he was rightfully inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

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Before he was a television personality on shows like Good Morning America and FOX NFL Sunday, Michael Strahan was one of the best defensive ends in the NFL for the better part of two decades. In 2001, Strahan was named AP Defensive Player of the Year after breaking Mark Gastineau’s single-season sack record of 22 set in 1984. 22.5 remains the new record, though TJ Watt tied Strahan in 2021. Strahan was inducted into Canton in 2014.

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The oldest player on our NFL defensive end rankings, Willie Davis played in an era where tackles and sacks were not officially recorded statistics. However, Pro Football Reference researchers credit him with 99.5 sacks in his 12 year career. Davis won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls as a member of Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers from 1960 to 1969. The five-time All Pro retired following the 1969 season. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. In April 2020, at the age of 85, Davis passed away.

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Three-time All Pro and the 2006 AP Defensive Player of the Year Jason Taylor spent 15 seasons in the NFL, 13 with the Miami Dolphins. The 1997 third round pick bloomed into one of the top defensive ends in NFL history during his time in Miami. His 139.5 career sacks are seventh all-time on the official list, his 151 tackles for loss are eleventh all-time, and his 46 forced fumbles are fifth all-time. Taylor spent the 2008 season with the Washington Redskins and 2010 with the New York Jets before returning to Miami for his final season in 2011. Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and is currently the defensive ends coach at the University of Miami.

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Listed at 6”6” and 247 lbs, left defensive end Carl Eller was a part of the fierce “Purple People Eaters” Minnesota Vikings’ defensive line of the late 60s and 1970s. One of the best NFL defensive ends ever, Eller was selected to six Pro Bowls, earning All-Pro honors five of those times. In 1969, he led the NFL in sacks with 15 and finished third among all players in MVP voting. Eller spent 15 of his 16 NFL seasons with the Vikings. After playing one year for the Seattle Seahawks in 1979, Eller retired. He became a Hall of Famer in 2004.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 26th, 2024 at 5:45 pm and is filed under Top Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.