10 Best Defensive Tackles of All Time

Defensive tackle is not one of the most glamorous positions in football but it is crucial in any defensive scheme. NFL defenses need strong defensive tackles to pressure the quarterback and stop the run. Across eras in the NFL, some of the biggest, strongest and toughest defenders have played defensive tackle. Here is who we think are the 10 best defensive tackles of all time.

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Any list of the best defensive tackles in NFL history would be incomplete without “Mean” Joe Greene. Greene played for 13 total NFL seasons, all with the Pittsburgh Steelers and in three different decades. He was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year for 1969, won two AP Defensive Player of the Year awards and won four Super Bowls with the Steelers during their dynastic run in the 70s. The ten-time Pro Bowler and four-time All Pro retired in 1981 and was inducted into Canton in 1987. 

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Most NFL defensive tackles don’t play for 11 seasons in the league and even fewer make 11 Pro Bowls. Bob Lilly was not like not most NFL defensive tackles. A North Texan through and through, the TCU product spent his entire 14 season career with the Dallas Cowboys where he made the aforementioned 11 Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl VI. Though he played before sacks were credited officially, Pro Football Reference credits him with 95.5 career sacks. He also recovered 18 fumbles in his career. Lilly retired following the 1974 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. 

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After a disappointing (by his standards) 2022 season shortened by injury, Aaron Donald resumed his place as one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. 2023 saw the Rams star earn his tenth Pro Bowl and eighth All Pro selections. Donald has racked up every honor a defensive tackle could want, including AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, three AP Defensive Player of the Year awards and of course, the Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl LVI. In 2018 Donald led the NFL in sacks with 20.5, the most for a defensive tackle in a single season. Donald is under contract with the Rams through the 2024 season. Whenever he decides to retire, he will do so as one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history.

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Warren Sapp spent 13 years in the NFL and became a prototypical modern defensive lineman. One of the top NFL defensive tackles of the 90s and 2000s, Sapp recorded 96.5 sacks in his career and recovered 12 fumbles. He also intercepted 4 passes in his career, a high number for defensive tackles. Sapp was named to seven Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors four times. He was the 1999 AP Defensive Player of the Year after recording 41 solo and assisted tackles, 12.5 sacks and forcing four fumbles that season. Sapp retired following the 2007 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

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In 1971, Alan Page became the first defensive player to win the AP MVP award. Page was a feared member of the Minnesota Vikings’ “Purple People Eater” defensive line in the late 1960s and early  1970s and made more Pro Bowls in his career than any of his other teammates with nine. Page spent 16 seasons in the NFL, establishing himself as one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history, however after his playing career ended he would go on to have a very successful legal career as a justice. Page would serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1993 until 2015.

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Merlin Olsen has the most Pro Bowl selections of any defensive tackle with 14 in his 15 year career. The only season in which the Los Angeles Ram did not make the Pro Bowl was his final season, 1976. This remarkable consistency of excellence at the position should place him in anyone’s all-time NFL defensive tackle rankings. The multi-talented Olsen found success in his post-playing career as a television actor with a role in Little House on the Prairie and later, a leading role in Father Murphy. Olsen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982.

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Any list of NFL defensive tackle rankings must include John Randle. Randle’s 137.5 sacks make him the sack leader among NFL defensive tackles since sacks became an official recorded stat in 1982. Undrafted out of Texas A&M–Kingsville, Randle was signed by the Minnesota Vikings in 1990 and by 1993 would make his first of six All Pro teams. Randle played 11 years in Minnesota before spending the final three years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

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It took Randy White until the age of 24 to end up playing defensive tackle, but once he settled into the position with the Dallas Cowboys, he became one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history. The nine-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All Pro was named the co-MVP of Super Bowl XII and remains the only defensive tackle to be named Super Bowl MVP. Though he spent half his 14 season career in an era in which sacks were not officially recorded, Pro Football Reference credits him with 111 in total. The lifetime Cowboy retired after the 1988 season and was inducted into Canton in 1994.

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At 6’3” and 305 lbs, Cortez Kennedy possessed a rare athleticism for an NFL defensive tackle of his size. Kennedy was a pass rushing menace with the ability to counter even the most athletic running backs. After earning a role as a starter in his second season, Kennedy made the Pro Bowl every year except his final 2000 season and an injury-shortened 1997 campaign. He was named AP Defensive Player of the Year during the 1992 season, in which he forced four fumbles and recorded 14 sacks. Kennedy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of fame in 2012 and sadly, passed away in 2017 at the age of 48.

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Towering at 6’7” and 270 lbs, Buck Buchanan would be an NFL defensive tackle of notable size in today’s game. In the 1960s and 70s, his size made him a complete anomaly. Buchanan used this size to his advantage. In his 13 year career Buchanan made eight Pro Bowls and helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV. He spent his entire career in Kansas City and retired following the 1975 season. In 1990, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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This entry was posted on Friday, March 22nd, 2024 at 10:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.