Which team has the most to gain from the 2023 NFL Draft?
Brad Hopkins thinks the Detroit Lions can surpass the momentum from last season with their two first-round picks in the draft.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
The NFL offseason is in that yearly lull between peak action on the free agency/trade market and the draft. Last month’s annual league meeting fueled further speculation and rhetoric regarding the futures of past MVPs Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson, but neither quarterback’s status for the 2023 season has yet been resolved.
But we did get one morsel of news emanating from Phoenix, the Philadelphia Eagles’ proposal that players – aside from linemen – be allowed to wear jersey number 0 for the first time in five decades approved by owners.
So as we wait to see who takes ownership of the NFL’s version of “Agent Zero,” what better time to reflect and appreciate those who have – mostly – become synonymous with the NFL’s other 100 jersey numbers (and, no, that’s not a typo). With a few liberties sprinkled in, my vote for the league’s best man per integer (asterisks denote Pro Football Hall of Famers):
0: George Plimpton
Zero looks nifty on Blitz, the Seattle Seahawks’ mascot. And Jacksonville Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley and New York Giants WR Parris Campbell, both newcomers to their teams, have already been issued 0 for the 2023 season. But with all due respect to them – and old timers like Johnny Clement, Johnny Olszewski and Obert Logan – the nod, for now, goes to the acclaimed American writer. Why? Watch or read “Paper Lion,” which is based on Plimpton’s foray into participatory journalism while briefly serving as a backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions during their 1963 training camp.
00: Jim Otto*
“Aught Oh” was a 10-time All-Pro center for the Oakland Raiders, his career spanning 223 consecutive starts as he served as a Silver and Black fixture from their inaugural season in 1960 through the 1974 campaign. Otto and former Houston Oilers Pro Bowl WR Ken Burrough will forever be associated with double nil unless the NFL returns it to circulation.
1: Warren Moon*
The 17-year NFL star threw for more than 70,000 professional yards when you factor in his six seasons in the Canadian Football League.
2: Matt Ryan
If the 2016 league MVP doesn’t play another down, he’ll finish with the seventh-most passing yards (62,792) in NFL history.
3: Bronko* or Bronco?
Bronko Nagurski was a Chicago Bears legend in the 1930s, one of the famed “Monsters of the Midway” and among the upstart league’s most-feared players. Impossible to really compare him with QB Russell Wilson, and the latter will need to have a bounce-back showing in Year 2 with the Denver Broncos to bolster his claim on No. 3.
4: Brett Favre*
A nationally beloved three-time MVP in his heyday, his feats on the field remain worthy of our praise, even if his reputation off of it has taken a deserved beating in recent years.
5: Paul Hornung*
The “Golden Boy” was a linchpin of the 1960s Green Bay Packers. A running back and kicker, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner led the NFL in scoring for three straight seasons (1959-61) – his 176 points in 1960 a record that stood for more than four decades even though it was achieved at a time when teams played 12 regular-season games.
6: Johnny Hekker
Jay Cutler, Baker Mayfield, Mark Sanchez … sorry, but you never stood a chance from the moment you were drafted in the first round. No, No. 6 will always be inextricably linked to the greatest punter in league annals. Yeah, I said it.
7: John Elway*
Plenty of Elway truthers out there and deservedly so. The Broncos legend retains a case as arguably one of the top three quarterbacks of all time.
8: Steve Young*
You wonder what a two-time MVP could have added to his storied résumé had he not spent nearly a decade parked in the USFL or backing up Joe Montana.
9: Drew Brees
One of the most prolific and accurate passers ever, the 13-time Pro Bowler would hold most of the league’s significant passing records … if not for Tom Brady.
10: Eli Manning
Yes, his regular-season record is 117-117. But the Giants don’t win their two most recent Lombardi Trophies without Manning’s pair of unforgettable Super Bowl MVP performances.
11: Larry Fitzgerald
Maybe the Brees of wide receivers, Fitzgerald’s numbers would be far more appreciated … if Jerry Rice wasn’t obscuring them. But Fitz was a stud for 17 seasons, and his four-game 2008 postseason performance remains one of the more remarkable playoff runs ever.
12: Tom Brady
There’s no debating the GOAT – all the more amazing considering Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, Aaron Rodgers and Roger Staubach all became legends in 12. Bob Griese, Jim Kelly, Kenny Stabler and the Seahawks fans aren’t too shabby, either.
13: Dan Marino*
If you simply want to debate the greatest pure passer of all time, Marino could top the list. His MVP-stamped 1984 campaign might still be the best ever produced by a quarterback.
14: Don Hutson*
The NFL’s first transcendent receiver, his numbers were positively Ruthian compared to his peers from 1935-45. Hutson’s 99 career receiving TDs marked a record that stood for 44 years until Steve Largent broke it in 1989. However Largent didn’t kick or play safety … which Hutson did. Honorable mention – Otto Graham: One of football’s renowned winners, he led the Cleveland Browns to the championship game (winning seven) in all 10 of his seasons (4 in the AAFC, 6 in the NFL). Unfortunately, Graham split his career wearing 14 and 60.
15: Patrick Mahomes
With apologies to Bart Starr and Steve Van Buren (but not Tim Tebow), the 15 mantle now belongs to Mahomes – the most spectacular thrower of his era and winner of two league and two Super Bowl MVPs. And plenty of time to add to his growing list of accomplishments.
16: Joe Montana*
“Joe Cool” can’t match Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings, but his supporters will note he never lost one during his four trips with the San Francisco 49ers. His 127.8 passer rating on Super Sunday is a record, and Montana, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, was a heckuva regular-season player, too – named league MVP twice.
17: Doug Williams
Others who wore 17 have had greater careers, Harold Carmichael and Philip Rivers among them with Davante Adams and Josh Allen on the come. But they don’t trump the historical significance of Williams, the first Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl – and in smashing, gutsy style.
18: Peyton Manning*
Still the only player to win league MVP honors five times.
19: Johnny Unitas*
A three-time MVP himself, and, by most accounts, the godfather of the quarterback position.
20: Barry Sanders*
It takes a special man to outdo Ed Reed, quite possibly the greatest free safety of all time. But “special” only begins to describe Sanders, a running back nonpareil who averaged more than 1,500 rushing yards per season over the life of his incandescent 10-year career.
21: LaDainian Tomlinson*
If you were expecting Deion Sanders, well … stick around? But LT had to make the list after scoring a record 31 touchdowns in one season – his 2006 MVP campaign – and remains the only player with multiple seasons capped with 2,300 yards from scrimmage.
22: Emmitt Smith*
Paul Krause’s record 81 interceptions are noteworthy … but not on par with Smith’s all-time record 18,355 rushing yards.
23: Devin Hester
Here’s hoping his 20 career TDs off returns eventually grant him entry into the Hall since there was no one better at that aspect of the game.
24: Champ Bailey*
The 12-time Pro Bowler barely gets the nod over fellow DBs Willie Brown, Ty Law, Darrelle Revis, Willie Wood and Charles Woodson – though Woodson might have prevailed had his best years in Green Bay not been spent in No. 21.
25: Richard Sherman
The three-time All-Pro was largely the face (and voice) of Seattle’s “Legion of Boom,” the greatest defense of the 21st century.
26: Rod Woodson*
An All-Pro both at corner and safety and a starter on the legendary 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense, Woodson has also been honored as a member of the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
27: Steve Atwater*
Few safeties have ever brought the lumber like this eight-time Pro Bowler, a starter on three Denver Super Bowl teams, including the 1997-98 back-to-back champions.
28: Marshall Faulk*
The consummate all-purpose back, averaging just shy of 1,600 yards from scrimmage annually during his 12-year career, Faulk nudges out a pair of 2,000-yard rushers in Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson.
29: Eric Dickerson*
Like Faulk, “ED” mostly split his career between the Rams and Colts, though Dickerson didn’t experience the same level of collective success. Still, four rushing titles – three coming with 1,800+ yards – and a league-record 2,105 on the ground in 1984 leave a pretty nice legacy.
30: Terrell Davis*
His first four seasons were as good as any back’s before a knee injury sent him into sharp decline and a premature retirement. An All-Pro three of his first four seasons and the MVP of Super Bowl 32, Davis was the league MVP in 2008, when he rushed for 2,476 yards (including postseason).
31: Jim Taylor*
The first player to compile five consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons, he was the best back of the 1960s … not named Jim Brown, the only man who’d run for more yards than Taylor when he retired after the 1967 season. But Taylor’s four rings, all with the Packers, quadruple Brown’s count.
32: Jim Brown*
The running back version of No. 12, 32 was donned by Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Franco Harris, Edgerrin James and O.J. Simpson. But this is indisputably about Brown, who retains a valid claim as the greatest runner in league history and perhaps the top non-quarterback. An eight-time All-Pro, the bruising fullback led the league in rushing in eight of his nine seasons and remains the only player to average 100 yards per game (104.3) for an entire career.
33: Sammy Baugh*
The best quarterback and punter of his day, he was also a fine safety and led Washington to a pair of titles (1937, ’42).
34: Walter Payton*
A one-man gang during his early years with the Bears, Payton overtook Brown as the all-time rushing king before Smith wrested the crown away in 2002. Named an All-Decade player in both the 1970s and ’80s, Payton is head and shoulders above other luminary RBs Earl Campbell, Joe Perry and Thurman Thomas.
35: Aeneas Williams*
He managed to distinguish himself despite playing on dreadful Cardinals teams in the 1990s. The All-Decade star played corner and safety while finishing his career with the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams.
36: LeRoy Butler*
Far more than the inventor of the “Lambeau Leap,” the Canton-bound safety was a cornerstone of the 1990s Packers defenses.
37: Deion Sanders*
There he is. Sanders has always affiliated himself with No. 21 but wore 37 – his age when he joined the Ravens – in his final two seasons, when he couldn’t dislodge his preferred number from fellow DB Chris McAlister. And if this seems a little chintzy, whatever – I’m thrilled to rig this list with Tomlinson and Sanders rather than Sanders in combination with Shaun Alexander, Lester Hayes, Jimmy Johnson, Rodney Harrison or Doak Walker.
38: George Rogers
For supporters of Arnie Herber – the 1930s Green Bay QB wore a litany of numbers (including 38) – sorry, but this vote goes to Rogers, a pure 38 … and the only guy drafted ahead of Lawrence Taylor in 1981. And Rogers was solid, averaging 1,000+ rushing yards over seven seasons split between New Orleans and Washington.
39: Larry Csonka*
The highest-profile player of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins, his 297 career rushing yards on Super Sunday rank second to Harris. Csonka’s 145 yards in Super Bowl 8 were a then-record and earned the game’s MVP nod.
40: Pat Tillman
With a pronounced tip of the cap to Gale Sayers, no explanation needed here.
41: Alvin Kamara
At a time when workhorse backs have gone by the wayside, Kamara is emblematic of the contemporary value on versatility. He’s averaged nearly 1,500 yards and 12 TDs from scrimmage during his six seasons even though he’s only started two-thirds of the time.
42: Ronnie Lott*
Best defensive back ever? You’re forgiven if you forgot arguably the hardest-hitting safety of the Super Bowl era began his career as a perennial Pro Bowl corner.
43: Troy Polamalu*
Greatest strong safety ever? Name a better one than this human heat seeker. One of the very few safeties to be named Defensive Player of the Year.
44: Leroy Kelly*
He’s perhaps not as well remembered as Super Bowl 17 MVP John Riggins. But there was very little falloff from Brown to Kelly, who took over in Cleveland’s backfield following the superstar’s retirement in the summer of 1966. Kelly was an All-Pro the next three seasons before eventually finding his way to a gold jacket.
45: Emlen Tunnell*
One of the best DBs and return men in history, his 79 INTs trail only Krause.
46: Doug Plank
If you grew up watching the NFL in the 1980s, Raiders TE Todd Christensen, Cardinals S Tim McDonald and Chargers RB Chuck Muncie were familiar figures. But if you grew up watching the NFL in the 1980s, then you forever appreciate the Bears’ “46 defense,” so named by coordinator Buddy Ryan for Plank’s ferocity – and jersey number.
47: Mel Blount*
Maybe he’s not appreciated enough individually despite being a central figure in Pittsburgh’s famed “Steel Curtain” defense. But there aren’t many players who force the NFL to rewrite its rule book, but it did because of the 1975 Defensive Player of the Year so physically dominated receivers. With the “Mel Blount Rule” implemented in 1978, defenders could no longer bump them more than 5 yards downfield.
48: Daryl Johnston
One of the very last pure fullbacks, the three-time Super Bowl champ was a huge component of Emmitt’s Smith’s success in Dallas and also an underrated weapon himself, catching nearly 300 passes in his 11-year career.
49: Bobby Mitchell*
He joined Washington in 1962, making the franchise the last in the NFL to integrate. After switching from running back to flanker, he became the first to post consecutive 1,300-yard receiving seasons in 1963.
50: Mike Singletary*
Twice the Defensive Player of the year, the seven-time All-Pro is part of Chicago’s proud lineage of star middle linebackers. Also the anchor of the Bears’ famed “46 defense.”
51: Dick Butkus*
The five-time All-Pro is also part of Chicago’s proud lineage of star middle linebackers and maybe the best of his era in the 1960s.
52: Ray Lewis*
Twice the Defensive Player of the year, the seven-time All-Pro started what’s already become the Ravens’ proud lineage of star middle linebackers. Also the anchor of Baltimore’s famed 2000 defense and the MVP of Super Bowl 35.
53: Mick Tingelhoff*
Harry Carson and Randy Gradishar were also legendary linebackers. But Tingelhoff played 240 consecutive regular-season games over 17 years as a mainstay of the 1960s and 1970s Minnesota Vikings and one of the premier centers of his time.
54: Randy White*
Bobby Wagner is coming. But White – a seven-time All-Pro, co-MVP of Super Bowl 12 and one of the most-feared interior pass rushers ever, hence his nickname “Manster” – remains the quintessential 54. For now.
55: Double double nickel**
A Hall of Fame inside linebacker who was arguably the league’s best at the turn of the century. Sorry, but how do you choose between Junior Seau, more a classic thumper (though he did much more), and Derrick Brooks, a speedy but undersized type who was at the vanguard of the modern era’s ultra-athletic backers who must thrive in coverage? I can’t.
56: Lawrence Taylor*
The last defender to win league MVP (1986), “LT” heralded the age of the pass-rushing linebacker and was the game’s most-feared player in his prime.
57: Dwight Stephenson*
One of Marino’s original bodyguards, Stephenson was perhaps on his way to becoming the greatest center ever before a knee injury cut his career short at eight seasons. And he might be the greatest center of all time anyway.
58: Jack Lambert*
Another 1970s Steelers defensive star, his vampire visage added to his intimidation factor as one of the greatest linebackers ever – his résumé including four rings and 1976 defensive MVP honors. (For modernists, it would be easier to make a case for Von Miller had he not switched to No. 40.)
59: Luke Kuechly
A bummer he retired at 28, but his eight seasons couldn’t have been much more spectacular. Kuechly, the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, was a Pro Bowler in every one of them … save 2012, when he was the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Fit this studious star for a gold jacket.
60: Chuck Bednarik*
The last of the two-way stars, “Concrete Charlie” excelled as a center and linebacker, a position from which he doled out some of the league’s nastiest hits – just ask Frank Gifford. Honorable mention – Otto Graham: Refer to Hutson at No. 14.
61: Bill George*
He’s not as well known as Butkus or Singletary, but the eight-time All-Pro was just as good as the man in the middle of the Bears defense for a dozen years (pre-Butkus).
62: Jason Kelce
Sixty-two is about as anonymous a number as there is in sports … though Super Bowl 57 was quite the showcase with the Eagles center and Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowler Joe Thuney sharing the stage. Now a five-time All-Pro, Kelce is back for at least one more season and may take ownership of 62 all the way back to Canton and his home state of Ohio.
63: Willie Lanier*
Unlike 62, 63 has a surprisingly proud history, including Hall of Famers Dermontti Dawson, Mike Munchak, Lee Roy Selmon and Gene Upshaw. Yet Lanier maybe doesn’t get his just due as a trailblazer for being among the first Black middle linebackers – a position once reserved for white players the way quarterback was. But he showed the doubters a man of color who could dominate – and lead – from the middle, doing so for a 1969 Chiefs defense that doesn’t get the legendary recognition it deserves.
64: Randall McDaniel*
He played 14 seasons, mostly for Minnesota, and was a Pro Bowl guard for 12 of them.
65: Gary Zimmerman*
How good a left tackle was he? Zimmerman was an All-Decade player in both the 1980s and ’90s, retiring as a champion on Elway’s blind side.
66: Ray Nitschke*
An NFL icon of the 1960s as the (scary) defensive face of the powerhouse Packers. The “Nitschke Luncheon” is a rite of passage for new Hall of Fame enshrinees.
67: Bob Kuechenberg
A Pro Bowl guard, his career spanned the ’72 Dolphins to the Marino era.
68: Will Shields*
A mirror to McDaniel, he played 14 seasons in K.C. and was a Pro Bowl guard for 12 of them. And Shields didn’t miss a game in his career.
69: Jared Allen
The four-time All-Pro wore the digits for four teams in his 12-year career, which ended with 136 sacks (including 22 in 2011 for Minnesota).
70: Sam Huff*
With the vision of Giants coordinator Tom Landry, Huff popularized the middle linebacker position – more so when CBS News documented “The Violent World of Sam Huff” as the NFL rose to prominence in the 1950s.
71: Walter Jones*
Former Seahawks boss Mike Holmgren – he worked with Montana, Young and Favre during his career – deemed Jones, a left tackle, the best offensive player he ever coached. Enough said.
72: Dan Dierdorf*
He spent the entirety of his 13-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, earning a spot on the 1970s All-Decade Team.
73: John Hannah*
An All-Decade selection in the 1970s and ’80s, the former New England Patriots guard would still garner some votes as the greatest blocker of all time.
74: Bob Lilly*
Toughie when you’re considering legends like Merlin Olsen, Bruce Matthews and Ron Mix. But we’re going with “Mr. Cowboy,” the first draft pick in team history and a man who helped Dallas rise to prominence before it became “America’s Team.” The seven-time All-Pro didn’t miss a regular-season game in his career, starting all 196 on his way to All-Decade status in the 1960s and ’70s.
75: Joe Greene*
The greatness of David “Deacon” Jones, maybe the best pass-rushing defensive end ever and the man who came up with the term “sack,” must be acknowledged. But 75 goes to “Mean Joe,” arguably the seminal figure of the 1970s Steelers … and a great pitchman for Coca-Cola.
76: Lou Creekmur*
From William & Mary to Motown, the perennial All-Pro blocker was a mainstay during the Lions 1950s glory days, which included three championships.
77: Jim Parker*
He didn’t bring eyeballs to the NFL the way Red Grange, aka “The Galloping Ghost,” did. But Parker was essentially the classic prototype of the modern left tackle. The eight-time All-Pro spent his 11-year career protecting the blind side of the game’s first truly prolific passer, Unitas.
78: ‘Bruce Munoz’**
If this seems like a total copout … well, yep. For my money, nine-time All-Pro Anthony Munoz is the greatest left tackle who ever lived. And there’s no debating Bruce Smith’s league-record 200 sacks since the statistic officially became recognized in 1982. They had their share of battles three decades ago, but I’m not declaring a winner.
79: Roosevelt Brown*
One of the greatest Giants ever, “Rosey” was a fixture at left tackle from 1953 to 1965, the sculpted-from-granite six-time All-Pro also a member of the NFL’s all-century team.
80: Jerry Rice*
“GOAT” was the term long associated with Rice – and deservedly so – before it really gained traction with Brady. Even at a time when the passing game dominates and the schedule has expanded to 17 games, it’s going to take a true unicorn to surpass Rice’s litany of receiving records.
81: Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane*
Spirited a debate as you could have about Hall of Fame WRs Tim Brown, Calvin Johnson and Terrell Owens, none are likely to start for an all-time NFL team. Lane, who picked off a record 14 passes in his 1952 rookie season, might be your starting corner opposite Sanders. And unlike “Prime Time,” the Night Train brought the wood, too.
82: Raymond Berry*
In concert with Unitas, he was one of the early receiving technicians, combining sure hands and revolutionary route running to become one of the league’s foremost weapons on the way to holding the career records for receptions (631) and receiving yardage (9,275) at the time of his retirement following the 1967 season.
83: Ted Hendricks*
The 6-7 “Mad Stork” was one of the most disruptive linebackers ever and a cog on four Super Bowl-winning defenses with the Colts and Raiders.
84: Randy Moss*
From speed to size to hands to swagger to intelligence, perhaps the quintessential receiver … assuming he was engaged, of course. “The Freak” usually was and posted the fourth-most TDs ever – 157, including a single-season record 23 scoring grabs in 2007 (albeit in No. 81).
85: Chad Johnson
HOFers Nick Buoniconti and Jack Youngblood, plus revolutionary Antonio Gates – the pied piper of undersized power forwards who became NFL tight ends – and boyhood idol Wesley Walker were all under consideration. But when you reach six Pro Bowls, post five 1,200-yard receiving seasons and are so devoted to your jersey digits that you legally change your name to “Chad Ochocinco?” That’s unprecedented numerological dedication.
86: Buck Buchanan*
At 6-7, 270 pounds, this defensive tackle was the most imposing member of that 1960s Chiefs defense and its half-dozen Hall of Famers. Dubbed “the finest lineman I have seen” by his college coach, Grambling State’s Eddie Robinson, Buchanan was the first Black player ever drafted with a No. 1 overall pick (1963).
87: Rob Gronkowski
I was on record four years ago anointing “Gronk” as the greatest tight end in NFL history – and that could hold for some time for anyone who values a guy who catches and provides devastating blocking. But Travis Kelce does already have a claim on 87 and, apparently, plenty of runway to bolster it and perhaps obtain all of the significant tight end receiving records before he’s through.
88: Alan Page*
When you think of Michael Irvin’s beloved “88 Club” – which extends well beyond Dallas – pass catchers tend to come to mind, including Hall of Famers Tony Gonzalez, John Mackey, Lynn Swann and Marvin Harrison. But Page, a defensive tackle and the league MVP in 1971 (the only D-lineman to ever win it), was probably the preeminent performer for the “Purple People Eaters” Vikings who reached four Super Bowls.
89: Gino Marchetti*
A member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary Team, the former Colts star was perhaps the most dominant defensive end prior to the Super Bowl era, equally adept at swallowing runners and turfing quarterbacks.
90: Julius Peppers
A two-time All-Decade performer, the nine-time Pro Bowler reached double-digit sacks in ten different seasons.
91: Kevin Greene*
His 160 career sacks are the most by a rush linebacker and rank third overall.
92: Reggie White*
Widely regarded as the greatest defensive lineman ever, White could ragdoll offensive linemen, engulf running backs and certainly terrorized quarterbacks – his 198 sacks two shy of Bruce Smith’s record … though White played in 47 fewer games. He had an ungodly 21 sacks in just 12 games during the strike-shortened 1987 campaign. A two-time Defensive Player of the Year and All-Decade player in the 1980s and ’90s, White was a Pro Bowler in 13 of his 15 NFL seasons.
93: John Randle*
Think a precursor to Aaron Donald but with a lot more to say on the field (and the sideline). Randle’s 137½ career sacks are the most ever by an interior defensive lineman.
94: Charles Haley*
Only Brady has more Super Bowl rings than this fierce pass rusher (100½ career sacks), who was the first to collect five.
95: Richard Dent*
The Super Bowl 20 MVP for the ’85 Bears, he had at least a dozen sacks five times with Chicago. Dent is tied with Randle for 10th all time on the all-time sacks list.
96: Cortez Kennedy*
How dominant was he? Kennedy somehow earned 1992 Defensive Player of the Year honors for a 2-14 Seahawks team, the mammoth defensive tackle recording a career-best 14 sacks. Ironically, 1992 was the only season Kennedy did not wear 96 – he instead played in 99 that year, honoring his late friend, fellow DT Jerome Brown, an Eagles star killed before the season in a car accident.
97: The Bosas
Bryant Young, Cornelius Bennett, Geno Atkins, Simeon Rice and even Cam Heyward all have their claims. But 97 has become a Bosa birthright, beginning quietly enough with John Bosa. His sons, Joey and Nick, have already combined for more than 100 career sacks, Nick winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022. He may ultimately eclipse John and Joey, who didn’t get into 97 until his fourth NFL season.
98: Robert Mathis
The five-time Pro Bowler is the Colts’ all-time leading sack man with 123.
99: Aaron Donald
We end with a number that seen it’s heritage slowly grow, from the likes of Mark Gastineau to Hall of Famers Dan Hampton, Jason Taylor and Warren Sapp. But it recently seemed three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt would forever have an ironclad grip on 99. Now it appears Donald, who still has time to add to his trio of defensive MVPs, could forever be the signature 99, his durability distinguishing him from Watt.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
