2023 Pre-Season Rank #4, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #10.  Peak Period: 2011-12/2014-16

Von Miller already has a Hall of Fame resume and might have the goods to get in on the first ballot. 

A Defensive Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl winner, and Super Bowl MVP for the Denver Broncos, Miller has all the statistical requirements the Hall looks for and the name recognition that fits the word "Fame.”  Miller is more of a role player for the Buffalo Bills at this stage, but he is a leader, and we are only talking about the strength of his legacy.  A second Super Bowl win would do a lot, though Buffalo looks to be in a reloading year, and realistically, Miller may not be playing for much longer.

Statistically, Miller is the active leader in Sacks (123.5) and is three behind recent inductee Dwight Freeney.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #15, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #68, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #102.

T.J. Watt has rocketed through this rank, winning the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 while placing second in 2020 and 2023.  Watt is a three-time Sack-leader, a two-time Tackles for Loss leader and is in the conversation for the best pass-rusher of the last five years.

Turning 30 this year, Watt is already a four-time First Team All-Pro and shows no signs of decline.  Now, Watt is on pace to join his brother J.J. in Canton.  Sadly, their busts won’t be beside each other in the Hall!

2023 Pre-Season Rank #14, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #29.  Peak Period: 2015-19.

Mack has been a consistent pass rusher since he entered the NFl, and the 2016 AP Defensive Player of the Year has continued to control his edge role.   Last season, Mack added his eighth Pro Bowl and boasted a career-best 17 Sacks, which propelled him over 100 for his career.  

Mack may no longer be the highest profile player in his position, but he continues to rack up the numbers that should gain him a Hall of Fame spot.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #34, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #53, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #99, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #144.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Over the last few years, it has felt that the Browns were on the cusp of greatness, and Myles Garrett was a large part of that optimism.  Cleveland has disappointed, but Garrett has not, going to five Pro Bowls and earning three First Team All-Pros in his seven years of service.  Two years ago, Garrett was fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, won it last year, and could win it again.  Garrett also led the NFL in Approximate Value (20).

Notably, Garrett enters 2024 with a six-season streak of at least 10 Sacks.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #26 2021 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #36. Peak Period: 2014-18

A 15-year veteran, Campbell’s six Pro Bowls happened in a seven-year period (2014-20), which includes all three of his seasons as a Jacksonville Jaguar and his first in Baltimore.  Campbell, who recently won the Walter Payton Man of the Year, also was honored with an All-Decade Selection.  Campbell is 38 but still plays solid football as he begins his first year with the Miami Dolphins.  High-character guys, especially those with a significant milestone (Campbell joined the 100-Sack club last year), generally find their way into Canton.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #25, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #36, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #42.  Peak Period: 2018-22

Jordan is one of the many players on this list whose second half seems to eclipse his first, and isn't that a stunning statement considering that he was a 2010s All-Decade Player?  He had a six-year Pro Bowl streak snapped last season but has eight in total, and a healthy number of career Sacks (117.5) and Tackles for Loss (153).  His Hall of Fame case is also aided by his association with only one team, New Orleans, where he has been a leader on and off the field for over a decade.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #100. Peak Period 2019-23

Very few players on either side of the ball have made this big of a rank jump as Chris Jones, who might have taken over as the best Defensive Tackle in Football.  Jones is now a three-time Super Bowl winner, the king of the Chiefs defense, and has five All-Pros (one First Team, three Second Teams) on his resume.  Third in DPOY voting last year in 2022, Jones is a threat to win it in 2024. 

Would KC have won their last three Super Bowls without Jones?  Probably not.

2023 Pre-Season Rank 2022 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #87.  Peak Period: 2017-21

In the first six seasons of Cameron Heyward's career, there was no mention of him ever sniffing the Hall of Fame. The next six years would change everything, as he begins 2023 on a six-year Pro Bowl streak, with three of those yielding a First-Team All-Pro Selection. Heyward defied the odds just to be ranked this high with that start, and last season’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award was added to his resume.

A healthy Heyward, even at 35, could generate his seventh Pro Bowl.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #69, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #68.  Peak Period 2011-15.

In 2014, Houston led the NFL with 22 Sacks and went to four straight Pro Bowls, ending in 2015. That run with the Kansas City Chiefs seems like a long time ago, as he has been average since, and unless he has another Pro Bowl-worthy year, he likely won’t make it to Canton.  

This will be especially hard as he is currently a free agent, but he is still a free agent with over 100 Sacks (112), and that club sees multiple new members annually.  If his career is over, this is the body of work we have to judge him on, and as it stands now, the only Hall he will enter is the Kansas City Chiefs Hall.  That would still be an amazing accomplishment.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #83. Peak Period: 2019-23

The explosive Nick Bosa is one of a handful of players who won the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year (2019) and later the AP Defensive Player of the Year (2022), a combination of trophies that can pave the way to a bronze bust.

The cornerstone of a defense that has been to two Super Bowls, Bosa’s five-year peak is impacted by an injury that held him to two Games in 2020, but when he is healthy, Bosa is among the best pass-rushers in football. 

2023 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #102 2021 Pre-Season Rank #102, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #90.  Peak Period: 2017-19/2022-23

We said a couple of years ago that “Hunter is a pick for a lot of people to have a breakout defensive campaign, and he is coming off of back-to-back Pro Bowl and 14.5 Sack years”.  That didn’t happen, as he missed the entire 2020 season with a neck injury and was not great in 2021.  Healthy in 2022, Hunter responded with two straight Pro Bowl years and is coming off his highest Sack number (16) and a league-leading 23 Tackles for Loss.

After eight years in Minnesota, Hunter is now a Houston Texan, and if he can build off of his 2023 campaign, Hunter could make a Hall of Fame run.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #74, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #76, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #93, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #128.  Peak Period:  2018-22

Buckner played his first four seasons with San Francisco, and in his first year in Indianapolis (2020), he set a personal best of 16 in Approximate Value and earned his inaugural First Team All-Pro. Throw in a 2021 and 2023 Pro Bowl and you have a player trending in the right direction.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #51, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #60, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #82, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #97.  Peak Period: 2017-21

The 2016 Defensive Rookie of the Year could not add much to his Hall of Fame after 2021, as in 2022, he missed most of the season due to a groin injury.  When he returned, he hampered the Chargers in their playoff game against Jacksonville when he took his helmet off in frustration over a Jags Touchdown.  The penalty helped the Jags win the game, and Bosa was the bonehead of the week.  Last year, the senior Bosa also saw him deal with injuries, but if he is healthy in 2024, there is every reason to think he could reclaim all the spots he lost on this rank. 

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #102. Peak Period: 2021-23*

The best young Linebacker in the game of football is Micah Parsons, who has only played two years, but was the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year in the first two and was third last year.  The 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Parsons is already a two-time First Team All-Pro, had at least a dozen Sacks in his first three seasons, and will likely have more. 

The only reason he is not ranked higher is that he has only played three seasons.  Another year, like the previous three, will propel Parsons into the top 50.

*Parsons has only played three seasons.

2023 Pre-Season #75, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #112. Peak Period: 2018-22

Matt Judon’s four-year streak of Pro Bowl appearances ended last season, when the then-New England Patriot suffered a torn bicep.  Judon had four Sacks in four Games in 2023 and 15 the year before, but if he returns to double-digit Sacks in 2024, it will be his third team, the Atlanta Falcons.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #86, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #90, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #95, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #122.  Peak Period: 2011-15

We noted before that JPP hasn’t been to the Pro Bowl since 2012, and his best days seem like a generation ago.  Perhaps he aimed to prove us wrong as he was healthy in 2020, returned to the Pro Bowl (his third), and won his second Super Bowl, but he enters his year (again) as a Free Agent, and his career might be over.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Maxx Crosby is the type of player who was meant to be the face of a franchise…especially one with the Raiders' history. Crosby broke out as a superstar two years ago, leading the NFL in Tackles for Loss the last two seasons and sacked 27 quarterbacks over that time. He is a potential Defensive Player of the Year on a three-year streak of Pro Bowls.  

If you are a Raiders fan, what is not to love about Maxx Crosby?

2023 Pre-Season Rank #111, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #132, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #131, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #133.  Peak Period: 2017-19/2022-23

DeMarcus Lawrence has had two two-year Pro Bowl runs in his career with the Dallas Cowboys, and the versatile Defensive End stays under the national radar despite playing for America’s Team.  Lawrence would have to elevate his play to make a Hall of Fame run, or in a lesser field, the Cowboys Ring of Honor. 

2023 Pre-Season Rank #108, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #118, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #136, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #141.  Peak Period:  2012-14/2021-21

Quinn’s last Pro Bowl might have been in 2014, but he is still a decent player who has an AV/G near .5.  Saying that, he is going into the 2024 Season looking for a job in the NFL after playing for the Philadelphia Eagles last year.  If this it for Quinn, it was a good run, though it is unlikely that he will receive post-career honors from the Rams, let alone the Hall of Fame, though this was one excellent career,

2023 Pre-Season Rank #89, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #89, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #85. Peak Period:  2015-19.

More of a Swiss-Army Knife type of a player than a pure pass rusher, Clowney went to three straight Pro Bowls (2016-18) with the Houston Texans, though he has not been to one since.

Clowney has been more of a role player, bouncing from various teams but still providing value.  The Hall of Fame dream is likely over, but it is a solid career that still should provide more moments this year as a Carolina Panther.  A ten-sack season (he had 9.5 twice, including last year) is still within reach.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #147. Peak Period: 2018-20/2022-23

The first season in Cleveland was decent for Smith, but it did net him a Pro Bowl.  Smith is north of 30, and the Browns are his fourth team.  Despite being a three-time Pro Bowl Selection, Smith does not give off a star quality. 

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #135, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #138.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Entering his fifth season in the NFL, Jeffery Simmons' streak of Pro Bowls and Second Team All-Pros ended in 2023, though there is much hope that the restructured Titans' defense can put Simmons back on track.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Trey Hendrickson came into his own in his last season in New Orleans (2020) with a 13.5 Sack/12 TFL year, but his three seasons in Cincinnati landed him on this list.  Hendrickson is now a three-time Pro Bowl Selection and has recorded 39.5 Sacks as a Bengal, which includes 17 last year.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked. Peak Period: 2019-23

Playing all five of his seasons thus far with the New York Jets, Quinnen Williams was a First Team All-Pro in 2022 when he had a 12-Sack year.  Williams is also on a two-year Pro Bowl run.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked. Peak Period: 2019-23

Haason Reddick had his first double-digit Sack year in 2020 as an Arizona Cardinal, repeated that as a Carolina Panther in 2021, but had his best season to date in his first year in Philadelphia, where he had 16 Sacks and was the league-leader in Forced Fumbles (5).  A Pro Bowl that year, Reddick was again last season with his fourth straight 10-plus sack year (11), which netted him his second Pro Bowl.

The Eagles traded Reddick to the New York Jets, where he has refused to play as of this writing.  Making a Hall of Fame case is hard when you are inactive.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Josh Hines-Allen is coming off his best season, where he was second in Quarterback Sacks (17.5) and had career-bests in Combined Tackles (66), Tackles for Loss (17), and Quarterback Hits (33).  This gave him his second Pro Bowl, the first coming in his 2019 rookie campaign.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period: 2019-23

After five seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Brian Burns is now a New York Giants, hopeful of adding a third Pro Bowl.   If the Giants do well this year, Burns will play a massive part in that success.

2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period 2019-23

Chubb is a two-time Pro Bowl Selection but he begins the season on the IR, having suffered a torn ACL in December.