Ray Lewis, Sam Mills, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher and DeMarcus Ware.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #18.
Wagner's impressive run in Seattle came to an end last year, when he became a Los Angeles Ram, but in 2023, he is back with Seattle. With the Seahawks, he went to eight Pro Bowls, was a six-time First Team All-Pro, and a two-time leader in Combined Tackles. He is the top Linebacker on this list, passing Von Miller the year before, and is still one of the better LBs in the business. The 2010s All-Decade player saw his Pro Bowl streak end in his lone year in L.A., but he was still a Second Team All-Pro. The eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer looks so much better in 2023 as a Seattle Seahawk!
2022 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #10.
Von Miller already has the Hall of Fame resume, and we think he has the goods to get in on the first ballot. A Defensive Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl winner and Super Bowl MVP, Miller has all the statistical requirements that the Hall looks for, and the name recognition that fits the word "Fame". Miller is more of a role player 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, and he plays for the contending Buffalo Bills. He onlly needs three Sacks to break into to the top 25 on the unofficial list (we count the one on Pro Football Reference, which calculates as of 1960).
2022 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #29.
We said last year that the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, Khalil Mack, needed a bounce-back year in his first season in Los Angeles, and that is what he did, adding a seventh Pro Bowl to his ledger. Mack is still one of the best Outside Linebackers in football and, we would not put it past him to have another 10-Sack year.. If he stays helathy this year and next, Mack should join the 100-Sack Club in 2024. Mack is likely a Hall of Famer right now, but another good year will lock him in.
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 Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 and twice led the NFL in Sacks and Tackles for Loss. Still south of 30, Watt added his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl last year, despite only playing in ten Games. Watt is in his peak, and is already in the history books having tied Michael Strahan with the single-season sack record of 22.5. Watt currently exceeds the hefty AV/G for Linebackers and is on pace to follow his brother J.J. into Canton.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #42, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #77.
Leonard has one of the highest AV/G of any defensive player, but he suffered a serious blow last year as he only played three Games due to multiple injuries. Still, Leonard is already a three-time First Team All-Pro and if healthy, will get a fourth this year. A former Defensive Rookie of the Year, a healthy Barrett could win the DPOY.
2022 Pre-Season Ranlk #58, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #81, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #74.
Time is running out for Jones, who begins his second year in a Raiders uniform, but there are some solid points on his resume. Jones has two top three finishes in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and is climbing the Sack total, going into 2023 with 112. That could be the key statistic for Jones as a high number in that cartegory is hard to ignore.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #63, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #83, 2020 PrepSeason Rank #94.
We argued that Lavonte David was one of the most underrated players of the 2010s, and we think that is even more true in overall football history. Let's say that is true, as underrated players (in their time) have made the Hall, but it is very difficult for the career-Buccaneer to crack the plane that will give him Canton consideration. Hopefully, the Bucs will honor him some capacity when his career concludes.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #69, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #68.
In 2014, Houston led the NFL with 22 Sacks, and he went to four straight Pro Bowls ending in 2015. That seems like a long time ago, as he has been average since, and unless he has another Pro Bowl-worthy year, he won’t make it to Canton. Houston now joins the Carolina Panthers, a team that does not look to be making any playoff run, and bluntly his peak period is well behind him. Anyone who is in the 100-Sack club is a player we love, but that is a growing group by the year. Still, he is a pass-ruhing specialist, and we are curious to see how many more spots he climb up the ladder before it is over.
2022 Pre-SeasonRank #137
Davis is a veteran who has seen hhis profile skyrocket over the last four years. An AP All-Pro the last four years (one First Team and three Second Teams), Davis was finally a Pro Bowl Selection in 2022, and there is a buzz around him that never existed in his 20s.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #118, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #142
Warner quietly had a monster 2020, and although he did not repeat that in 2021, he did have an impressive 2022, though not so quietly. A five-year veteran, Warner is the best defensive player on a team that was one game away from last year's Super Bowl.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #133, 2021 Pre-SeasonRank #146.
Smith was a Second Team All-Pro the for two years in a row (2020-21), but as good as he was, the Bears were not, and Smith and Chicago begam disenamored with each other. Chicago traded Smith to the Ravens during the season, and it was by the far the best year of his career, with a career-high in Approximate Valie (17) and landing a First Team All-Pro. This could be a huge season for his Hall of Fame chances.
2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
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 both. The DROY in 2021, Parsons is two-for-two in First Team All-Pros, and may have had the best first two seasons in Dallas defensive history. If that is true, think about what ground that covers.
2022 Pre-Season Ranl #107, 2021 Pre-Season Rank: 120, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #142.
A Pro Bowl Selection in 2019 and 2020, Tremaine Edmunds' push for greatness has satlled in his last two years with the Bills. Edmunds joins a very interesting Chicago Bears squad in 2023, and would have to return to a previous level to have any serious chance.
2022 Pre-Season Rank #119, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #133
After eight years in Minnesota, Eric Kendricks is now a Los Angeles Charger, but any Hall of Fame talk (if any) has stalled since his monster 2019 season. Has he done enough for the Vikings to honor him in the future in some capacity?
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2021 Pre-Season Rank #141
White has only been an NFL pro for four seasons, but they have been very good, with a Super Bowl Ring, a Pro Bowl Selection and a Second Team All-Pro nod. He is not getting a lot of attention nationally as he had far more high-profile teammates n the past, but that could change with continued excellent play.
2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
Matt Milano had a solid career going into 2022, but had an unexpected emergence as the Bills’ top defensive player. This is what lands Milano on the lower end of this list, but we have all seen players who made their Canton bones in the middle third of their career.
2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
A seasoned veteran with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Shaquil Barrett led the NFL in Sacks in 2019 (19.5), and is a Super Bowl Champion. He has gone to two Pro Bowls, but as he is in his 30s, his chances for the Hall of Fame is shrinking.
2022: Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
Smith joins the Cleveland Browns this year, his fourth after Baltimore, Green Bay and Minnesota, and has received a trip to the Pro Bowl three of the last four years. In all three of those Pro Bowl seasons, Smith had at least 10 Sacks.