gold star for USAHOF

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Washington Commanders.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Commanders improved but could not make the playoffs.  There were no changes, but as always, we acknowledge that we looked at the previous season.

As always, we present our top five, which (obviously) saw no changes:

1. Sammy Baugh
2. Darrell Green
3. Chris Hanburger
4. Charley Taylor
5. Art Monk

You can find the entire list here.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #143.  Peak Period 2018-22.

Jonathan Allen has played seven seasons to date, all with Washington, and obtained two Pro Bowls over that time.  The versatile Defensive End had an off year by his standards in 2023 and will need to rebound for any serious Hall of Fame consideration.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top 50 Washington Commanders.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following:

1. Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Washington did not make the playoffs, and there were no new entrants nor any rank elevations. Nevertheless, we always recognize when we take notice of an additional season.

As always, we present our top five, which was not (obviously) affected by the last season:

1. Sammy Baugh

2. Darrell Green

3. Chris Hanburger

4. Charley Taylor

5. Art Monk

You can find the entire list here.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post-2021 revision of our top 50 Miami Dolphins.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the then-named Washington Football Team again failed to make the Playoffs.  There are no new entrants our list, but one significant jump, though it did not impact the top 40.

As always, we present our top five:

1. Sammy Baugh

2. Darrell Green

3. Chris Hanburger

4. Charley Taylor

5. Art Monk

You can find the entire list here.

The only change was Offensive Lineman, Brandon Scherff, who joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in the off-season is the only move, going to #30 from #48.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Washington Commanders will be retiring the number 9 of former Hall of Fame Quarterback, Sonny Jurgensen.

Jurgensen, who is 88, was associated with the franchise for over 50 years, primarily as a player, and later as a radio broadcaster.

After seven seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, the latter three where he was a starter, Jurgensen was traded to the then-named Washington Redskins before the 1964 Season, and it would prove to be an excellent fit.  A five-time Pro Bowl Selection in Washington, Jurgensen set a then record 3,747 Passing Yards in 1967, and was a five-time leader in Passing Yards, three of which as a Redskin.  Losing his starting job to Billy Kilmer in 1971, Jurgensen remained with the team until 1974.  

With Washington, Jurgensen threw for 22,585 Yards and 179 Touchdowns.  He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

He becomes the fourth player in Commanders history to have his number retired, joining Sean Taylor (#21), Sammy Baugh (#33) and Bobby Mitchell (#49).

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Sonny Jurgensen for this impending accolade. 

In 2014, Brandon Scherff of Iowa won the Outland Trophy as the Nation’s top Lineman, and unsurprisingly, he was the first Offensive Linemen taken during the 2015 Draft when Washington took him Fifth Overall.

LaVar Arrington was taken second Overall in 2000, and the Linebacker from Penn State was coming off one of the greatest defensive seasons by a Nittany Lion. In 1999, Arrington won the Butkus Award, Bednarik Award, and Lambert Award and was a two-time All-American.

Ron McDole made his Pro Football debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1961, after which he was a Houston Oiler for four Games.  McDole stayed in the AFL with the Buffalo Bills, where he had his greatest success, winning two AFL Championships and was twice an AFL All-Star. This didn’t mean that when he signed with the Washington Redskins in 1971 that he didn’t have a lot offer his new team.

A Philadelphia Eagle for the first three years of his career, Joe Lavender was traded to the Washington Redskins after the 1975 Season.

Billy Kilmer was one of the many frustrated players in the early years of the New Orleans Saints, and when they drafted Quarterback, Archie Manning, Kilmer saw the writing on the wall and asked to be traded.   He got his wish when they traded him to Washington in January of 1971.

Hugh Taylor was an All-American basketball player at Tulane in 1943, but he served in the Navy for two years after. Upon his discharge, he played a year of college football at Oklahoma City (not Oklahoma or Oklahoma State), and he went undrafted.  The Washington Redskins signed him in 1947, and it was arguably the best undrafted signing in franchise history.

Clinton Portis played his first two years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, and the sports world was stunned when he was traded to the Washington Redskins for Champ Bailey.  It has mostly pontificated that Denver won the trade, but Portis was still a productive rusher for the Redskins.

The career of Mark Rypien is an interesting one, but as much as some people could say that he was lucky, he was also very good when needed to be.

If you are an all-time leader in any NFL stat, it stands to reason that you were pretty damned good.  This is who we are talking about next in Brian Mitchell, who is the all-time leader in Kick Return and Punt Return Yards, much of which was accomplished as a member of the Washington Redskins.

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Cincinnati’s Brig Owens in 1965, but he never made it past the Taxi Squad.  He was packaged in a five-player deal to the team that would become their fierce rivals, the Washington Redskins after that year, and it was in D.C. where the Safety played his entire pro career.

Undrafted out of the University of Maryland in 1979, Neal Olkewicz signed with the Washington Redskins, making the team. As it turned out, Olkewicz did not just make the roster; he became a starting Linebacker for the Redskins for over a decade.

A First Round Pick from California, Ken Harvey played his first six seasons with the Phoenix Cardinals. While he was a serviceable NFL Linebacker, he was not a star.  This would change when he signed with the Washington Redskins as a Free Agent in 1994.

Wilber Marshall was a key component of the Chicago Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl Championship team, and the season after he led the NFL in Approximate Value with 23.  Marshall proved himself to be an upper-end Linebacker, and he signed with the Washington Redskins as a Free Agent in 1988.

A member of the Los Angeles Rams for his first four years of his professional career, Diron Talbert joined the Washington Redskins in 1971, where he would have a much greater role.

From the University of Pittsburgh, Mark May was a First Round Pick (20thOverall) by the Washington Redskins, and was an original "Hogs," a term coined by Offensive Line Coach Joe Bugel, the year after May was drafted.