Debate: Who are the top 3 defensive players of all time

[Hawkeye0202]

Tough one but I'm going with,

• LT
• Deion
• Late Reggie White

As good as Donald is, he's not even top 10 IMO

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

LT
Donald
Sanders

That's the best 3 as far as I'm concerned.

Honorable mentions: Reggie White (best DE ever), Bruce Smith, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed (best S ever), and Rod Woodson.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Tough one but I'm going with,

• LT
• Deion
• Late Reggie White

As good as Donald is, he's not even top 10 IMO

Nailed it completely.

that was my 3

 

[jazzcat22]

Bobby Carpenter
Trystan Hill
Taco Charlton

 

[Mannix]

Everson Griffen, Nolan Carroll, Jeff Rohrer.....all Cowboys baby!!!!!

 

[ClappingCarrot]

LT, Donald, Prime

You could probably interchange Donald or Deion with a few other guys, but this is my list.

 

[OmerV]

LT and Reggie White are no brainers. I can't imagine anyone not having those as top 2.

The third is much more difficult. Deion was best shutdown CB, but not much of a tackler. Deacon Jones can be argued as best pass rusher from DE, although Bruce Smith is in that conversation. Aaron Donald is clearly in the conversation because in my mind he has taken Interior defensive line to a level that surpasses Joe Green, Lilly, White and others. Of course the hard nosed MLB's like Ray Lewis and Dick Butkus could be argued.

 

[conner01]

3 would be hard
You could make the cases for a lot of guys
Aaron Donald would have to be a serious consideration
Deacon Jones was the most dominate player for a generation
I couldn’t put prime on a list above a dline guy because their job is harder yet they impact many more players. You can throw away from a CB, it’s hard to protect against guys like LT, Reggie, deacon and Donald

 

[Teague31]

Swap Deion for Bob Lilly and you have a winner.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Bobby Carpenter
Trystan Hill
Taco Charlton

This guy right here knows football

 

[jazzcat22]

Some considerations, maybe not top 3, but to some fans they could be.

Bruce Smith
Charles Woodson

Lester Hayes, at least for the use of "Stickum"

 

[MarcusRock]

LT and Reggie White are no brainers. I can't imagine anyone not having those as top 2.

This is my thought right here. Have fun with your number 3 but these 2 are All-World from what I saw.

 

[blueblood70]

Tough one but I'm going with,

• LT
• Deion
• Late Reggie White

As good as Donald is, he's not even top 10 IMO

Donald because he just got 30 a year.

 

[Doomsday101]

Bruce Smith all time sack leader

 

[RonnieT24]

I'm not quite old enough to have seen Night Train Lane play.. but that dude must have been off the chain in his day. Not only did he get an insane number of INTs back when teams only passed about half as much as they do now but he was known as a fierce tackler. Maybe some of the REAL old timers can clue us in on that dude. LT and Reggie White were certainly two of the best I ever saw during my lifetime but Nate Newton will tell you that White's teammate, the late Jerome Brown, was probably even better. Which is an absurdly frightening thought. Dude was a game wrecker from the DT position. But he is on a long list of world class athletes who learned the hard way that just because a car CAN go 150 mph doesn't mean YOU are qualified to drive it that fast. Speaking of game wreckers who died tragically in a car wreck.. we should probably carve out some love for Derrick Thomas on this list.

 

[JoeKing]

Reggie White
Ray Lewis
Lawrence Taylor

 

[JBond]

LT
Donald
Sanders

That's the best 3 as far as I'm concerned.

Honorable mentions: Reggie White (best DE ever), Bruce Smith, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed (best S ever), and Rod Woodson.

Remember the Ed Reed for Ware trade talk? That was a thing for a moment, at least on the interwebs.

 

[RonnieT24]

Bruce Smith all time sack leader

It's hard for me to give Bruce too much love because he got abused so badly by the Cowboys line in those two Super Bowls. I know he was great but getting punked like that while in your prime leaves a bad taste.

 

[Doomsday101]

It's hard for me to give Bruce too much love because he got abused so badly by the Cowboys line in those two Super Bowls. I know he was great but getting punked like that while in your prime leaves a bad taste.

True but then the same could be said for Reggie White, Eric Williams beat that man like a step child, had Reggie throwing a fit on the field.

 

[baltcowboy]

LT, Mean Joe Green, Reggie White.