When it comes to striking fear into an opposing offense, having a great defensive end can be a game changer. A lightning quick defensive end can cause chaos for offense by interrupting a quarterback's rhythm by rushing and hitting him. A great defensive end is double teamed most of the time, allowing for his counterpart to blow up an offense's scheme. A great defensive end isn't measured by stats, though having a lot of sacks certainly doesn't hurt his claim to being one of the greatest of all time.
There are a lot of familiar faces on the list of greatest defensive ends of all time. Famous defensive ends like Reggie White, Michael Strahan and Jack Youngblood are some of the toughest and menacing players in the league. White and Strahan were considered the best defensive ends of their generation. Strahan currently holds the single season record for sacks in a season. Youngblood cemented his status as the toughest player in the NFL when he played in Super Bowl XIV with a broken leg.
Selecting who the greatest defensive end of all time isn't easy, especially since most of these defensive ends either are in or will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But you can vote for who you feel is the best-ever on this Ultimate List.1
2,935855Reggie White
Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers2
2,174809Bruce Smith
Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins3
1,631395Joe Greene
Pittsburgh Steelers, North Texas Mean Green football4
3,0431,192J. J. Watt
Houston Texans, Wisconsin Badgers football5
1,803954Deacon Jones
Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football, Los Angeles Rams6
1,402623Julius Peppers
North Carolina Tar Heels football, Chicago Bears7
1,253663Howie Long
Oakland Raiders, Villanova Wildcats football8
1,677930Michael Strahan
Texas Southern Tigers football, New York Giants9
723370Ed Jones
Tennessee State Tigers football, Dallas Cowboys10
984573Jack Youngblood
Los Angeles Rams11
761426Richard Dent
Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears12
697348Jason Taylor
Washington Redskins, Akron Zips football13
419179Merlin Olsen
Los Angeles Rams, Utah State Aggies football14
812477Charles Haley
San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys15
665371Dwight Freeney
Indianapolis Colts, Syracuse Orange football16
820480DeMarcus Ware
Troy Trojans football, Dallas Cowboys17
500323Carl Eller
Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings18
917636Jared Allen
Idaho State Bengals football, Kansas City Chiefs19
421237Bubba Smith
Baltimore Colts, Houston Oilers20
474317Jim Marshall
Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings21
494333L. C. Greenwood
Pittsburgh Steelers22
414294Gino Marchetti
Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts23
383246Lyle Alzado
Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders24
545469Lee Roy Selmon
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oklahoma Sooners football25
389302Chris Doleman
Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons