NFL Power Rankings: 30 Greatest Defensive Players Of All-Time
By Robby Sabo
1. Lawrence Taylor, 3-4 OLB
- New York Giants (1981-93)
- 1986 NFL MVP / 1981, 1982 and 1986 Defensive POY / 1981 Defensive ROY / 1986 and 1990 Super Bowl Champion / 8-Time 1st Team All Pro
I went into this exercise looking to find somebody to top Lawrence Taylor as the greatest defensive player of all-time.
No matter how I went about that challenge, I simply couldn’t find the right angle.
New York Giants outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor is the best defensive player in the history of the National Football League.
Taylor played 13 seasons. Putting aside his last three, the man was the most dominant force any defensive player has ever been.
He just didn’t dominate games, he changed the way we’ll look at football forever.
In the past we viewed defensive lines as a whole. Blocking schemes would normally be gameplanned on a total team-defense level. However, when Taylor made his mark in 1981 as a rookie, he started to force offenses to make sure their left tackle was as stud.
If that left tackle wasn’t up to snuff, the quarterback would soon feel the wrath.
L.T. compiled 132.5 sacks which currently places him 11th on the all-time list. It’s not about the sheer numbers with LT, it’s about when, where and how Taylor got those numbers.
He could do it all: rush the passer, drop into coverage, and even come up with the biggest tackle of the game on a moment’s notice. When the stage was built bigger, Taylor’s game grew larger.
In 1986, he took home AP NFL MVP honors, only one of two men to ever win the award from the defensive side.
Next: Defensive All-Time Team