Lawrence Taylor
Reggie White
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Reggie White leads 2 of 3 categories. Our all-time ranking places Lawrence Taylor at #4 and Reggie White at #7.
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The case for Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor is the defensive player most often credited with changing the game itself. As an outside linebacker for the New York Giants, his explosive edge rushing forced offenses to redesign protections and elevated the left tackle into a premium position charged with blocking his blind-side attacks. He recorded 132.5 official sacks, though the statistic was not tracked for his 1981 rookie year, and won three Defensive Player of the Year awards. In 1986 he became one of only two defensive players ever named NFL MVP, a season in which he tallied 20.5 sacks and dragged the Giants to a title. He won two Super Bowls and made ten Pro Bowls. Ferocious, instinctive, and relentless, he set the template for the modern pass-rushing edge defender.
The case for Reggie White
Known as the Minister of Defense, Reggie White combined rare size, power, and quickness to become one of the most unstoppable pass rushers ever. He retired as the NFL all-time sack leader with 198, a mark since passed only by Bruce Smith, and he twice won Defensive Player of the Year. White was a wrecking ball against both the run and the pass, capable of bull-rushing a guard into the backfield or dipping around a tackle. He made thirteen Pro Bowls across sixteen seasons and, after signing one of the landmark free-agent deals of the new era, delivered a Super Bowl to Green Bay, recording three sacks in the Packers Super Bowl XXXI win. Few players so thoroughly dominated the line of scrimmage for so long.