Draft Classes With the Most Sacks

By John Turney  

This year's class of rookies is reportedly replete with pass rushers, especially edge rushers, with the evidence everywhere in random headlines:

"The 2023 edge defender class is a deep, deep group with potential impact players stretching into Day 2."

"2023 NFL Draft: Breaking down a deep class of EDGE rushers"

"The 2023 Edge Rusher class is extremely deep and is the best overall group in this draft."

Those headlines make for great conversation, but it will be years before we know if they're accurate ... and if the edge rushers they're promoting did what they were drafted to do.

Which is: Pressure the quarterback. Sack him. Knock him down, deflect passes, make him uncomfortable. Basically, affect him negatively in any way you can.

Some draft classes were better than most at reaching the quarterback, and we rank the top 10 here. So how did we get there? By using Pro Football Reference's (PFR) search engine, crunching the numbers and adding in Pro Bowls and various postseason honors, as well as Hall-of-Fame elections.

Under consideration are groups of defensive linemen and linebackers (defensive backs were omitted) who totaled the most in their collective careers since the common NFL-AFL draft of 1967. Undrafted free agents, however, were excluded.

So Hall-of-Famer John Randle, for example, wasn't included in the 1990 draft class. He was among the best UDFA signings ever but a miss by all 28 of the NFL scouting departments. So no partial credit. The same goes for Cameron Wake in 2005. Everyone whiffed on him.

This is a roll call for drafted players only.

10. Class of 1992—1,086-1/2  sacks combined by drafted defensive linemen and linebackers

This is one folks would not expect to see. It didn't have a single draftee reach 100 sacks, with Robert Porcher the leader with 95-1/2. However, 12 members of this class each had 40 or more sacks, so it was more deep than top-heavy in terms of talent.

The 34 drafted linemen made a total of 10 Pro Bowls.

9. Class of 1971—1,093 sacks.

A couple of classes have more sacks, but they didn't have as many from defensive linemen. It wasn't until a few years later that teams began using outside linebackers as rushers in 3-4 schemes.

This class was loaded with talent, though some were underachievers, and it impressed at the Senior Bowl and College All-Star game where it pushed the world-champion Baltimore Colts with a stellar pass rush.

Jack Youngblood, Lyle Alzado and Tony "Mac the Sack" McGee each surpassed 100 sacks ... unofficially. Though sacks didn't become official stats until 1982, PFR has a database going back to 1960.

Of the 39 front-seven players who were drafted and recorded sacks, the average was 28 for their careers. Fourteen defensive linemen had 20 or more.

8. Class of 1985—1,113-1/2 sacks

Bruce Smith, the all-time leader sacker, came from this class. So did Kevin Greene and Chris Doleman. That's three players with over 150 sacks each, and all are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

They also accounted for 24 of the 30 Pro Bowls of this class.

Simon Fletcher was no slouch, either with 97½ sacks. He's on the short list for the best-ever player never to go to a Pro Bowl

7. Class of 1986—1,122½ sacks

 Leslie O'Neal, Clyde Simmons, Pat Swilling and Charles Haley each had 100 or more sacks, but only Haley is in the Hall of Fame. This class made 35 Pro Bowls among the linemen and rush linebackers, 20 when excluding off-the-ball linebackers.

6. Class of 2010—1,159½ sacks

This class featured a lot of interior rushers. Ndamukong Suh, Geno Atkins, Gerald McCoy and Linval Joseph accounted for 21 of the 32 Pro Bowl slots that defensive linemen garnered. The top two edge rushers were Carlos Dunlap and Jason Pierre-Paul, with 100 and 94-1/2 sacks, respectively.

Ten players had 40 or more sacks apiece, and 15 had at least 25.

5. Class of 1975—1,189-1/2 sacks

The San Diego Chargers had four of the top 33 draft picks and took Gary Johnson at nine, Louis Kelcher at 30 and Fred Dean at 33. Talk about a good haul. Those three totaled 208½ sacks, five All-Pro selections and 11 Pro Bowls.

Dean and George Martin (a Giants' 11th-rounder who had 96½ sacks) spent parts of their careers as nickel edge rushers and were among the best ever in that role.

Robert Brazile was the first outside linebacker to blitz frequently in a 3-4 defense, and he had 48 sacks. That's not a lot by today's standards, but he would have doubled that figure had he played his entire career doing what edge rushers did in the 1980s.

Twelve of the top 20 would play either defensive tackle or a 3-4 end in their careers, including Hall-of-Famer Randy White. Like 2010, it was more of a defensive interior type of draft class.

4. Class of 1981—1,190 sacks

Rushbackers (the term Lawrence Taylor called his position) dominated the top of this draft class. L.T. led with way with 142 sacks (PFR), while fellow Hall-of-Famer Rickey Jackson trailed by just six with 136. Both totals include their 1981 rookie seasons, the year before the NFL made individual sacks an official category.

Dexter Manley had 103-1/2 sacks, and Howie Long (a third front-seven Hall of Famer) had 91-1/2. Those two combined with Taylor and Jackson for 25 Pro Bowls combined.

Nine players had 40 or more sacks each.

3. Class of 1984—1,204½ sacks

Reggie White leads the list with 198 sacks, the second most in official NFL history. He, William Fuller and Lee Williams were part of the NFL's 1984 supplemental draft of USFL players and are three of the top rushers in that class.

While White accounted for almost half of the 27 Pro Bowls in the class, there were a couple of solid inside rushers, as well - Jumpy Geathers and Keith Millard. Geathers was power. Millard was quickness.

2. Class of 1983—1,228½ sacks

Some good names in this class, Hall-of-Famer Richard Dent, Greg Townsend and Jim Jeffcoat. Each had more than 100 sacks. Then came Leonard Marshall, Charles Mann, Karl Mecklenburg and Mike Cofer -- each with 62-1/2 or more.

Of that group, only Jeffcoat was a first-round pick.

1. Class of 2011—1,281½ sacks and still counting.

This class is full of dominant players.

Ten players with 50 or more sacks, five with over 100, two likely Hall of Famers (J.J. Watt and Von Miller) and two more (Cameron Jordan and Cam Heyward) who are possible. Then there's Aldon Smith. Had he stayed on the football field, he'd be well over 100 sacks by now.

The linemen and outside linebackers totaled 46 Pro Bowls and 16 AP All-Pros, the most of any draft class.

That's it. The top ten.

NOTE: One draft class to keep an eye on is 2017. So far, its front seven players have amassed 737 sacks and 16 Pro Bowls -- and they're just seven seasons into their careers. If they continue that pace, the class makes this list.