The most impressive pass rusher in Washington history

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July 21, 2025

I’ve had fun over the past several weeks doing a some deep dives into statistics to determine the best and/or most productive players in Washington history at various positions.  Here’s what I’ve covered so far:

Since there isn’t a great way to statistically evaluate the effectiveness of individual offensive linemen – at least not one that I respect – I thought I’d move to defense.  The most obvious, easy, and fun place to start is sacks.  Washington has clearly had some big, and occasionally controversial, names over the years.  How do they all stack up?  Let’s find out.

Please note that, technically, the NFL did not start counting sacks until 1981, but these stats I’ve cited here are courtesy of www.pro-football-reference.com, which does have sack totals prior to that year back through 1960.  As a result, this data is limited to 1960 through 2024.

Total career sacks

The following chart shows the 10 players with the most sacks for Washington in team history:

Name Years # sacks
Dexter Manley 1981 – 1989 97.0
Ryan Kerrigan 2011 – 2020 95.5
Charles Mann 1983 – 1993 82.0
Diron Talbert 1971 – 1980 65.5
Dave Butz 1975 – 1988 59.0
Bill Brundige 1970 – 1977 49.5
Monte Coleman 1979 – 1994 49.5
Chris Hanburger 1965 – 1978 45.5
Ron McDole 1971 – 1978 42.5
Jonathan Allen 2017 – 2024 42.0

Obviously, in the world of sacks, its Manley, Kerrigan, then to a lesser e and then everyone else.  Every Redskins fan should have known Manley was in first place.  He actually had a total of 103.5 career sacks, including his two seasons with the Cardinals in 1990 and the Buccaneers in 1991.  Manley only played 4 games for the Cardinals due to failed drug tests, and then was permanently banned after the 1991 season after his fourth failed test.

Of the players on this list, I can’t say that I predicted Diron Talbert to be in fourth place, but he was before my time.   Other than that, there aren’t too many surprises here.  The fact that only one current player, Jonathan Allen, is anywhere near this list is unexpected, but given how all of these stats studied have gone so far, it’s par for the course.

The following chart shows the top 10 players with the most career sacks in NFL history:

Name Years # sacks
Bruce Smith 1985 – 2003 200.0
Reggie White 1985 – 2000 198.0
Deacon Jones 1961 – 1974 173.5
Kevin Green 1985 – 1999 160.0
Julius Peppers 2002 – 2018 159.5
Jack Youngblood 1971 – 1984 151.5
Chris Doleman 1985 – 1999 150.5
Alan Page 1967 – 1981 148.5
Lawrence Taylor 1981 – 1993 142.0
Michael Strahan 1993 – 2007 141.5

As you can see, Bruce Smith and Reggie White are far ahead of everyone else.  Washington’s leader, Manley, is ranked 55th.  It’s a bit surprising that a franchise as old as Washington doesn’t have a higher-ranked player; but frankly, that’s been the case for several of these stat lists I’ve been doing recently.

Smith is also the NFL’s leader in sacks for one team.  He had 171 for the Buffalo Bills.   Deacon Jones is in second place, with 159.5 sacks for the Rams, followed by Jack Youngblood, who got all of his 151.5 sacks for the Rams.

Most sacks in one season

The following chart shows the top 10 most sacks in one season by a Washington player:

Name Year # sacks
Dexter Manley 1986 18.5
Carl Kammerer 1966 17.5
Verlon Biggs 1973 15.0
Dexter Manley 1985 15.0
Charles Mann 1985 14.5
Coy Bacon 1979 13.5
Ken Harvey 1994 13.5
Ryan Kerrigan 2014 13.5
Dexter Manley 1984 13.5
Bill Brundige 1973 13.0
Ryan Kerrigan 2017 13.0
Ryan Kerrigan 2018 13.0

Clearly, Manley is the MVP of this list.  It’s pretty stunning that Ryan Kerrigan is the only player in the last 30 seasons who made the list.  The fact that the only other player in the top 15 is Marco Coleman, with 12.0 in 2000, is a testament to the enormous amount of damage done to the team by former owner Daniel Snyder and his string of bad general managers and coaches who controlled the draft.  Daron Payne had 11.5 sacks in 2022, which is ranked 18th.

The following chart shows the top 10 most sacks in one season in NFL history, since 1960:

Name Year # sacks
Al  Baker 1978 23.0
Michael Strahan 2001 22.5
T.J. Watt 2021 22.5
Jared Allen 2011 22.0
Mark Gastineau 1984 22.0
Justin Houston 2014 22.0
Deacon Jones 1964 22.0
Deacon Jones 1968 22.0
Coy Bacon 1976 21.5
Deacon Jones 1967 21.5

As I said above, the years before 1981 are technically unofficial by NFL standards.  Dexter Manley’s 18.5 sacks in 1986 is tied for 44th in NFL history.

The bottom line with these sack stats is that Washington simply hasn’t had many top pass rushers in its history.  However, as a team, in the Super Bowl era, meaning 1966 to the present, Washington has a total of 2264 sacks, which is ranked 7th.  The Raiders are in first place, with 2438, followed by Dallas, with 2415, then Pittsburgh, with 2404.  The Eagles are in 4th place, with 2379, followed by the Vikings in 5th place, with 2297, and the 49ers with 2290.

Bonus:  Tackles

The following table shows the 10 players who lead Washington in combined tackles in team history:

Name Years # games # tackles # tackles/gm
Darrell Green 1983-2002 295 1202 4.1
Monte Coleman 1979-1994 215 1006 4.7
London Fletcher 2007-2013 112 956 8.5
Charles Mann 1983-1993 163 784 4.8
Wilber Marshall 1988-1992 80 621 7.8
Andre Collins 1990-1994 75 600 8.0
Kurt Gouveia 1987-1999 130 588 4.5
DeAngelo Hall 2008-2017 106 535 5.0
Reed Doughty 2006-2013 107 507 4.7
Marvcus Patton 2006-2013 64 506 7.9

Please note that the NFL didn’t officially track tackles until 2001.  It is a bit unclear how far back our subscription stat service goes back – it’s at least until 1979 – but it isn’t much earlier than that.  As a result, all of Washington’s players in the early days are excluded.

Most of this list is no surprise – Darrell Green, Monte Coleman, and London Fletcher are way ahead of everyone else, because (1) they are all great players, and (2) in the case of Green and Coleman, they lead the team in most games played.

I was very surprised and pleased to see Reed Doughty, i.e., the guy who replaced the late, great Sean Taylor (R.I.P.), on this list.  I never would have guessed that Doughty was anywhere near the top in team history.

Take note of how high London Fletcher’s tackles per game stat is – he’s half a sack or more ahead of Andre Collins and Marvcus Patton, and far ahead of everyone else.  Fletcher would have almost certainly been in the franchise lead if he had arrived in Washington a couple of years earlier.

The following is a list of the 10 players who lead the NFL in tackles:

Name Years # games # tackles # tackles/gm
Ray Lewis 1996-2012 228 2059 9.0
London Fletcher 1998-2013 256 2039 8.0
Junior Seau 1990-2009 243 1990 9.3
Bobby Wagner 2012-2024 202 1838 9.1
Jessie Tuggle 1987-2000 209 1805 8.6
Zach Thomas 1996-2008 184 1734 9.4
Derrick Brooks 1995-2008 224 1713 7.8
Lavonte David 2012-2024 198 1602 8.1
Clay Matthews 1978-1996 278 1595 5.7
Hardy Nickerson 1987-2002 225 1586 7.0

You should notice to things from this list: first, London Fletcher, for his entire career, is second in NFL history.  Second, Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner is in fourth place.  Ray Lewis is both the all-time leader and the leader for tackles for just one team.  Washington’s Darrell Green is in 35th place in NFL history.