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#36 Overall, Danielle Hunter, Houston Texans, #11 Defensive End: Defensive Linemen/Linebackers: Pass Rushers
2025 Pre-Season Rank #44, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #102 2021 Pre-Season Rank #102, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #90. Peak Period: 2018-19/2023-25
Danielle Hunter may not have been even a Pro Bowl Selection (though he was a Second Team All-Pro), but the current Houston Texan has evolved into one of the most effective and consistent pass rushers in the game.
Hunter broke the 100 Sack mark last year, and on the loaded Texans defense, he is poised to get his fifth double-digit year in that stat. While he might be on the north side of 30, he still owns that sick blend of finesse and ferocity, and though he is revered in football circles, he often gets left behind in general football conversation.
A monster season puts him in the conversation, as would five more great ones; he is capable of both scenarios despite being 31. This could be the year that gets him in.
#7 Overall, Myles Garrett, Los Angeles Rams, Defensive End, #2 Defensive Lineman/Linebackers: Pass Rushers
2025 Pre-Season Rank #9, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #17, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #34, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #53, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #99, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #144. Peak Period: 2021-25
It feels like nobody deserves a change of scenery more than Myles Garrett.
After nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns, where he won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, earned five First Team All-Pros, seven Pro Bowls, recorded 125 Sacks and 149 Tackles for Loss, Garrett arrives in Los Angeles, joining the already loaded Rams, where he has his first legitimate chance for a Super Bowl.
Over the past four seasons, Garrett’s numbers have been staggering. In addition to his two DPOYs, he was fifth in 2022, third in 2024, and has compiled 67 Sacks and 90 Tackles for Loss…and now he has Aaron Donald on the same line! Although he is now 30, there is no reason to think that he can not extend his prime in Los Angeles.
Regardless of what happens in SoFi, no player who won two Defensive Player of the Year Awards has failed to make it to Canton.
#84 Overall, DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle Seahawks, Defensive End, #18 Defensive Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #111, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #132, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #131, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #133. Peak Period: 2017-19/2022-23
DeMarcus Lawrence has had two two-year Pro Bowl runs in his career with the Dallas Cowboys, and the versatile Defensive End stays under the national radar despite playing for America’s Team. Lawrence would have to elevate his play to make a Hall of Fame run, or in a lesser field, the Cowboys Ring of Honor. He will have to have a "second life" in Seattle for any serious Hall of Fame run.
#61 Overall, DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts, Defensive Tackle, #13 Defensive Lineman: Defensive Linemen/Linebackers: Pass Rushers
2024 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #74, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #76, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #93, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #128. Peak Period: 2018-22
DeForest Buckner played his first four seasons with San Francisco. In his first year in Indianapolis (2020), he set a personal best of 16 in Approximate Value and earned his inaugural First Team All-Pro. Throw in a 2021 and 2023 Pro Bowl, and you have a player who is trending well, but still has a lot to do to gain serious Hall of Fame traction.
