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Top 50 Washington Commanders

The WashingtonCommanders can be traced back to 1932, when they were originally the Boston Braves, a nickname that existed one year before they became the Boston Redskins.  They relocated to Washington, keeping the Redskins name in 1937, and they won the NFL Championship in both 1937 and 1942 on the strength of Sammy Baugh.

They struggled throughout the 1950s and 1960s, slowly reascending in the 1970s, and winning two Super Bowls in the 1980s (XVII & XXII) and a third in the early 90s (XXVI) on the back of the Redskins Offensive Line, the famed "Hogs."

Prior to the 2020 season, societal pressure caused them to dismiss the Redskins nickname, and after two years as the Washington Football Team, they were rechristened the Washington Commanders


Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.

This list is active up until the end of the 2022 Season.

39. Brig Owens

39. Brig Owens
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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The Dallas Cowboys drafted Cincinnati’s Brig Owens in 1965, but he never made it past the Taxi Squad.  He was packaged in a five-player deal to the team that would become their fierce rivals, the Washington Redskins after that year, and it was in D.C. where the Safety played his entire pro career.
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40. Brandon Scherff

40. Brandon Scherff
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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In 2014, Brandon Scherff of Iowa won the Outland Trophy as the Nation’s top Lineman, and unsurprisingly, he was the first Offensive Linemen taken during the 2015 Draft when Washington took him Fifth Overall.
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41. Ken Harvey

A First Round Pick from California, Ken Harvey played his first six seasons with the Phoenix Cardinals. While he was a serviceable NFL Linebacker, he was not a star.  This would change when he signed with the Washington Redskins as a Free Agent in 1994.
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42. Brian Mitchell

42. Brian Mitchell
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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If you are an all-time leader in any NFL stat, it stands to reason that you were pretty damned good.  This is who we are talking about next in Brian Mitchell, who is the all-time leader in Kick Return and Punt Return Yards, much of which was accomplished as a member of the Washington Redskins.
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43. Mark Rypien

43. Mark Rypien
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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The career of Mark Rypien is an interesting one, but as much as some people could say that he was lucky, he was also very good when needed to be.
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44. Hugh Taylor

44. Hugh Taylor
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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Hugh Taylor was an All-American basketball player at Tulane in 1943, but he served in the Navy for two years after. Upon his discharge, he played a year of college football at Oklahoma City (not Oklahoma or Oklahoma State), and he went undrafted.  The Washington Redskins signed him in 1947, and it was arguably the best undrafted signing in franchise history.
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45. Billy Kilmer

45. Billy Kilmer
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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Billy Kilmer was one of the many frustrated players in the early years of the New Orleans Saints, and when they drafted Quarterback, Archie Manning, Kilmer saw the writing on the wall and asked to be traded.   He got his wish when they traded him to Washington in January of 1971.
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46. Clinton Portis

46. Clinton Portis
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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Clinton Portis played his first two years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, and the sports world was stunned when he was traded to the Washington Redskins for Champ Bailey.  It has mostly pontificated that Denver won the trade, but Portis was still a productive rusher for the Redskins.
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47. Mark Moseley

47. Mark Moseley
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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Mark Moseley’s rise to MVP has to be one of the most unlikely ones in NFL history…and not just because he is a Place Kicker.
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48. Joe Lavender

48. Joe Lavender
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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A Philadelphia Eagle for the first three years of his career, Joe Lavender was traded to the Washington Redskins after the 1975 Season.
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49. Ron McDole

49. Ron McDole
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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Ron McDole made his Pro Football debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1961, after which he was a Houston Oiler for four Games.  McDole stayed in the AFL with the Buffalo Bills, where he had his greatest success, winning two AFL Championships and was twice an AFL All-Star. This didn’t mean that when he signed with the Washington Redskins in 1971…
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50. LaVar Arrington

50. LaVar Arrington
Top 50 Washington Commanders
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LaVar Arrington was taken second Overall in 2000, and the Linebacker from Penn State was coming off one of the greatest defensive seasons by a Nittany Lion. In 1999, Arrington won the Butkus Award, Bednarik Award, and Lambert Award and was a two-time All-American.
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