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#8 Overall, Khalil Mack: Los Angeles Chargers, #3 Defensive Lineman/Linebacker: Pass Rusher
2024 Pre-Season Rank #12, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #14, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #29. Peak Period: 2015-19.
Oakland. Chicago. Los Angeles.
Everywhere Khalil Mack goes, Khalil Mack dominates.
The Outside Linebacker made history last season as the first player to secure three Pro Bowls on three different teams, when he added Pro Bowl number nine in year three with the Chargers. The celebrated pass-rusher has 107.5 career Sacks, a Defensive Player of the Year Award (2016 with the Raiders), the longevity, the consistency, and the dominance that the PFHOF would want.
He may not dominate the defensive headlines like he used to, but Mack remains the “Mack.”
#2 Overall, Bobby Wagner: Washington Commanders Linebacker, #1 Defensive Lineman/Linebacker: Interior Lineman
2024 Pre-Season Rank #3, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #3, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #18. Peak: 2016-20
Our highest-ranked defensive player has everything a Hall of Fame player needs.
Bobby Wagner, who begins his second year with the Commanders in 2025, boasts numerous accolades, including a Super Bowl ring (with Seattle), an All-Decade Selection, ten Pro Bowls, and six First Team All-Pro honors.
At 35, Wagner is defying age and also owns impressive defensive statistics, most notably 1,838 Combined Tackles, making him the game’s active leader and fourth-place overall, trailing only Ray Lewis (2,059), London Fletcher (2,039), and Junior Seau (1,847). Wagner, who is also a natural leader on whatever team he is on, always seems to know where the ball is going to be, and is already near the top of the list of football’s best run-stoppers. However, despite that reputation, he is effective on the pass rush, owning 35 Sacks and 99 Tackles for Loss.
Even if Wagner never plays another snap, his Hall of Fame case is already built, but how much sweeter would it look with a second ring? The Washington Commanders are contenders to do just that.
#6 Overall, Von Miller, Washington Commanders, #1 Defensive Lineman/Linebackers: Pass Rushers
2024 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #4, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #10. Peak Period: 2011-12/2014-16.
As it stands right now, Von Miller already has a Hall of Fame resume and might have the goods to get in on the first ballot.
A Defensive Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl winner, and Super Bowl MVP for the Denver Broncos, Miller has all the statistical requirements the Hall looks for and the name recognition that fits the word "Fame.” Over the last three seasons, Miller served as a pass-rushing specialist for the Buffalo Bills, and he is continuing his career in 2025 with the up-and-coming Washington Commanders.
Miller enters 2025 with 129.5 Sacks, only three behind Leslie O’Neal and the legendary Lawrence Taylor for 14th place all-time, and is the current active leader, and is sixth all-time in Tackles for Loss, notably tied with Hall of Famers Julius Peppers and Jared Allen. Five more TFLs will get him fifth place, just ahead of first-ballot lock, Aaron Donald. Considering what his specific role is, catching Taylor for Sacks and Donald for Tackles for Loss is doable.
Modern Positional Average
Much like with what he had in exterior lineman, we have a convulted system where we try to look at the interior run-stuffers, while recognizing what that the front seven vary depending on scheme and player. With that, we have a unique situtation in that with Sam Mills, who was a late entrant in the modern vote, is not factored into the traditional statistics as his overall numbers are not complete. This means that we have an average of the four for most stats, which exclude Mills.
Here are the statistics that we are using based on the last group of Defensive Lineman/Linebackers/Interior Lineman to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
- Games Played: 177.4
- Approximate Value: 151.8
- Approximate Value per Games Played: 0.8557
- Games Started: 174
- Approximate Value per Games Started: 0.8724
- Approximate Value per Five-Year Peak: 76.8
- Approximate Value’s Best Five Results: 83.2
- Top Five Defensive Player of the Year Finishes**: 7.8
- Pro Bowls: 7.8
- First Team All-Pros*: 4.4
- Interceptions: 16.8
- Interceptions Five-Year Peak: 8.8
- Quarterback Sacks: 28.9
- Quarterback Sacks Five-Year Peak: 15.8
- Tackles for Loss: 103.3
- Tackles for Loss Five-Year Peak: 53.5
- Forced Fumbles: 16.8
- Combined Tackles: 1,473.8
- Combined Tackles Five-Year Peak: 701.6
- Top Five Combined Tackles Finishes 14.2
- Super Bowl Wins: 0.4
- Super Bowl Appearances: 0.8
*This is an aggregate of the Top Five finishes (5th = 1, 4th = 2, 3rd = 3, 2nd = 4th, 1st = 5)
**This is a reminder that the All-Pros we use are from the AP.