From 99-0, TeamFB7 is looking back on the greatest players in NFL history to don each jersey number. No ties allowed, tough decisions will be made — next is No. 95 and Myles Garrett.
A few years ago even and the answer may have been different.
But Myles Garrett has been an undeniable force and at just 30 years old is already the greatest player in NFL history to wear No. 95.
That’s no small statement considering the legendary Hall of Famer he beats out for that title.
Richard Dent earned his place in Canton over a 15-year career spent mostly with the Chicago Bears, racking up 137.5 sacks, 677 total tackles, 37 forced fumbles and 8 interceptions.
He was a primary catalyst for the famed 1985 Bears Super Bowl championship team that is regarded as one of the greatest defenses of all-time, having allowed just 12.4 points per game during the season before shutting out the Giants and Rams in the playoffs and dominating the Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX.
Dent led the NFL in sacks that season with 17 — after posting a career-best 17.5 the year before — and he added 6 sacks in the Bears’ three postseason games that year. That included 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a batted pass vs. the Patriots in a punctuating performance to win Super Bowl MVP honors.
But he finished with one first-team and three second-team All-Pro honors along with four Pro Bowl appearances.
Why Myles Garrett Is Our Pick For The Best No. 95 In The NFL
Garrett has already won two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards, earned five first-team and two second-team All-Pro honors, seven Pro Bowl nods, has 125.5 sacks in just nine seasons and just set the NFL single-season record with 23 sacks last year.
He has averaged 16.5 sacks the last five seasons. Overall, he also has 412 total tackles, 149 tackles for loss (which didn’t become an official NFL stat until 1999), 23 forced fumbles and 18 batted passes.
Simply put, Garrett is the most dominant edge rusher in the NFL today and already has sustained that level over far longer peak than Dent had … with no imminent end to his prime in sight.
Traded from the Browns to the Rams this month, Garrett will have a far greater spotlight on him in Los Angeles playing for a Super Bowl contender as he adds to an already Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume.
At just 30 years old, he has a realistic shot at chasing down Bruce Smith’s record 200 career sacks and could move into the top 10 all-time as soon as this coming season, needing 16 sacks to match Michael Strahan for that 10th spot.
Dent will no doubt be one of the better players not selected in this series, but for that matter, he’s already being pushed by current Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, who has seven Pro Bowl selections, three first-team and three second-team All-Pro honors with 87.5 sacks and three Super Bowl rings in 10 seasons.
Longtime Steelers outside linebacker Greg Lloyd is another honorable mention No. 95.
