The 15 best pass rushers in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles

Football, though complex in many ways, has always been a game that's easy to understand. Running the ball well sets up the play-action game. Blitzing disrupts a quarterback's timing. Offenses use the screen pass to beat the blitz. By studying our Philadelphia Eagles over the years, we have mastered the art of roster construction.

Here's how it's done: A franchise quarterback must be found. That sometimes takes longer to do than teams desire, but once he is found, the next steps are as follows.

Find guys to protect him. Find weapons so he can distribute the football. Find guys to play defense who can make his life miserable.

Nothing irritates a good signal-caller like a good pass rusher. Here are 15 you may have fallen in love with during your time as Eagles fans.

Honorable mentions: Javon Hargrave and Haason Reddick

Javon Hargrave arrived in Philly just in time for the final season of the Doug Pederson coaching era (2020). Haason Reddick popped up two years later in 2022. If only we could have spent more time with both. They most certainly would have both been ranked higher.

48 games with 44 starts led to 161 tackles, two forced fumbles, and 23 sacks for the former. 87 tackles, five forced fumbles, and 27 sacks highlight the stat line for the latter.

For sentimental reasons, we'd like to stack both in our top 15. Heck, Haason Reddick was nice enough to let us hang out with him during a food drive once, but we found guys who we believe deserve to be ranked higher.

Also read: Every member of the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame

15. Corey Simon

Tenure: 2000 - 04

Corey Simon was the sixth overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, and he helped Philly to four straight NFC Championship Games. 78 games, all of which he started, led to 215 tackles, eight forced fumbles, and 32 sacks.

He never earned an extension once his five seasons in the City of Brotherly Love ended. He missed the entire 2006 season. That one is sandwiched between forgettable stops in Indy (2005) and Tennessee (2007). But, no one would deny he was a stop-gap for five years, one who earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2003, and that's exactly what Philly drafted him to be.

14. Andy Harmon

Tenure: 1991 - 97

Andy Harmon wore the number 91 jersey. Obviously, we associate that number with someone else, but he was a stellar pass rusher who, for four seasons was brilliant.

From 1992 to 1995, he notched 283 tackles and 38.5 sacks. He was named Second-Team All-Pro in 1995, He may not be the Eagles' most accomplished sack artist of the 90s, but he did enough during his ride here to earn a spot on this list.

13. Ken Clarke

Tenure: 1978 - 87

Ken Clarke played for Dick Vermeil, Marion Campbell, and Buddy Ryan. In total, he'd notch 48 sacks during a ten-year career in Philly that spanned 148 games.

He was one of the best players on an Eagles team that reached Super Bowl XV. He notched a career-high 10.5 sacks in 1984.

12. Connor Barwin

Tenure: 2013 - 16

Connor Barwin, had he played longer, might have been remembered as we remember Jason Kelce. He was a team-first guy who made everyone around him feel comfortable. From what we hear, he rode the subway to practice.

He was also a monster on the football field. We forget about a really good defense under Bill Davis during Chip Kelly's era. Barwin was a prominent member, and he earned a Pro Bowl nod and Second-Team All-Pro mention in 2014.

In total, he snagged 31.5 sacks in four Eagles seasons.

11. Dennis Harrison

Tenure: 1978 - 84)

Like many of the members already mentioned on this list, Dennis Hairston was a really good player that many of you might be tempted to forget about, but in 1980, he started 15 games for a great Eagles team that qualified for a Super Bowl appearance.

During a three-year stretch that began in 1982 and concluded in 1984, he notched 34 sacks. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 1982 and tallied 55.5 sacks for his Eagles career.

10. William Fuller

Tenure: 1994 - 96

William Fuller was one of the shorter-tenured Eagles we have seen. He is certainly one of the shortest-tenured Eagles on this list, but it's hard to knock someone who earned a Pro Bowl nod in all three seasons as an Eagle.

130 tackles, 35.5 sacks, 12.5 forced fumbles, and a Second-Team All-Pro mention in 1995. Again, it doesn't get much better than that. We have no issues with placing him in the top ten.

9. Hugh Douglas

Tenure: 1998 - 2002, 2004

Yes kids... Before Hugh Douglas was a radio personality on 94 WIP-FM, he was a damn good football player, one who notched ten NFL seasons.

His first stint in Philly is what we remember him best for. He ended his career in Philly with a 16-game season in 2004.

82 games... 64 starts... 223 tackles... Six forced fumbles... 54.5 sacks... First-Team All-Pro in 2000... Second-Team All-Pro in 2002... Three Pro Bowls (2000-02).

8. Greg Brown

Tenure: 1981 - 88

He isn't quite Chuck Bednarik, but who is, right? Greg Brown and 'Concrete Charlie' are alike in one area though. Both were blue-collar guys with experience in working construction.

Brown walked off a construction site and into the Eagles' lineup. He played during a forgettable time in franchise history which is probably why he doesn't get the credit he deserves. Here's another great player worthy of being mentioned. 57 sacks in 89 games is nothing to sneeze at.

7. Carl Hairston

Tenure: 1976 - 83

From one member of the 57 sack club to another. Carl Hairston racked up eight seasons in Philadelphia and nine sacks for the 1980 team that qualified for Super Bowl XV.

Prior to that, he notched 15.5 sacks for an Eagles playoff squad in 1979. He tallied 116 regular-season games with 106 starts in total, and he contributed 57.5 sacks to Philly's cause as a result.

Yeah, he was pretty special.

6. Fletcher Cox

Tenure: 2012 - 2023

We talk about retiring guys' numbers from time to time. It's hard to do in the NFL honestly. We're talking about a game where teams are asked to recycle players year in and year out and introduce a 53-man roster at the start of every season.

There are only 100 possible jersey numbers (now that guys can wear 0). Nine jersey numbers are already retired: 5, 15, 20, 40, 44, 60, 70, 92, and 99. But, if Fletch's number was added to that list, we'd understand.

The resume speaks for itself: 519 tackles, 70 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 2012 Pro Football Writers Association mention, 2018 First-Team All-Pro, three-time Second-Team All-Pro (2014, 2015, 2017), six-time Pro Bowler (2015-20), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team member.

Fletch isn't just one of the best sack artists in Eagles history. He's one of the best players the franchise has ever seen.

5. Brandon Graham

Tenure: 2010 - present

The author of the greatest strip-sack in Super Bowl history, before Brandon Graham, the greatest underdog story in Eagles history was a fictional tale about a boxer.

B.G, has seen everything from being a first-round draft choice and being labeled as a disappointment to turning things around and being a Super Bowl hero. The 2024 Eagles season will close the curtain. Regardless of how it turns out, his place in the hearts of Eagles fans is secure.

4. Trent Cole

Tenure: 2005 - 14

The Cincinnati Bearcats have been good to our Eagles. They found Jason Kelce there. They also found Brent Celek and a DUDE by the name of Trent Cole there. All helped bridge the Andy Reid and Chip Kelly coaching eras.

We'd assume without asking that Cole, the pass rusher, is probably in every Eagles fan's top five. Like everyone else on this list, the resume speaks for itself: ten Eagles seasons... 155 games... 145 career starts... 569 tackles... 85.5 sacks...

Add all of that to a list of accolades that includes a 2005 PFWA NFL All-Rookie Team mention, a 2009 Second-Team All-Pro designation, and two Pro Bowl nods (2007, 2009).

3. Clyde Simmons

Tenure: 1986 - 92

Clyde Simmons was half of the best pass-rushing duo the Eagles have ever fielded (more on the other half in a second). He's beloved by everyone who saw him. He was a tenacious fixture in a unit flooded with them.

Eric Allen... Seth Joyner... Andre Waters... Wes Hopkins... The names of Philly's defensive starters in the mid-80s to early-90s are like a who's who of franchise legends, but don't forget Simmons' contributions: 720 tackles, 76 sacks, 12 forced fumbles during 124 games that spanned eight seasons.

He earned two Pro Bowl nods and two Pro Bowl designations for his efforts.

2. Jerome Brown

Tenure: 1987 - 91

Gone too soon... The Eagles family lost Jerome Brown in June,1992 when a car accident in his hometown of Brooksville, Florida claimed his life. He was 27 years old, but trust and believe that his legend lives on more than three decades later.

Brown created a gridlock at the line of scrimmage. He could collapse the pocket around the quarterback or stuff any tailback traveling in his area. 29.5 sacks, two Pro Bowl nods, and two First-Team All-Pro designations during five Eagles seasons punctuate his career.

He's a member of the Philadelphia Eagles 75th Anniversary Team and the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame. His Number 99 jersey is also retired.

1. Reggie White

Tenure: 1985 - 92

Well you had to know this was coming. Reggie White might be on everyone's list of the ten best players to ever suit up in the NFL. His spot at the top of this list is a no-brainer.

He's the other half of the greatest pass-rushing duo in Eagles history that we mentioned earlier. He's also Philly's all-time leader in sacks by a wide margin.

White was a sure-fire Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee before he left Philly. What he did in Green Bay and Carolina was just icing on the cake. The resume is one that most would pay money for.

Eight Eagles seasons: 121 in-game appearances with 120 starts... What the heck was going on in that other game?

All you have to do is read the following (these numbers consist of what he did in Philly): 124 sacks (198 total during his 15 NFL seasons), 18 forced fumbles, eight Pro Bowl nods, the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year Award (he'd win two of those), and six First-Team All-Pro designations.

But, the fun doesn't stop there.

He led the NFL in sacks in 1987 and 1988. He's a member of the NFL's 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Team, the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, and the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.

He's a member of the Eagles 75th Anniversary Team, the Eagles Hall of Fame, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His number 92 is retired by the Eagles and Packers organizations. There will never be another. Reggie White is the standard by which all pass rushers are measured.

Read more about the Eagles' history