Few players in the history of professional football are more synonymous with their respective franchise than Bruce Smith is with the Buffalo Bills.
The ever-dominant pass rusher is nearly as iconic in Western New York as the chicken wing, notching 171 sacks throughout 15 seasons with the Bills after being selected with the first overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. He was one of the NFL’s most feared and lauded pass-rushers throughout an extended period of time in which Buffalo was one of the league’s most dominant teams, appearing in four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s.
Smith was released alongside fellow stalwarts Thurman Thomas and Andre Reed after the 1999 season, signing with the (then) Washington Redskins where he would notch an additional 29 sacks over four seasons. He retired following the 2003 campaign with two NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards and nine first-team All-Pro nods on his resumé; his 200 career NFL sacks are still the most ever recorded by a single player in league history.
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He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a first-ballot candidate in 2009 before having his jersey number (No. 78) retired by the Bills in 2016, cementing his status as both a league and franchise legend. He’s, by any metric you feel like referencing, one of the most dominant pass-rushers in NFL history, helping shape both the league and the game of football into what they are today.
Smith’s excellence has been recently noted by The 33rd Team’s Ian Valentino, who placed the defender near the top of his recent list ranking the top 10 pass-rushers in league history. The analyst slots Smith in at No. 3, behind only Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor.
“Smith overwhelmed blockers by balancing his attack with a blend of speed and power moves,” Valentino wrote. “He was as likely to race around a tackle as he was to get under their pads and toss them aside. His play earned 11 Pro Bowls, eight All-Pro nods, a spot on the 1980s and 1990s All-NFL Teams, and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards.”
The placement seems fair—it’s hard to have any gripes with Smith being listed at No. 3 on a list that hundreds, if not thousands, of players were eligible for. Though neither White nor Taylor had quite the longevity that Smith had, they arguably had higher ceilings (each notching 20 sack seasons, something Smith never did). Though team success is not necessarily reflective of individual production, both White and Taylor won at least one Super Bowl throughout their respective careers.
There’s nothing wrong with being the third-best player in league history when it comes to rushing the passer, so again, we’re not too upset at the placement. Smith still does sit atop the record books when it comes to sacks, a standing he’ll likely maintain for the foreseeable future; the closest active player is current Buffalo defensive end Von Miller, who ranks 19th all-time with 123.5 sacks.
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