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In the spirit of Halloween, we thought it would be fun to take a look at the scariest players in NFL history. Not surprisingly, defensive players dominated the list, with linebackers taking up the most spots. 

In fact, only one offensive player managed to make the cut, but that player's spot on the list is certainly well deserved. The criteria when making the list was simple: Be a great player who physically intimidated and struck fear into the opposition. If opponents feared for their physical safety when you were on the field, and you have the career bona fides to match that fear, there's a good chance that you ended up on our list. 

Here's a rundown of our top 10 scariest players in NFL history. And to quote the great R.L. Stine: "Reader beware, you're in for a scare!" 

Honorable mentions: DB Jack Tatum, DE Bruce Smith, DE Reggie White, DT Randy White, OL Conrad Dobler, LB Greg Lloyd, DT Alan Page, DL Lyle Alzado, DE/LB Charles Haley, CB Mel Blount, LB Sam Huff, LB Brian Urlacher, DB Ronnie Lott, LB Junior Seau, DT Warren Sapp, DT Joe Greene, LB Ray Nitschke 

10. James Harrison, LB 

Harrison got the final spot over a host of deserving players, largely because of how intimidating he was during his heyday. In 2010, Harrison was fined $75,000 for his crushing hit on then-Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. He was fined several other times for hits on opposing players. 

Harrison was also an accomplished player following a humble start to his career as an undrafted rookie. He was named to five straight Pro Bowls and was the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrison, who will be inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor this fall, was the franchise's all-time sack leader until former teammate T.J. Watt passed him in 2023. 

9. Aaron Donald, DT

Donald was just as intimidating as Harrison, but in a different way. He carries the flag on this list for several other dominant/intimidating defensive tackles who came before him, a list that includes "Mean" Joe Greene, Alan Page and Bob Lilly. 

Donald could seemingly will himself to take over a game, which is rare for a defensive tackle. And when he did get to the ball carrier, he usually left his mark. His hit on a scrambling Joe Burrow in Super Bowl LVI seemed to shift the momentum in the Rams' favor. Donald later sealed the win for L.A. when he threw Burrow down on the Bengals' final play from scrimmage. 

8. Deacon Jones, DE

How intimidating was Jones? Let's start with the fact that he coined the term "sack" as a way to summarize his treatment of quarterbacks. Way ahead of his time as a pass rusher, Jones was easily the most feared defender during his heyday. A devastating combination of power, speed and athleticism, Jones' most effective maneuver was the head slap, which he adopted into his game after studying boxing great Muhammad Ali. 

Jones is unofficially credited with 173.5 sacks (the NFL did not officially record individual sacks until 1982) that included a whopping 22 sacks during the 14-game 1968 season (he had 21.5 sacks the previous year). 

7. Chuck Bednarik, LB/C 

The NFL's last great two-way player, Bednarik literally launched himself into whomever had the ball. His signature play was his devastating tackle of Giants Hall of Fame halfback Frank Gifford in 1960. Later that year, Bednarik led the Eagles to a victory over Vince Lombardi's Packers in the NFL title game. The oldest player on the field that day, Bednarik played in 139 of the 142 plays in the Eagles' 17-13 win. 

6. Jim Brown, RB 

The only purely offensive player to make the list is none other than arguably the greatest player of all time (sorry, Tom Brady fanatics). Brown also carries the mantle here for other physically intimidating running backs that include Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, Derrick Henry, Jerome Bettis, John Riggins and Bo Jackson. Brown was a sheer terror to try to tackle once he got in the open field. 

Brown played offense, but he had a defensive mentality, often taking the punishment to the defenders who were trying to bring him down. Brown's unique physicality was just one of his many attributes that led to him being a three-time league MVP during his nine NFL seasons. 

5. Dick 'Night Train' Lane, DB

If you've never seen his highlights, Lane's nickname sums up the type of player that he was. His tackling style was so vicious that the NFL actually outlawed his patented clothesline tackle. Lane responded by then using his forearm to make tackles, which is also now illegal. 

Lane's extremely physical play can underscore his greatness as a player. He recorded a whopping 68 interceptions during his career that included an NFL-record 14 picks during his rookie season. 

4. Ray Lewis, LB

How feared was Lewis during his prime? Just ask Jerome Bettis and Eddie George, two of the NFL's premier power backs during the 1990s who faced Lewis 2-3 times a year as division rivals. Lewis had epic one-one-one matchups with both players and won more than his share of those matchups. 

In fact, arguably the greatest play of Lewis' career was his pick six that came at George's expense during the Ravens' 2000 playoff run. Lewis later became only the seventh defensive player at the time to win Super Bowl MVP. 

3. Jack Lambert, LB

  • Team: Steelers

If you just went by sheer looks, Lambert is one of the scariest players of all time. But Lambert was also an extremely physical player whose physicality sometimes went beyond the whistle. 

Take Super Bowl X for example. The Steelers were trailing the Cowboys when Pittsburgh kicker Roy Gerela missed his third field goal of the day. After the third miss, Cowboys safety Cliff Harris thought it would be a good idea to get in Gerela's face. Lambert, however, had a different idea; he threw Harris to the turf before winning his petition with the official not to be ejected for his actions. 

Lambert stayed in the game, and used the incident to, in legendary NFL Films' narrator John Facenda's words, "psyche himself up to an even higher level of rage." Lambert became a one-man wrecking crew, tallying 14 tackles and helping the Steelers rally to defeat the Cowboys. 

2. Lawrence Taylor, LB

Taylor was terrorizing for a multitude of reasons. A trailblazer, Lawrence revolutionized the outside linebacker position as he could impact the game in a multitude of ways. Lawrence also established himself as an extremely intimidating player who specialized in hitting a quarterback from behind before they could get the ball off. Lawrence's unreal ability as a pass rusher is what led to the rise in value for left tackles. 

No one knows this better than former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann, whose career abruptly ended after Taylor snapped Theismann's leg (warning, it's graphic) on "Monday Night Football" during the 1985 season. 

1. Dick Butkus, LB

While deciding which players made our top 10 list was challenging, the decision to put Butkus at No. 1 was not. The Bears legend set the standard for physicality and did so with a relentless intensity that hasn't been seen before or since. 

Butkus ran through ball carriers and often finished tackles by throwing the opposition to the ground. The result was 47 forced turnovers during his career that included a then-NFL record 25 fumble recoveries. An example of Butkus' greatness is the fact that he won Defensive Player of the Year on a team that won just one game that season. 

"I want to just let them know that they've been hit," Butkus once said, "and when they get up, they don't have to look to see who hit them. ... When they come through, they gotta say, 'Well, it must have been Butkus that got me.'"