The 33rd Team put me to the test. They wanted me to put together a list of the best front seven of all-time.

For most of the guys I will talk about, I have been able to face them live as a coach or player. Or, these guys changed the game in some form or some fashion.

In today’s game, defenses mainly have four pass rushers, two linebackers and five defensive backs. For my front seven, I will include four down linemen and three linebackers.

Best All-Time Front 7

Edge Rushers

Lawrence Taylor

If we are talking edge rushers, it has got to be L.T. Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all-time, said he was the best player of all-time, and his statistics back this up.

Taylor is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). That speaks for itself.

But, more importantly, in my opinion, he played in that 3-4 New York Giants defense with Bill Parcells and Belichick, and he changed the game.

People do not realize what a game-wrecker Taylor was as a pass rusher. That’s how he made his living. So much so that when he would drop into coverage, offensive live coaches and coordinators would put a smile on their faces and clap.

His dominance on the line forced offenses to turn protection to whichever side Taylor was on. Coordinators wanted to make sure you got a big offensive lineman blocking L.T. rather than running the opposite way and expecting a running back to block him.

That’s what most teams did. When L.T. was on the field, you must use the lineman to him to give you the best chance to slow him down.

Reggie White

Now picture Reggie White lining up opposite of Taylor on the defensive line.

White played all over the line. When I was with the Dallas Cowboys, and he was at the Philadelphia Eagles, I saw him play some nose guard. But where did he make his living? He made his living with Philadelphia and then the Green Bay Packers as a defensive end.

He is second all-time in sacks with 198 sacks — pretty impressive.

Reggie’s rushing style was also original. He installed the hump move, where he would go up the field using the momentum of the offensive tackle trying to block him, push him out of the way, and come up underneath.

This move got labeled by offensive linemen and offensive line coaches as the Reggie White Hump Pass rush. It’s still used today.

White is a great player. Numbers back it up, and he made an impact on our game.

Defensive Tackles

Joe Greene

The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ “Steel Curtain” is arguably one of the best defenses ever put together, alongside the Chicago Bears back in the days and the Baltimore Ravens in the early 2000s.

The cornerstone of that defense was Joe Greene. Joe was Chuck Noll’s first draft pick and played an instrumental role in the Steelers’ super bowl wins.

If you look at the stats, they had seven opponents score less than a touchdown in 1976. In 1977, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl with defense, that was the foundation of Chuck Norris’ team.

To put it simply, Greene was one of the most dominant players of his time. He is a two-time defensive player of the year and a 10-time Pro Bowler.

Put Greene for me at that 3 technique.

Aaron Donald

I had a personal opportunity to recruit and coach this guy. Let this be a lesson to everybody out there. Don’t go by how tall is the guy or how much does the guy weigh.

All these measurable things that people like to point to he doesn’t fit. Aaron Donald is not as big as everybody. He’s not as heavy as everybody. He’s not as fast as everybody in the 40.

But he is a three-time DPOY, tied with Taylor for the most all-time. I mean, it’s incredible.

The guy has played nine years in the league. How about nine Pro Bowls?

And, just as importantly, Donald makes offensive coaches around the league change their game plan. When you are going to play the Los Angeles Rams, you have to figure how a way to block Donald. Are we going to double him? Are we going to move the protection to him? Are we going to put a back or tight end on him? What are we going to do to block Donald?

Offensive coaches tell me that when they play the Rams, the discussion starts with Donald.

The guy’s got everything going for him. For a young guy still playing with his explosiveness, his quickness, his leverage and his hands, he can continue to add to his already impressive career.

Weakside Linebacker

Derrick Brooks

Derrick Brooks had 25 interceptions. That’s the first thing that jumps out. He is also third all-time in career tackles. So, this guy made plays. He is a complete player and an every down linebacker.

In the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tampa 2 defense, which is zone, a lot is asked of the linebackers. You have got to be instinctive enough, be able to recognize routes and line up against a slot receiver, a tight end and a running back.

When you look at the famous Tony Dungy Tampa 2 defense, the guy that really made it work and was one of the cornerstone pieces was Brooks.

Strong Side Linebacker

Junior Seau

Seau was drafted by the San Diego Chargers out of USC in the first round. He played 13 years there. He played three years for me at the Miami Dolphins, and then four years with the New England Patriots.

A 20-year career. In those 20 years, he went to 12 Pro Bowls. Seau played weakside linebacker, strong side linebacker and middle linebacker.

When you look at his stats, you know he’s got tackles, interceptions and sacks.

Junior was one of the toughest players that I ever coached. He was tough as nails. I don’t know if I ever coached a player that showed up every day — win, lose or draw — for practice with an attitude of just wanting to get better. Nobody worked harder than him. He loved the game and that was contagious.

I think his body of work, playing for 20 yearsm all three positions and being a Pro Bowler, speaks for itself.

I’m going to take Seau, and let’s go to battle.

Middle Linebacker

Ray Lewis

When you talk about Steelers dynasties and Super Bowls, Greene comes to my mind. When I hear Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl, I think of Ray Lewis and defense.

Lewis is a two-time DPOY and has seven Pro Bowls. To this day, he is the leading tackler in the entire NFL. No one had more tackles than him.

When the Ravens went to the Super Bowl, they gave up the least amount of points on defense. They gave up the least amount of rushing yards. They held 11 of their 16 opponents under 10 points. I mean, they rivaled the ’85, ’86 Chicago Bears as far as dominance with points and rushing on defense. 

So, I’m going to go with Lewis.

That said, this does not even begin to mention the intangibles that he brought from a leadership standpoint and from a toughness standpoint. I’m just talking numbers and production.

Conclusion

So, let me sum this up. I know people when they look at this list are going to say things like he’s not a weakside linebacker or he’s an edge rusher.

Forget all the terms. Take Taylor and just line him up and tell them to go get the quarterback.

I made this list based on the seven best players that I personally witnessed, coached against, watched on tape and saw production week in and week out at the highest level our game has.

There are a lot of great players, but these are the seven guys I came up with. In my opinion, these are the seven best players that you could line up with.

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Dave Wannstedt is a former head coach of the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins. Follow him on Twitter at @CoachWannstedt