The Greatest Washington Commanders Players of All Time
Career totals rank the greatest Washington Commanders players unevenly, because the club played 11-game seasons from 1937 to 1942 and plays 17 now. Every player here is named on at least 5 of the 13 Commanders honor rolls and all-time rankings counted for this list: the team's own Ring of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the team's 90 Greatest (2022), and ten press rankings. Players left off no more than three of the sources that could have named them start in the top group; everyone else who clears the door starts below them, and your votes set the order from there.
Sammy Baugh is #1 on “The Greatest Washington Commanders Players of All Time”.
- 1
Sammy Baugh
On Sammy Baugh Day, November 23, 1947, with Washington's Touchdown Club honoring him at Griffith Stadium, he threw for 355 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Chicago Cardinals. That was season 11 of the 16 he gave Washington, 1937 to 1952, and he had already thrown for the club's NFL title teams of 1937 and 1942. His 1947 brought career highs of 2,938 passing yards and 25 touchdown passes, and both led the league. His completion percentage led the NFL 8 times, and his 70.33 of 1945, 128 of 182, held up as the league record until 1982. Of the 13 sources counted for this list, 12 include him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Baugh - 2
Art Monk
His 820th catch, against Denver on Monday Night Football on October 12, 1992, made him the NFL's career receptions leader at the time. He caught passes for Washington across 14 seasons, 1980 through 1993. In 1984 his 106 receptions, for 1,372 yards, set the NFL's season mark for catches, which stood for 8 years, and that year began a run of 3 Pro Bowl trips. The club won all 3 of its Super Bowls during his years there. With Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders he formed the Posse, and in 1989 the 3 of them were the first NFL wide receiver trio to clear 1,000 yards apiece in a season. All 13 sources behind this list name him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Monk - 3
Darrell Green
Vaulting a tackler on a punt return at Soldier Field on January 10, 1988, he tore rib cartilage and kept running, 52 yards to the touchdown that beat Chicago 21-17 in the divisional round. He was Washington's cornerback for 20 seasons, 1983 to 2002. In the NFC championship that came next, Minnesota had a 4th-down throw at the goal line with 56 seconds left, and he batted it away to save a 17-10 win. He retired holding NFL records for consecutive seasons with an interception, 19, and for games played by a defensive player, 295, and he won the league's Fastest Man competition 4 times. Washington put his No. 28 away for good in October 2024. Every one of the 13 sources this list draws on has him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Green - 4
John Riggins
Fourth down, 10 minutes left in Super Bowl XVII, and he shook off cornerback Don McNeal for a 43-yard touchdown run that put Washington ahead of Miami. Washington had signed him away from the Jets in 1976, and apart from sitting out 1980 over his contract he ran the ball there through 1985. He finished that Super Bowl with 38 carries and 166 yards, the yardage a Super Bowl record of that day, closing a postseason of 4 straight 100-yard playoff games, an NFL mark at the time. His 24 rushing touchdowns in 1983 set the league's season record, which lasted 12 years, and he made the AP's 1983 first-team All-Pro backfield. He is Washington's career rushing leader with 7,472 yards and 79 touchdowns. He's on 12 of the 13 sources counted here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Riggins - 5
Charley Taylor
The 3rd overall choice of 1964, he came to Washington as a running back, and with 755 yards rushing and 814 receiving that year he was UPI's Rookie of the Year. Shifted to wide receiver in 1966, he caught 72 passes that year and 70 in 1967, the NFL's highest totals both times, and he stayed with Washington through 1977. On December 31, 1972, his 2 touchdown catches helped Washington past Dallas 26-3 for the NFC championship and into the club's first Super Bowl. When he quit after 1977 his 649 catches led the NFL's career list, and they held that spot until 1984, when Charlie Joiner passed them. His name turns up on 10 of the 13 sources used for this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Taylor - 6
Chris Hanburger
An 18th-round pick in 1965, he played all 14 of his NFL seasons at linebacker in Washington, through 1978. He was chosen for 9 Pro Bowls, started 135 games in a row from 1968 until an appendicitis operation stopped the streak in 1977, and 2011 put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 1972 he had 4 interceptions, 1 returned for a score, plus the Kansas City Committee of 101's choice of him as the NFC's top defender for that year; in the NFC championship on New Year's Eve he sacked the Dallas quarterback as Washington held the Cowboys to 3 points. 11 of the 13 counted sources include him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Hanburger - 7
Russ Grimm
He started all 16 games at left guard in 1983 for a Washington team that scored 541 points, more than any NFL club had in a season until then, and AP voters had him as first-team All-Pro. His whole playing career, 1981 to 1991, was spent in Washington, on the offensive line known as the Hogs. His 4 Pro Bowls covered 1983 through 1986, and Washington took 3 Super Bowls with him on its line. After 4 straight years as a finalist from 2005, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Put him down for 10 of the 13 sources that feed this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Grimm - 8
Sean Taylor
In his 2nd season he returned a fumble for the touchdown in a 17-10 playoff win at Tampa Bay on January 7, 2006. Washington picked him 5th in the 2004 draft, and he manned safety for the club until his death in November 2007, at 24. His first NFL interception, at Chicago on October 17, 2004, went back 45 yards in a 13-10 win, and after the 2006 season he was in the Pro Bowl as Brian Dawkins's replacement. When he died, his 5 interceptions of 2007 tied for the NFC lead; he was voted the conference's starting free safety for the 2008 Pro Bowl, and on October 17, 2021, Washington retired his No. 21 before a game against Kansas City. The sources backing him: 10 of the 13 counted here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Taylor - 9
Dexter Manley
Washington's season sack record became his in 1986 with 18.5, a year when both the AP and The Sporting News put first-team All-Pro next to his name. He rushed the passer from defensive end for Washington from 1981 to 1989, starting with 6 unofficial sacks as a rookie, the year before the NFL made sacks an official statistic. Taken in the 5th round of the 1981 draft, he played in the Super Bowl XVII and XXII wins, and his Pro Bowl selection came after that 1986 season. 10 sources out of the 13 behind this list name him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Manley - 10
Sonny Jurgensen
His 411 passing yards at DC Stadium on November 28, 1965, brought Washington back from 21-0 down against Dallas, and after scoring on a sneak he won it 34-31 by hitting Bobby Mitchell for a 35-yard score. Philadelphia sent him south in a 1964 trade for Norm Snead, and he quarterbacked Washington through 1974. In 1967 he threw for 3,747 yards on 288 completions in 508 attempts, all 3 NFL season records at the time, and his 31 touchdown passes topped the league. 1969 brought another passing-yards title, with 3,102, and from 1981 to 2019 he described Washington games from the radio booth. You'll find him on 9 of the 13 sources this list counts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Jurgensen - 11
Joe Jacoby
Undrafted in 1981, he signed with Washington that year and lined up at tackle through 1993, 170 games with 148 starts. He was 1983's first-team All-Pro tackle for NEA and the PFWA, and he had Pro Bowl seasons that year and the 3 after it, years in which he was 1 of the founding Hogs on Washington's line. He reached the final round of Pro Football Hall of Fame voting in 2016, 2017 and 2018 without being elected, though the club's Ring of Fame carries his name. In 1991, his 3rd year at right tackle after 8 at left, he opened all 16 games there as the starter, and Washington closed that season by beating Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVI, his 3rd title with the club. He's listed by 9 of the 13 sources that feed this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Jacoby - 12
Ken Houston
Walt Garrison caught a swing pass on fourth down from the 4 on the last play against Dallas on October 8, 1973, and he stopped Garrison inches short of the goal line to save a 14-7 Monday night win. Washington had traded 5 players to the Oilers for him in 1973, among them Jim Snowden and Mike Fanucci, and he patrolled the secondary for the club through 1980. His 6 interceptions in that 1973 season led the team, his first 7 Washington seasons, 1973 through 1979, all ended in Pro Bowl berths, and since 1986 he has been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His count: 7 of the 13 sources weighed for this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Houston - 13
Joe Theismann
He had a pass tipped into Kim Bokamper's hands with Washington behind Miami 17-13 in the 3rd period of Super Bowl XVII, then knocked it loose for an incompletion. Miami traded his rights to Washington in 1974 for a future 1st-round pick, after his 3 CFL seasons in Toronto, and he was the club's quarterback through 1985. In 1983 he threw for 3,714 yards and 29 touchdowns for a 14-2 team and won the AP's award as the NFL's Most Valuable Player. His 25,206 passing yards and 2,044 completions were Washington career records when his playing days ended in 1985. In all, 7 of the 13 sources in this list's count cite him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Theismann - 14
Bobby Mitchell
In 1962 Washington, the last NFL club to integrate, signed its first Black player in him, and that season his 72 catches and 1,384 receiving yards both led the league. He came from Cleveland in a trade for the draft rights to Ernie Davis, the Heisman winner, and he played halfback and receiver for Washington through 1968. His 1,436 receiving yards in 1963 were the NFL's highest again, and his Pro Bowl years with Washington were 1962, 1963 and 1964. In 1969 he moved to the club's scouting department, he was assistant general manager from 1981, and he joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983. In June 2020 Washington announced that it was retiring his No. 49. 6 of the 13 sources this list draws on include him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Mitchell - 15
Gary Clark
He caught 11 passes against the Giants in a 1986 Monday night game, and the 241 yards he gained, with a touchdown, were then the club's record for a game. Washington had him from 1985 through 1992, and 5 of those seasons topped 1,000 yards. His NFL rights went to Washington in the 1984 supplemental draft while he was playing for Jacksonville of the USFL. 1991 was his biggest year there: 70 catches, 1,340 yards, 10 touchdowns, a Super Bowl XXVI win over Buffalo and his 4th Pro Bowl, and after Washington came stops in Phoenix and Miami. Of the 13 sources counted for this list, 6 name him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Clark_(American_football) - 16
Sam Huff
Coming out of a year's retirement for 1969, he captained Washington's defense and intercepted 3 passes, returning 1 of them 18 yards to score. His Washington years at linebacker ran from 1964 through 1967, plus that final season, after the Giants traded him there for Andy Stynchula and Dick James. His first season with the club, 1964, brought 4 interceptions and a Pro Bowl selection, and in 1982 the Pro Football Hall of Fame elected him. He also called Washington's games on radio until he retired after the 2012 season. He's named by 7 of the 13 sources behind this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Huff - 17
Larry Brown
On October 29, 1972, he ran over the Giants for 191 yards, in a season when he gained 1,216 and was UPI's choice as NFC Player of the Year. An 8th-round draft choice in 1969, he was in Washington's backfield through 1976. Vince Lombardi's tests found he was hearing-impaired in an ear, so his helmet was fitted with an earpiece that carried Sonny Jurgensen's snap counts. His 1,125 rushing yards led the NFL in 1970, when he was first-team All-Pro for the AP and UPI, and he repeated with the AP in 1972. His name is on 5 of the 13 sources that feed this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Brown_(running_back) - 18
Dave Butz
After a hospital stay that took him from 313 pounds down to 287, he sacked Ken O'Brien late against the Jets on October 25, 1987 to stop a drive in a 17-16 win, and the game ball was his. He was Washington's defensive tackle from 1975 through 1988, after a contract error freed him from St. Louis, his 1973 draft club; George Allen signed him, and the league made Washington pay the Cardinals 2 1st-round picks and a 2nd. In 1983 he got to 11 sacks, and Pro Football Weekly, NEA, The Sporting News and the AP each went with him at defensive tackle in picking first-team All-Pro, and when he retired, no Washington player had appeared in more games than his 203. His total: 6 of the 13 sources used for this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Butz - 19
Charles Mann
In 1985, his 3rd NFL season, he had 14.5 sacks, the most he would have in a year. Washington's defensive end from 1983 to 1993, he finished with 82 sacks for the club. He went on to make 4 Pro Bowls, after the 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1991 seasons. Super Bowls XXII and XXVI were won with him at end, and after Washington released him he joined San Francisco for 1994, playing in its Super Bowl XXIX win. He is in Washington's Ring of Fame. The sources backing him: 5 of the 13 in this list's count.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Mann_(American_football) - 20
Champ Bailey
Picked 7th overall by Washington in 1999, he intercepted 3 passes at Arizona that October 17, returning 1 of them 59 yards to score for the first time as a pro in a 24-10 win. He played cornerback in Washington through 2003, with 5 interceptions in 1999 and 5 more in 2000, 18 in all there, and in 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame voters elected him at the earliest chance. Pro Bowl trips followed every season from 2000 through 2003, and in March 2004 Washington sent him and a 2nd-round pick to Denver for running back Clinton Portis. Look for him on 5 of the 13 sources this list counts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champ_Bailey - 21
Cliff Battles
With the club then playing in Boston, he ran 16 times for 215 yards on October 8, 1933, against the Giants, the first time an NFL runner had gone past 200 yards in a game. A tailback, he played for the franchise from its first season, 1932, through 1937, and his 576 yards as a rookie and 874 in 1937 were both the league's rushing highs. In the 1937 NFL Championship Game, which closed the club's first season in Washington, he scored the opening touchdown of a 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears, its first league title. When owner George Preston Marshall would not raise his $3,000 salary, he quit playing, and his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction followed in 1968. Of the 13 sources this list draws on, 5 have him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Battles - 22
Mark Moseley
After 4 missed field goals in the NFC championship of January 8, 1984, he made the kick that beat San Francisco 24-21. Released by the Oilers in 1972, he spent 1973 out of football installing septic systems in Texas before he signed with Washington in 1974, and he kicked there through 1986. His 20 of 21 on field goals in 1982, a season cut short by a strike, came inside a run of 23 straight makes that set the league mark then, and that season he collected the AP's Most Valuable Player trophy, something no placekicker had done before. His 161 points topped the NFL in 1983, and the team credits him with 1,207 points for Washington, the most in club history. His tally is 5 of the 13 sources counted here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Moseley
How this list was ranked
Readers rank this list by voting items up and down. Items are ordered by reader votes.
0 comments
Related lists
The Greatest Los Angeles Rams Players of All Time
Sports
The Greatest Detroit Lions Players of All Time
Sports
The Greatest Kansas City Chiefs Players of All Time
Sports
The Greatest Denver Broncos Players of All Time
Sports
The Greatest Buffalo Bills Players of All Time
Sports
The Greatest Las Vegas Raiders Players of All Time
Sports