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Bills' All-Time Top 10 Defensive Ends: 4-year active player on list

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Ronnie Eastham | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 7:02 AM ET

The Buffalo Bills' No. 1 defensive end on this list isn't going to shock anyone, but 2 through 10 might come as a surprise to some, and others will downright hate it.

Many of these players are interchangeable after the top guy. You could also argue that some of these players benefited significantly from having an elite, or near-elite player on the opposite side.

Still, these players belong, whether they did it alone or took advantage of having All-Pro talent on the line with them. Some of the players on this list are from seasons played before the league kept official records of sack numbers, so keep in mind any sack totals listed come from ProFootballReference.com.

Let's get to the Bills' Top 10 defensive ends.

10. Gregory Rousseau

9. Chris Kelsay

8. Sherman White

7. Ron McDole

6. Phil Hansen

Having Rousseau at number ten might not make a lot of sense, but he has increased his total pressures and quarterback hits each of his four years, and has 25 career sacks, which ranks him 21st in team history. Another ten sacks, and he cracks the Bills' top-15 all-time.

Hansen and Kelsay, while aided by stars Bruce Smith and Aaron Schobel, respectively, should be applauded for taking advantage of their situation and producing on the field. Kelsay ranks 15th in career sacks with 32.5, and Hansen is third in Bills history with 61.5 sacks.

Ron McDole and Sherman White played in eras when sacks weren't an official stat, but McDole is credited with 34, and White, 38. Both are ranked in the top 13 all-time with the Bills.

5. Ben Williams

4. Jerry Hughes

3. Mario Williams

All three of these guys played for the Bills during years when the team wasn't very good, but they still produced, with all three ranking in the top 10 in career sacks with the Bills: Hughes is fourth in team history, but Williams was dominant in his four years, racking up 53 total sacks.

2. Aaron Schobel

Aaron Schobel would have received a ton more notoriety if the Bills were a consistent playoff team. Even still, he earned two Pro Bowl nods and was a second-team All-Pro in 2006. With 78 career sacks, he ranks number team in Bills history, behind only the Hall of Famer Bruce Smith. Schobel produced four seasons, in nine years, with double-digit sacks.

1. Bruce Smith

Smith was drafted by the Bills with the first overall selection in 1985. As a rookie, he produced 6.5 sacks. Froin there, he would put together 12 of 13 seasons with 10-plus sacks. The only year he didn't produce, he played only five games before an injury shortened his season. Smith sits alone not only on the Bills' all-time sack list, but the NFL. He is the only player in history with 200 career sacks and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.