Bills DE Bruce Smith rushes Miami quarterback Dan Marino on Oct. 9, 1994. Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Bills' legend shockingly kept off NFL Top 25 all-time players list

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Owen Klein | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 11:03 AM ET

When there are discussions about the best players in NFL history, not many Buffalo Bills come to mind. Despite there being one clear standout, he wasn't recognized on a list of the Top 25 NFL players of all time.

Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports created his list of these players on Tuesday, and Bruce Smith, the NFL's all-time sacks leader who played for the Bills for 15 seasons, wasn't on that list, not even as an honorable mention.

To give some perspective on his list, DeArdo had NFL Hall of Famer and 1986 NFL MVP Lawrence Taylor as his seventh-best player in the league and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Reggie White as his eighth.

Although Taylor won Defensive Player of the Year three times in his career, including his rookie season, Smith still achieved the honor twice, so the questioning is validated.

DeArdo made his list based on several factors, including a player's legacy left on the league as a whole, championships won and ranking relative to his position. With these factors, a counterargument that Taylor and White best Smith in most of these categories makes sense as well.

Of course, that's not to take away from the other 23 players that made it onto DeArdo's list, but comparisons between these three historic edge rushers can go on and on if a list like this becomes more visible to the public.