90 #DaysToFootball

Today we explore five of the best players to ever wear the number 90. None have entered the Hall of Fame...yet:

5. Phil Hansen, DE
1991-2001 (Buffalo); 61.5 career sacks; 496 career tackles

(Kevin Higley/Associated Press)

Two other 90s - Ndamukong Suh and Jevon Kearse - would have made this list above Phil Hansen had they played their entire careers wearing the same jersey number. Both, however, spent time with 93 on their chests as well. Still the greatest player ever drafted out of North Dakota State, Hansen put together a decade-long career with one of the AFC's best teams in the 1990s. The North Dakota native played primarily on the left side of Buffalo's defensive line and started in both of the Bills' Super Bowl losses to Dallas. Although he never earned a spot in the Pro Bowl, Hansen nevertheless became an inductee to the Bills' Wall of Fame 10 years after his retirement.

4. Darnell Dockett, DT
2004-2013 (Arizona); Three Pro Bowls; 349 career tackles

(David Drapkin/Associated Press)

Darnell Dockett was part of the defense that led the Cardinals to their first home playoff game since 1947, and first-ever Super Bowl appearance, after the 2008 season. After bursting onto the scene with a nine-sack season in 2007, Dockett played in his first Pro Bowl. In Super Bowl XLIII, the former Florida State Seminole tied a championship game record by sacking Ben Roethlisberger three times. Injuries cut Dockett's career short; while he didn't play a down in 2014 or 2015, he did not officially retire until the summer of 2016.

3. Larry Brooks, DT
1972-1982 (LA Rams); Five Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro

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The Rams were one of the NFC's most potent teams in the latter half of the 70s, and one of their most potent players was 14th-round draft pick Larry Brooks. Los Angeles made it to the NFC title game three times in Brooks' five Pro Bowl seasons, and lost to the Steelers in one of the most underrated Super Bowls ever played the same year he earned his only first-team all-pro recognition. After his retirement, Brooks spent more than two decades coaching defensive lines in the NFL; he finally earned a Super Bowl ring as a coach on the 1996 Packers.

2. Neil Smith, DE
1988-1999 (Kansas City, Denver); Six Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro; 104.5 career sacks

(Stephen Dunn/Getty)

One of the key members of the Kansas City defense during the Marty Schottenheimer era, Neil Smith was selected to the Pro Bowl in five straight Chiefs playoff seasons from 1991-1995. The 1993 campaign was Smith's finest, as he recorded a league-best 15 sacks, forced four fumbles and intercepted a pass en route to KC's only conference championship game appearance since the AFL-NFL merger. After nine seasons wearing an arrowhead on his helmet, the second overall pick in the 1988 draft left Kansas City for the division rival Broncos. Smith was a member of both Denver championship teams in 1997 and 1998; he notched two sacks against his former team in a 1997 divisional round win that helped lead the Broncos to their first ever Super Bowl victory. Smith retired after a 2000 season in which he played sparingly for the Chargers wearing jersey number 91. He became a member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2006.

1. Julius Peppers, DE
2002-2013, 2017 (Carolina, Chicago); Nine Pro Bowls; Three First-Team All-Pro; 2002 Defensive Rookie of the Year; 118.5 career sacks



Like Smith, Julius Peppers was the second-overall pick in his respective draft class. Taken by the Panthers, who had only won one game in 2001, Peppers led Carolina to a three-point loss in Super Bowl XXXVIII in just his second season. The following year, the North Carolina native had his first of three all-pro seasons. Among Peppers' 2004 more impressive stats, he returned both an interception and a fumble recovery for touchdowns. Equally as commendable is the fact that Peppers has only missed two games from the start of his second year in the league. After eight years in Carolina and a second-team all-decade accolade from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Peppers spent four seasons dominating the NFC North as a member of the Chicago Bears. His final all-pro honor to date came after the 2010 season, his third multiple-interception year. Peppers donned the number 56 and switched his position to linebacker for three years in Green Bay before returning home this offseason. The all-time Panthers great will wear the number 90 again for what will likely be his final season playing football in 2017, his ticket to Canton all but guaranteed.