1. Ted Hendricks, 1975-1983
Hendricks was a star before he came to the Raiders, being selected All-Pro in 1971 and helping the Baltimore Colts win Super Bowl V with a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The Colts went 14-2-1 in that 1970 season and the Raiders certainly noticed him when Baltimore beat them, 27-17, in the AFC Championship Game, especially when he sacked quarterback Daryle Lamonica. The 6-7, 220-pound Hendricks was drafted by the Colts in the second round (No. 15 overall) of the 1969 NFL Draft out of Miami (Fla.), where he was a three-time All-American, was named 1968 Lineman of the Year by United Press International and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting after recording 327 tackles in three years and being voted into the Miami Hall of Fame. Hendricks had 347 tackles and 18½ sacks in his five seasons with the Colts, plus 11 interceptions for 147 yards in returns, and added five fumble recoveries for 31 yards and a touchdown. However, he played his final
1. Howie Long, 1981-1993
The 6-5, 265-pound Long had definite ideas about what he wanted from his pro career after the Raiders selected him in the second round (No. 48 overall) out of Villanova in the 1981 National Football League Draft. “(In want) financial security, and I want to be in the Hall o
f Fame. That’s my goal. And I’d like to win a few more Super Bowls,” Howie Long told Football Digest in 1986.” He got them all, except for more Super Bowls. In his 13-year career, Long recorded 84 sacks, not counting the 7.5 sacks he had as a rookie before sacks became an official NFL statistic. He had a career-high 13 sacks in 1983, five in one game that season against the Washington Redskins. We also don’t know how many tackles he had, because they also were not an official stat, but he often finished games in double digits. In Super Bowl XVIII, he had five tackles and made 58 tackles plus 12 sacks the following season, but tackle stats for his career are incomplete. Long a
Raiders All-Time Top Five: Tackles
The Oakland, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas Raiders have an outstanding legacy of great players and today we look at the all-time great tackles
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1. Art Shell, 1968-1982
Not only is Art Shell at the top of this list, but he was also among the best tackles in NFL history, and there those who believe there was no one better. The 6-5, 270-pound Shell was selected by the Raiders in the third round (No. 80 overall) of the 1968 NFL Draft out of Maryland State and was a fixture at left tackle for the next 15 years. During the 1970s, Shell was a mainstay in the greatest line in NFL history, along with center Jim Otto, guard Gene Upshaw, and tight end Dave Casper, who like Shell all are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Shell played in eight Pro Bowls, was selected to the All-Pro team four times, made the All-American Football Conference team seven consecutive years, and was voted onto the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team and the NF