{"id":269889,"date":"2026-03-22T09:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=269889"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:01:18","slug":"top-ten-washington-legends-who-defined-the-franchise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/03\/22\/top-ten-washington-legends-who-defined-the-franchise\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Washington Legends Who Defined the Franchise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every NFL franchise has history. Washington<\/a> boasts an entire archive that spans across generations and can still cause arguments in a bar or at the ballgame. To try to boil down to even a portion of the “greatest” seems almost foolish, but that’s part of the fun. This is an attempt to name the top 10 Washington legends who defined the franchise.<\/p>\n

As usual with lists of this nature, they’re all subjective and debatable, and the players below are listed in no particular order.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ten Washington Legends Who Defined the Franchise<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"
Oct 20, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Former Washington Commanders Darrell Green speaks during a halftime celebration for his jersey retirement at Northwest Stadium against the Carolina Panthers. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sammy Baugh<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One couldn’t begin the tale of Washington football, or of the NFL really, without starting here. Sammy Baugh<\/a> wasn’t just a good player in his era; he was an innovator who made eras come a few years sooner. He threw the ball when most offenses felt it was the riskiest thing on the football field, served as punter and defense, and led the league in passing yards more than once. He was a true pioneer of the passing game. His name still resonates in discussions of the best players of all time.<\/p>\n

Darrell Green<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You hear about longevity a lot, but Darrell Green<\/a> was something else. Not only did Green last over twenty seasons at cornerback, but he actually got faster and remained effective for his entire stay with Washington. His ability to catch up to younger, faster receivers was legendary and often was the reason that games changed. Green’s presence could shut down an entire side of the field.<\/p>\n

John Riggins<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There’s no way to describe Riggins’ play other than straightforward and running over whatever was in his way. He simply powered through defenses; the more that was in his way the harder he tried, and eventually the opposition caved. That run against Miami on fourth and short still comes to mind. Confidence, power, and zero reservation. He carried that Washington team in ’82.<\/p>\n

Art Monk<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some players require and get that spotlight with every step of their career. Art Monk<\/a> was never one of those players, instead, it was enough to have Monk consistently catch passes until he left the game as the all-time NFL reception leader. Monk was that silent weapon in the middle of the field who always seemed to be there. He made quarterbacks feel comfortable in throwing the ball no matter the situation.<\/p>\n

Russ Grimm<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The offense’s ability to consistently run the ball relied heavily on Russ Grimm<\/a> at the center of The Hogs<\/a>. They mauled people on the ground in large part because they had one of the best centers the game has ever seen. Grimm epitomized the toughness that The Hogs played with and the dominance of the Washington run game in the 1980s and early 90s.<\/p>\n

Charley Taylor<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The term “versatile” is easily used when describing players, but Charley Taylor’s<\/a> ability to translate skills and production to different positions stands out. He started at running back before switching to wide receiver and succeeding at both at a high level. He ran routes well, was difficult to tackle, and always found open space. Taylor always seemed to make the difficult play look easy.<\/p>\n

Sonny Jurgensen<\/strong><\/h3>\n

While many modern passers look robotic, Sonny Jurgensen<\/a> played the position like he was truly gifted with natural talent. He threw the ball with confidence and accuracy, and could spin it with the best of them. In a period when defenses were allowed more leniency, Jurgensen still put up big yardage and kept the offense moving. Watching old footage still feels like watching something special.<\/p>\n

Sam Huff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When thinking about defensive players from this era, Sam Huff<\/a> was one of the hardest-hitting, most imposing linebackers in the league. He always seemed to know where the ball was and controlled the middle of the field. He was a leader on a tough Washington defense, and offenses knew they had to deal with him.<\/p>\n

Dexter Manley<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Pass rushers come in all different forms but Dexter Manley’s<\/a> ability to shed blocks and run to the ball was outstanding. His constant pressure made the opposition’s job more difficult. Manley had a knack for big games and from the opening whistle, you knew what he was trying to do. Get to the quarterback.<\/p>\n

Sean Taylor<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now and then, a player comes along who is just physically imposing and can’t be described by anything less than a pure athlete. That was Sean Taylor<\/a>. He was a game-changing safety with the ability to come down and hit, and to get to a ball no matter how far down the field it was thrown. His hits and range are still remembered in franchise lore.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every NFL franchise has history. Washington boasts an entire archive that spans across generations and can still cause arguments in a bar or at the ballgame. To try to boil down to even a portion of the “greatest” seems almost foolish, but that’s part of the fun. This is an attempt to name the top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5774,"featured_media":269919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,8896],"tags":[34313,34316,34320,34314,34319,34317,34315,34318,6979,34136,8996],"class_list":["post-269889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-washington-commanders","tag-art-monk","tag-charley-taylor","tag-darrell-green","tag-dexter-manley","tag-john-riggins","tag-russ-grimm","tag-sam-huff","tag-sammy-baugh","tag-sean-taylor","tag-sonny-jurgensen","tag-washington-commanders-news"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5774"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269889"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":269923,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269889\/revisions\/269923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}