Deacon Jones Pro Football Hall of Fame

Lore & Background

Jones was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL draft, but after being cut by the Rams, he briefly signed with the Los Angeles Chargers of the AFL before returning to the Rams as a free agent. He earned a starting role as a defensive end and teamed with Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy, and Rosey Grier to form the Fearsome Foursome, now considered one of the best defensive lines of all time. What separated Jones was his speed and ability to make tackles sideline to sideline, which was unheard of in his time. He pioneered the head slap move, saying, "The quickness of my hands and the length of my arms, it was perfect for me. It was the greatest thing I ever did, and when I left the game, they outlawed it."

Reader's Guide

Deacon Jones did not win a Super Bowl during his Rams tenure, but his individual accolades defined an era of defensive excellence. He was selected to seven straight Pro Bowls from 1964 to 1970 while wearing the blue and gold, highlighting his consistent dominance. During seasons where sack statistics were unofficially tracked, Pro Football Weekly reported he accumulated 173.5 sacks over his career, which would have ranked first all-time at his retirement by a substantial margin. His number 75 was retired by the Rams on September 27, 2009. In 1999, he was ranked number 13 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the highest-ranked player to have played for the Rams franchise and the highest-ranked defensive end. Sports Illustrated named him the "Defensive End of the Century" the same year.

Did You Know?

• Jones is credited with an unofficial retroactive 22 sacks in 1964 (sacks were not an official NFL statistic until 1982); the official single-season sack record is 22.5, shared by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J.
• In the final game of his NFL career with the Washington Redskins in 1974, the Redskins allowed him to kick the point-after-touchdown for the game's last score.