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BY GAVIN PATRICK/Multimedia Journalist
Spooky season is behind us, but don’t tell whoever has to go against these cats.
Football is an intimidating sport. Each selection on this list puts fear in their opponents week in and week out, whether it’s from preparing for them in the meeting room or getting embarrassed by them on the playing field.
By definition, to intimidate means to “frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants” (from Oxford Languages). There are slightly different interpretations to be had, but for this exercise, this description fits best.
Imagine you’re defending one of these players and they’re so in your head that you fall for, or give into, every move they make (or might make) because you’re afraid you’ll get beat by every single one. Those are the kind of players on this list.
Trash-talk is an initiating factor as well. A few guys on this list are known for running their mouths, and a lot of times, it’s shown to frustrate whoever they’re matched up with, even to the point of retaliation. As soon as they break, that's when you know they've been intimated.
There’s an argument for each of these players being the very best at their position right now (minus one). You can’t be intimidating if you’re not good, but there’s a superficial aspect to each of these players’ games that’s hard to unsee.
Quarterback- Lamar Jackson
A lot of times in sports, fear = respect. In other words, when a player is feared on the field, they are oftentimes highly respected off it.
Jackson is the poster boy for this sentiment.
The Ravens’ quarterback was voted #2 on the NFL’s “Top 100 Players” list in August, fresh off an MVP campaign the season before. The list is known as “the players’ list” because it's voted on annually by NFL players. The higher a player is on the list, in theory, the more respected they are by their peers.
Coaches and players are asked all the time about the players or teams that give them the most fits, and in terms of quarterbacks, Jackson has become the most popular answer. This is directly related to his intimidation. Defenses are put in a bind on a snap-to-snap basis always having to worry about Jackson’s running ability, but his arm may be just as good at this point in his career.
Jackson has been in the NFL for almost seven years now, and defenses still don’t know how to stop him (outside of Steve Spagnuolo). They just got to fight through the grit of their teeth and hope for the best.
Running Back- Derrick Henry
The picture says it all: no one wants a piece of this crazy-eyed lunatic in the open field.
Derrick Henry spends most of his time smashing between the tackles, but at 6’ 2”, 250 pounds, nothing feels great if you’re the defense. The NFL hasn’t seen a running back this big run that fast maybe ever. Henry is certainly one of a kind and is, literally, a pain in defenses’ backsides.
You’d maybe think that a back of Henry’s size would get tired as the game goes on. Wrong. He gets stronger and wears down the defense. His 81-yard run against the Buccaneers (pictured above) came in the fourth quarter, where he reached a top speed of 21.72 MPH.
In Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Henry broke off a 51-yard run in overtime to set up a game-winning field goal. And the following week against the Washington Commanders, he took a toss up the left sideline for 27 yards to help the Ravens hang on to a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter.
He’s the closer of all closers, and at age 30, playing for what looks to be his best team, Henry looks more intimidating than ever.
Wide Receiver- Tyreek Hill
Speed kills in football, and Hill is the fastest of them all.
Nothing intimates a defensive back more than the threat of being beat deep. Specifically, when a ball is thrown over their head and into the arms of a receiver that left them in the dust. Hill has done that more to defenders than anyone since he entered the league in 2016.
Going back to “the players’ list,” while Jackson was voted second on the list, Hill was voted #1. This made him the first wide receiver to ever claim the #1 spot on that list (which debuted in 2011). The numbers that got him there: 119 catches for a league-leading 1799 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. That’s scary.
Tight End- George Kittle
This position was the toughest to choose. While Kittle is a hard-nosed player and can drive defenders into the ground, he’s also viewed as a nice guy. You wouldn’t expect someone nicknamed “The People’s Tight End” to be on a list of intimating players. With Kittle, though, he really is one of a kind.
He plays the game of football with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. Kittle enjoys blocking just as much as he does catching, which is rare for a tight end nowadays. He also takes joy in embarrassing defenders.
In this clip from 2022, he takes on an Atlanta Falcon defender at the goaline and drives him back about six yards deep in the endzone. (Threw him out the club, essentially. And laughed his behind off afterwards.)
“You’re talking about finish -- watch what he does to Ricardo Allen,” FOX announcer Darryl Johnson said on the call.
The funny part is that the player he was blocking for had already scored a touchdown when he finished the block. Kittle didn’t care though. He was just having a little fun.
Offensive Line- Trent Williams
Williams may be the nastiest player in the league. He takes blocks and finishes them like no other and lets his victims know about it afterwards.
At 36, he may have some wear on the knees, but his game is still very much feared. The 49ers tend to fare much better when they run behind “Big Trent” (and oftentimes do so). They also kick him outside the hash marks so he can push around corners.
One time, the 49ers even put him in motion to give him a running start on a block. Like you’d expect, he absolutely smashed the defender to the ground. If you asked his opponent what happened that day, that just wasn’t fair.
Williams is no stranger to pregame shuffles, either, or in-game fights.
Don’t pick a fight with this guy.
Defensive Tackle- Chris Jones
Like Kittle, Jones is known to be a jokester -- which adds to his trash-talk. He talks a big game and backs it up. He plays with a looseness that makes him unhinged to defenders.
To most, Jones is the most dominant defensive tackle in the game now that Aaron Donald is retired. He was the highest ranked defensive tackle on the “Top 100 Players of 2024,” coming in at #6 overall. There’s not many lineman who can block Jones one-on-one consistently.
And his intimidation isn’t limited to inside blockers. The Chiefs oftentimes line him up on the edge to take advantage of better matchups. Good luck stopping that, too.
Edge Rusher- T.J. Watt
Naturally, there had to be a Pittsburgh Steeler on this list, and Watt fits the intimidation billing as much as anyone in the game right now.
First off, his stare at the line of scrimmage is second to none. He locks in before every play, his motor is violent and he takes over games. Just imagine being a blocker and seeing this lined up across you.
Watt’s dominance should never be taken for granted. On Oct. 6, 2024, he became the second fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 sacks, doing so in just his 109th career game. That’s practically a sack per game, if you’re doing the math. Not a fair site for offensive lineman.
Linebacker- Roquan Smith
Smith is the hardest hitting linebacker the Ravens have had since Ray Lewis -- who’s arguably the most intimidating football player of the 21st century. He is the tone-setter of his defense, playing right up the spine, and sends incoming ball carriers backwards.
Amazingly, Smith is the third Raven to make this list, which speaks volumes about that team’s identity. Their players, particularly on the defensive side, have a history of being feared (I’ve already mentioned Lewis), and Smith is the latest in line. Listen to what the players say about him.
“You see ‘0’ on the field, it’s like -- this is about to get serious,” Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold said. “You know you gotta strap up and it's gonna be a physical game.”
“The Ray Lewis of our generation,” another player added.
He plays the game with an attitude that rubs off on his teammates. He’s the leader of his troops and the nightmare of his enemies. And remember, with fear comes respect in football.
Smith was voted first-team All-Pro in 2023, gobbling up 158 tackles, and ranked #19 on the “Top 100 Players” list. He’s right on pace for similar recognition in 2024.
Cornerback- Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey doesn't believe in “having friends on the field.”
“[If my grandma] was out there, it’s on,” he said in a viral clip from 2018.
Would you want to play against this guy?
Ramsey seeks out contact at the cornerback position. He may have a slim frame, but he uses his body like a linebacker when a ball carrier is in striking position. Not to mention, when a quarterback drops back to pass, they usually look in the opposite direction of Ramsey.
The Dolphins’ standout is most certainly known for his trash-talk, too. He’s a dog on the field, as some would say. Those competitive juices are always flowing, through his play and his mouth. It seems like everyone on the field can hear him when he flaps his lips.
Ramsey is the kind of player your dad finds annoying. Though to him, that’s probably a compliment.
Safety- C.J. Gardner-Johnson
While he’s not considered to be the very best at his position, Gardner-Johnson enhances his game with a kind of attitude and swagger offbeat from his peers.
As you can infer from the picture, this guy talks a big game. A very big game. But unlike other trash-talkers on this list, it's impossible to predict what he’ll do next.
It's hard to believe Gardner-Johnson has the audacity to do some of the things he does, like standing cross-armed in Tom Brady’s face or poking at a player’s cheek through his helmet opening. Some of these really catch your eye, but most of Gardner-Johnson’s acts are subtle and accumulate on the subject as the game goes on, and they often lose their cool.
Get this: he’s on a generational run of getting players to punch him in the face (one, two, three, four (!) times so far).
Gardner-Johnson may not be the best safety in the game, but he’s the most intimating. He gets you to do what he wants. He can change a game by getting under a player’s skin, causing penalties and ejections. It’s truly unmatched in today’s NFL.
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