New sack data shuffles Green Bay Packers all-time sack leaders list

After Pro Football Reference’s unearthing of the numbers from before 1982, the Green Bay Packers all-time sack leaders list has been shuffled.

Before 1982, sacks were not an official NFL statistic. Someone was going to take on the painstaking task of tabulating sacks from before that, and Pro Football Reference just unveiled their findings dating back to 1960.

By official records, which are still technically the official records, Clay Matthews is the Green Bay Packers’ all-time sack leader with 83.5. But PFR’s research has reshuffled the franchise’s all-time sack leaders list, and notably created a new No. 1.

Who is the Green Bay Packers’ new all-time sacks leader?

With 93.5 sacks, the new Packers’ all-time sacks leader is Hall of Famer Willie Davis. He had four straight double-digit sack seasons from 1964-1967, with a high of 14.5 in 1964. He has also been credited with 13 sacks in 1962. He tops Matthews by 10 sacks for Green Bay’s all-time lead.

Ezra Johnson, a Packers’ first-round pick in 1977, was originally credited with 41.5 sacks as a Packer and 55.5 sacks for his career as a whole. Now, counting his first five seasons, he has 82 sacks as a Packer (third in team history) and 96 for his career. His 17.5-sack season in 1978 now sits as the second-best single season total in franchise history, only behind Tim Harris’ 19.5 sacks in 1989.

Lionel Aldridge teamed with Davis to form a formidable defensive end duo for the Vince Lombardi Era Packers. He had two double-digit sack seasons in parallel with Davis (10 in 1965, 12.5 in 1966), and his 62 career sacks now sits sixth in Packers’ history.

Henry Jordan was another Lombardi Era Packers defensive lineman who was quite good. He earned five straight Pro Bowl nods from 1960-1964. His newly-credited 52 sacks from 1960-1969 is ninth in Packers’ history.

Clarence Williams played defensive end for the Packers from 1970-1977 (111 games). PFR’s new data credits him with 49 sacks, 10th in franchise history.