Welcome to the Time Machine! The Throwback Thursday feature that allows you to swap current players with former players. Today’s edition is for defensive tackles.
You can either choose to keep the current player that holds the roster spot, or you can fire up the flux capacitor and travel back in time in the Redskins Commandelorean, and pick up one of three players that played that position at some point.
The current Washington DT1 is Jonathan Allen.
The three players available to you are:
Dave Butz | Darryl Grant | Diron Talbert
Here is a little bit of information about each player:
Dave Butz
Butz played in the NFL for 16 years – fourteen of them for Washington (1975-1988). He was drafted out of Purdue in the first round, with the fifth overall pick. George Allen pried him away from the St. Louis Cardinals via a contract error after just two seasons, but had to pay a hefty price – two first-round draft picks and a second round pick.
He was worth it.
Standing at an enormous 6’8″ and 315 pounds, he would appear in 216 NFL games. He logged 35.5 sacks, and 2 interceptions over his career, and won two Super Bowls in Washington (XVII,XXII). He was a First Team All Pro in 1983 and a Second Team All Pro in 1984. He also made the Pro Bowl in 1983.
He was selected as one of the 80 Greatest Redskins and is a member of the Redskins Ring Of Fame. He was also selected to the NFL 1980’s All-Decade Team.
At the time of his retirement in 1988, he was the oldest player in the league (38).
He once checked himself out of the hospital to play against the Jets, despite having lost over 25 pounds. He was awarded the game ball for sacking quarterback Ken O’Brien late in the game.
Darryl Grant
Grant was drafted by Washington out of Rice University in the 9th round (231st overall) as an offensive lineman, but was converted to a defensive tackle. That’s right, he was originally a Hog!
He would play for the Redskins for ten seasons (1981-1990). He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a season before retiring.
He was a two-time Super Bowl Champion (XVII,XXII), and famously landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated for intercepting a pass against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC Championship game. He returned it for a touchdown.
Grant played in 141 games for Washington and registered 27 sacks – including a career high eight in the 1984 season.
Diron Talbert
Talbert played 14 NFL seasons, including ten for the Redskins (1971-1980). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams out of Texas University in the 5th round (66th overall).
He was part of a massive trade between the Rams and the Redskins in 1971 that also included Jack Pardee. (Pardee would go on to coach Washington from 1978-1980.)
Talbert was on the Washington team that won the NFC Championship game but was beat by the undefeated Miami Dolphins in the 1972 Super Bowl (VII).
He played in a total of 186 NFL games, and was selected for the Pro Bowl in 1974. He had 10 career fumble recoveries.
He was inducted into the Texas Longhorn Hall of Fame in 2005. He was also selected as one of the 70 80 Greatest Redskins.
Summary
So who are you picking up in the Commandelorean? Make sure you visit our Twitter account, and tell us your pick.