The 20 Most Intimidating Names in NFL History

The NFL thrives on intimidating players, but only a select few have intimidating names that perfectly match their on-the-field personas. 

Intimidation is a staple of the NFL primarily on the defensive side of the ball, which makes sense because defenders are doing whatever they can to slow down offensive players. 

At least half of the game of football at the professional level is mental. Intimidation can give some players a mental edge over their opponents. A player with an intimidating name has an added advantage before their adversaries even set eyes on them. 

Throughout NFL history there have been players with intimidating names. While some have reinforced their names with their play on the field, others have simply flopped and are remembered for nothing but their unique name.

Here are the 20 most intimidating names in NFL history. 

20. Will Shields, Guard, Kansas City Chiefs

For defensive linemen trying to sack Kansas City Chiefs' quarterbacks in the mid 1990's, it had to be disheartening to have to get past a gigantic guard named Will Shields.

Shields' name implied he was good at blocking opponents, and that he was. He was a selected to the Pro Bowl 12 times and the All-Pro team nine times.

There aren't many better fitting names in NFL history. 

19. Mike Quick, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles

Mike Quick has a perfect name for an NFL wide receiver. He has a mental advantage right away against opposing cornerbacks because his name implies he was, well, fast.

He was.

Quick played for eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and was selected to the Pro Bowl five times. He compiled over 6,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in those eight years, making his name very fitting. 

18. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Offensive Tackle, New York Jets

D'Brickashaw Ferguson is a massive human being with a name to match. His name fits nicely with his massive measurements at 6'6" and 310lbs. 

This is one of those cases where a unique name can intimidate. As a pass-rusher watching film, it has to be intimidating seeing the name and wondering which offensive lineman Ferguson is on the screen. 

Figuring it out doesn't make things any better.

17. Quentin Jammer, Cornerback, San Diego Chargers

Quentin Jammer has been one of the better shut-down corners in the league for the San Diego Chargers since 2002. 

Jammer's last name is a perfect fit for a cornerback, and Jammer happens to be very good at, you guessed it, jamming wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. 

In his career to date Jammer has recorded 18 interceptions and 560 tackles. 

16. Boss Bailey, Linebacker, Detroit Lions

Chalk up Boss Bailey as another player with an intimidating name but no skill set to reinforce said intimidation. 

Bailey spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Lions. He played five seasons total before hanging up the cleats, recording only seven sacks and 225 tackles.

There was a lot of potential here with Boss being Bailey's first name, but he failed to capitalize on the opportunity. 

15. Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala, Fullback, Pittsburgh Steelers

A name can be intimidating because it is simply so ridiculously difficult to pronounce. That would be the case here. 

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala was a fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars. In seven years he rushed for 964 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fuamatu-Ma'afala was known not only for his intimidating name but for his thankless work in the trenches. 

14. Zoltan Mesko, Punter, New England Patriots

Anyone with the name Zoltan has to be an intimidating figure in the football world as long as they aren't a punter.

Unfortunately for the New England Patriots' Zoltan Mesko, he's a punter.

Mesko has an awesome name that would be intimidating at literally any other position. That hasn't stopped him from averaging a solid 44.8 yards per punt for his career thus far.  

13. Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle, Detroit Lions

Ndamukong Suh is currently one of the bad-boys of the NFL thanks to his dirty hits on quarterbacks and the now-infamous stomping incident. 

Suh is intimidating at first glance, and his name doesn't help matters. He's wreaked havoc on opposing offensive line for his first two years in the league.

Suh's 14 sacks don't do him justice. He's a factor on every play and a part of that is the intimidation factor.

12. Tank Johnson, Defensive Tackle, Cincinnati Bengals

Any defensive lineman with the first name "Tank" is bound to be a massive human being and a nightmare matchup for the offense.

Tank Johnson was just that over the course of his seven-year career with three different teams. Johnson stood at 6'3" and 315lbs.

Johnson was as effective as his name suggested, racking up 14 sacks and 93 tackles in his career.

11. Champ Bailey, Cornerback, Denver Broncos

Having the first name "Champ" implies a player is one of the best to play their position, and that's something opposing teams should fear.

Champ Bailey is one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, living up to his name in spectacular fashion. In his Hall of Fame-worthy career he's notched 50 interceptions, 705 tackles and has been selected to 11 Pro Bowls. 

Champ lived up to his name, to be certain. Intimidation via a name can go a long way, but when you're as good as Bailey, it's a moot point.

10. Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Running Back, Carolina Panthers

That's a real name, folks. Mr. Tshimanga Biakabutuka played running back for the Carolina Panthers for six years.

When Biakabutuka wasn't scaring defenders away because of his freakish name, he was plowing them over. In six years he rushed for 2,530 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Biakabutuka has one of those names that has the ability to strike fear into opponents. It's also a name that could make a funniest-names list. That's a versatile running back right there.

9. Michael Stonebreaker, Linebacker, New Orleans Saints

There are players in the NFL with intimidating names who have backed it up with great careers, and then there's Michael Stonebreaker.

Stonebreaker's last name implies he's a hard-hitting linebacker who struck fear in his opponents on every down.

He was none of the above.

Stonebreaker failed to seriously latch on with any NFL teams for an extended period of time. He was great in college with Notre Dame, but it simply didn't translate to the NFL. 

That's unfortunate because he has one heck of an intimidating name. 

8. Pat Angerer, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts

With a name like Angerer one would think Pat Angerer plays the linebacker position with some intensity and ferocity.

For his first two years with the Indianapolis Colts he has done just that. In two years Angerer has worked his way up the depth chart and recorded 126 tackles. 

Angerer appears to have a good NFL future in front of him. The intimidation factor his name adds to his game certainly doesn't hurt. 

7. Webster Slaughter, Wide Receiver, Cleveland Browns

When one hears the name Slaughter, they probably pray he isn't a defender looking to take someone's head off. 

Fortunately for everyone except himself, Webster Slaughter was only a 6'1", 175lb journeyman wide receiver. 

Slaughter ended his career with 8,111 receiving yards and 44 touchdowns, which is impressive enough. Still, his intimidating name left much to be desired. 

6. Mack Strong, Fullback, Seattle Seahawks

Fullback is probably the most physical position in the NFL, so it's only fitting that one of the better players at the position in our generation was named Mack Strong.

To be an effective fullback in the NFL a player has to be extremely strong, and Strong was just that.

Strong paved the way for Seattle Seahawks' running backs for a ridiculous 14 years. His name gave away his best trait, but that couldn't help defenses from getting plowed over by him.

5. Frank Gore, Running Back, San Francisco 49ers

Anyone with the last name Gore has to strike a little fear in his opponents, especially if he is a bruising running back. 

Frank Gore does his name justice by the way he slices through defenses in the NFL. To date he has rushed for over 7,000 yards and 40 touchdowns as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. 

Gore has always intimidated opposing defenses, and his name has been a part of that.

4. Deacon Jones, Defensive End, Los Angeles Rams

Deacon Jones is one of the best players of all time. His name on its own is intimidating, but Deacon was so good he coined the term "sack," and the NFL has used it ever since.

Jones was nicknamed "The Secretary of Defense" for his outstanding career. Sacks weren't tallied by the NFL until 1982, but it is widely speculated that Jones had more than 170 by the time his career concluded.

Jones is the greatest defensive end to play the game, and it's only fitting that he had an intimidating name to match. 

3. Hannibal Navies, Linebacker, Carolina Panthers

Hannibal Navies has an intimidating name because of the popular horror movies featuring the character Hannibal Lecter.

While Lecter was scary because of reasons that won't be mentioned here, Navies was scary because of his lack of NFL production.

He only recorded 193 tackles in nine years, playing for four different teams in the process. Hannibal is an intimidating name, but not when it's followed by the last name Navies. 

2. Jack Youngblood, Defensive End, Los Angeles Rams

Not only does Jack Youngblood have a name that instills fear in his opponents, his physicality on the field only reinforced why he was one of the most feared players of his generation.

Youngblood used his skills to get to opposing quarterbacks with ease. It couldn't have been easy to block Youngblood when already at a mental disadvantage because of his name.

Now Youngblood is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and is one of the most feared players in NFL history.

1. Bronko Nagurski, Fullback, Chicago Bears

Bronko Nagurski is a Hall of Fame fullback who revolutionized the position as a member of the Chicago Bears in the 1930's.

His physicality and demeanor were matched by none on the field as he cleared the way for his running backs. He rushed for 2,778 yards and 25 touchdowns in his career, but his real contributions can't truly be measured by statistics. 

Bronko Nagurski is an intimidating name to say the least, but he didn't need it to make the rest of the league fear him—his play did that on its own.

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