Though the greatest players in the history of the NFL list can be subjective, in order from greatest to least successful, the following players appear in most lists in varying order. These gridiron legends ought to be included, including Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, and Arthur Smith. Those individuals, among others, are in the Hall of Fame.
1. Jerry Rice / San Francisco 49ers / Oakland Raiders / Seattle Seahawks
1985-2005
There have been few players more dominant at wide receiver in any sport than Jerry Rice at wide receiver. We could have easily chosen several players at the top of the roster. But only Rice has a Secretariat-like lead on his contemporaries. The gap between Rice and his peers clearly shows that he does. Rice has 22,285 receiving yards (no one else surpasses 20,000). Rice has 208 touchdowns. He currently has 1,549 receptions in the world. Among his accomplishments are the 23,546 yards he amassed as an all-purpose back, 274 consecutive games with at least one reception. And in a league and sports climate where records fade like autumn leaves, Rice still holds 36 NFL records, 16 years after he retired.
2. Tom Brady / New England Patriots / Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2000-present
Brady left the Patriots at the age of 43 to lead a forlorn Buccaneers franchise into a Super Bowl title in one season and did it without training camps, summer games, or preseason games. The result was he never had the chance to practice with his new teammates and learn the kind of communications a quarterback needs to win regular games with his teammates. Maybe you have to own, play, cover, or follow a lot of football to realize that. It's certainly not something that will happen again for several years until Brady does it next year. He already has seven Super Bowl titles. The most recent holder of the "Greatest Ever" mantle is Joe Montana, who has four.
3. Jim Brown / Cleveland Browns
1957-1965
While an All-American in multiple sports at Syracuse, he was one of the greatest running backs of his time, when rushing caused many people to misplace the football. In nine seasons, he was voted first-team All-Pro eight times. The only running back to average 100 yards rushing per game (104.3). He led the league in yards per game eight times out of nine seasons while also leading in total yards in eight seasons, rushing touchdowns in five seasons, and touches and scrimmage yards in six seasons. In the final NFL season (1965), in which Jim Brown was the most dominant in rushes, yards, touchdowns, touches, and yards from scrimmage, he led his league in these categories.
4. Lawrence Taylor / New York Giants
1981-1993
Since defensive players aren't directly measured by statistics, we may have a trickier time judging their performance. But if we're being objective, Lawrence Taylor is the best defensive player in NFL history. Offenses were designed around Taylor in order not to ruin their passing game. His size enabled him to stop the bruising running backs, and his speed enabled him to sack quarterbacks at will. He created the downward chop that modern players use to cause fumbles. By the very end of the season, Taylor had established himself as the leading linebacker in the NFL, with 20.5 sacks, making first-team All-Pro, leading the Giants to their very first Super Bowl victory and becoming the second defensive player to ever be named NFL MVP. Bill Belichick is red-faced when any contemporary player makes the comparison that Taylor was the way it all started, as the first player to earn the nickname LT.
5. Reggie White / Philadelphia Eagles / Green Bay Packers
1985-2000
As an All-American at Tennessee, White went on to the NFL as a fourth-round pick by the Eagles in the NFL Draft and constantly destroys offensive linemen. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and 13-time first-team All-Pro. White will be remembered for winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award twice, in 1987 and 1998. He finished his career with just 198 sacks, just two short of the NFL single-season record. The former Philadelphia Eagle was part of an awesome defensive line that reached the playoffs a few times, but he chose to sign with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent, believing his chances of success would be greater in Green Bay. With young Brett Favre at quarterback, White became the first NFL coach to win only one Super Bowl, beating Bill Parcells and the Patriots. It was not only White who was so strong that he could attack his opponent's quarterback with one arm, but he was one of the nicest men who ever played football. A lover of the Bible, White was so devoted to the Good Book that he became proficient in Hebrew so he could read it in the original text. In spite of his brutality, White was known for his polite ways, never using profanity, and renowned for picking up players who'd been flattened a few seconds earlier. Unfortunately, White died shortly after Christmas, in his sleep, in 2004.
6. Joe Montana / San Francisco 49ers / Kansas City Chiefs
1979-1994
Simply calling him Joe Montana might be the icing on the cake for all those who have honored him for his play, from yours truly to Tom Brady. His death rings sadly for all the teams he beat in the last few moments; for the four Super Bowls he won; for the 11 touchdowns he threw in that most important game in the NFL, and no interception. Super Bowl MVP Montana has thrown 127 touchdown passes in Super Bowls. Montana has been named to eight Pro Bowls and twice as an NFL MVP. A single play during the 1980 season happens to be one dubbed, "The Catch," where Joe rolls right at Candlestick Park with 58 seconds left and the ball is at the Cowboys' six-yard line. He pump-faked, while three Dallas Cowboys, including Ed "Too Tall" Jones, stalked him down. Montana chucked the ball about 15 yards. The ball trickled just past their fingertips, to the back of the end zone, and a galloping Dwight Clark leaped, nabbed it at its peak, and landed with the pigskin cradled in his hands. In those days, Joe Montana was called "Joe Cool" by a variety of individuals growing up around the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania and along the lowlands of South Bend I went to Indiana and Notre Dame then drove across cornfields to California where he and the Niners, along with a young genius named Bill Walsh, forged a family dynasty.
7. Walter Payton / Chicago Bears
1975-1987
The term Sweetness probably has little appeal to such a rugged man with a personality as sharp as Walter Payton. As a runner who can get up for over 275 yards, Payton's a wrecking ball, just as he was against the Vikings. He served as a key blocker for the Chicago Bears, the storied team known as The Monsters of the Midway, and was the perfect embodiment of a genuine Chicago Bear. However, he had an unusually soft voice and an extremely decent way of being. Known around the NFL as the Throwback Player, Sean Payton was one of the rare players to play his entire career with one club. In addition to being selected to the Pro Bowl nine times, he was chosen to the All-Pro first team five times. His career stats list him as the all-time leading rusher, with 16,726 yards on the ground. Tragically, Payton died young, on November 1, 1999, from an incurable disease that has always been considered rare. He was 45 years old.
8. Peyton Manning / Indianapolis Colts / Denver Broncos
1998-2015
Despite winning two Super Bowls, Manning isn't higher on this list because he didn't win more, whereas his direct competitor, Tom Brady is on top with seven. It's a business decision, not a talent consideration. Many refer to Manning as the best standard-season player in history. Manning was indeed a walking record book, playing 14 times in the Pro Bowl. On seven occasions, he was a first-team All-Pro selection. In addition to being among the most decorated NFL players ever, Manning retired with the most touchdown passes (539), most passing yards in a season (5,477), second-most passing yards (71,940), and third-most passes completed (6,125).
9. Barry Sanders / Detroit Lions
1989-1998
It is generally a great thing when a great player stays with a single team unless that team is the Lions. A quiet, decent, and humble man, Sanders despite his fame, fame, and fortune has rushed for 15,279 yards, ranking third in career rushing yards. He has been selected to ten Pro Bowls and was voted first-team All-Pro six times. It was Sanders who is the first running back to gain 1,000 yards on the ground in his first ten seasons. Sadly, the Lions lost five of the six playoff games he reached while they let his talent go to waste on them. With such polarizing personalities, Sanders stuck to his old school ways, constantly tossing the ball to the ref or lowering it gently after every touchdown. Never concerned about his salary or age or fame, Sanders retired in the prime of his baseball career, believing that greatness was the best.
10. Joe Greene / Pittsburgh Steelers
1969-1981
The first player Chuck Noll drafted after taking over the terrible Pittsburgh Steelers squad that had been terrible for so many years. Not only was Greene a phenomenal defensive tackle, but he was also the centerpiece of Noll's empire, originating with him. Greene was also a key member of the Steel Curtain Defense - typically used in reference to the Steelers' defensive line. Greene rewarded the Steelers' investment by helping them win four Super Bowls during dynastic '70s. All-Pro five times and two-time NFL Defensive Player of the year, he has been a ten-time Pro Bowl selection. Maybe he was better known as “Mean" Joe Greene, who helped give that iconic Coca-Cola commercial to fame by providing an awestruck child with his football jersey for a Coca-Cola soda.
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