Who are the best NFL players of all time?
USA TODAY Sports attempts to answer that question in its 01 October 2019 article Jerry Rice, Tom Brady and Lawrence Taylor top our list of the 100 greatest NFL players of all time.
Here is how the article ranks NFL players.
1: Jerry Rice
2: Tom Brady
3: Lawrence Taylor
4: Jim Brown
5: Walter Payton
6: Joe Montana
7: Reggie White
8: Peyton Manning
9: Johnny Unitas
10: Barry Sanders
11: Joe Greene
12: Dick Butkus
13: Ronnie Lott
14: Anthony Munoz
15: Deacon Jones
16: Deion Sanders
17: Otto Graham
18: John Elway
19: Emmitt Smith
20: Dan Marino
21: Gale Sayers
22: Sammy Baugh
23: Ray Lewis
24: Randy Moss
25: Don Hutson
26: Brett Favre
27: Alan Page
28: Bruce Smith
29: Jack Lambert
30: John Hannah
31: Bob Lilly
32: Ed Reed
33: Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane
34: Drew Brees
35: Gino Marchetti
36: Tony Gonzalez
37: Rod Woodson
38: Eric Dickerson
39: Mel Blount
40: O.J. Simpson
41: Aaron Rodgers
42: Ray Nitschke
43: Forrest Gregg
44: Chuck Bednarik
45: Jim Thorpe
46: Mike Singletary
47: Red Grange
48: Roger Staubach
49: Jim Parker
50: Bronko Nagurski
51: John Mackey
52: Terrell Owens
53: Merlin Olsen
54: LaDainian Tomlinson
55: Gene Upshaw
56: Steve Young
57: Marshall Faulk
58: Raymond Berry
59: Earl Campbell
60: Junior Seau
61: Charles Woodson
62: Lance Alworth
63: Bart Starr
64: J.J. Watt
65: Larry Fitzgerald
66: Mike Webster
67: Jack Ham
68: Joe Namath
69: Orlando Pace
70: Art Shell
71: Ted Hendricks
72: Randy White
73: Bruce Matthews
74: Larry Allen
75: Terry Bradshaw
76: Sid Luckman
77: Jim Otto
78: Michael Strahan
79: Kellen Winslow Sr.
80: Adrian Peterson
81: Walter Jones
82: Willie Lanier
83: Michael Irvin
84: Jonathan Ogden
85: Marvin Harrison
86: Derrick Thomas
87: Troy Polamalu
88: Aaron Donald
89: Rob Gronkowski
90: Tony Dorsett
91: Lee Roy Selmon
92: Fran Tarkenton
93: Marion Motley
94: Herb Adderley
95: Adam Vinatieri
96: Darrell Green
97: Mike Haynes
98: Willie Brown
99: Franco Harris
100: Troy Aikman
The above-cited article states “Feel free to agree, disagree, argue or simply enjoy a trip through the years. Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.”
So, go for it. Who would you include in the list? Who would you exclude?
Featured Image: A football game in progress at Denny Field, University of Washington campus, prior to 1920
Featured Image in Public Domain
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