Pro Football Reference Blog

Just for fun, I decided to use my Approximate Value method to come up with a post-merger all-franchise team for each franchise.

Throughout the dog days, I had been posting these by division, and I had been limiting these lists to post-merger players. But after six divisions were done, I revamped the AV formula to include seasons in the 1950--1969 range. So I'm going to post all the teams in two posts. This one is the AFC edition.

Here are the rules:

1. The AV systems gives a player a score for each player season. To combine these into a career number, I take 100% of the player’s best season, plus 95% of his second-best season, plus 90% of his third-best season, and so on.

2. I’m only comfortable (for now) applying the AV methodology to seasons 1950 and later. Players who debuted before 1950, however, are included if their post-1950 seasons alone merit inclusion. In this case, they have a ‘+’ after their AV score to remind you that their career AV is (probably) higher than the number shown.

3. To avoid 4-3/3-4/5-2 issues, I gave each defense 12 players, including two DT/NTs, two DEs, two OLBs, and two ILB/MLBs. I have also now lumped all safeties together instead of distinguishing between free and strong safeties.

4. Because of the slippery and changing nature of defining what a fullback is, I simply decided to go with two RB/FBs, instead of an RB and an FB.

5. What to do with players whose position was "End" in the 50s. Are they tight ends? Wide receivers? To deal with this problem, I've lumped TEs, WRs, and Es of all years into one category, which I've called 'RC' (ReCeiver), and I'm allowing four of them per team. After all, if the defense is playing with 12, I should allow the offense the same luxury.

As with most things AV-related, this series of posts is mostly just for fun, but I’m also curious to hear feedback from long-time followers of the teams about things that look fishy.

EDIT: commenter Scott uncovered a bug in my program. These lists were updated to correct the error on the morning of Sunday, 8/31. Thanks, Scott!

Baltimore Ravens

QB   Vinny Testaverde      24
RB   Jamal Lewis           54
RB   Priest Holmes         17
RC   Todd Heap             39
RC   Travis Taylor         24
RC   Qadry Ismail          22
RC   Michael Jackson       22
T    Jonathan Ogden       101
T    Orlando Brown         30
G    Edwin Mulitalo        27
G    Jeff Blackshear       21
C    Mike Flynn            32

DT   Kelly Gregg           47
DT   Tony Siragusa         33
DE   Rob Burnett           48
DE   Michael McCrary       47
ILB  Ray Lewis            123
ILB  Ed Hartwell           26
OLB  Peter Boulware        60
OLB  Adalius Thomas        52
CB   Chris McAlister       72
CB   Duane Starks          23
S    Ed Reed               61
S    Rod Woodson           45

Buffalo Bills

QB   Jim Kelly            102
RB   Thurman Thomas       110
RB   O.J. Simpson          91
RC   Andre Reed            96
RC   Eric Moulds           69
RC   Bob Chandler          42
RC   Frank Lewis           40
T    Joe Devlin            60
T    Ken Jones             50
G    Joe DeLamielleure     63
G    Ruben Brown           63
C    Kent Hull             73

DT   Fred Smerlas          81
DT   Jim Dunaway           55
DE   Bruce Smith          139
DE   Phil Hansen           63
ILB  Shane Conlan          50
ILB  Jim Haslett           41
OLB  Mike Stratton         71
OLB  Cornelius Bennett     71
CB   Butch Byrd            58
CB   Charles Romes         54
S    Henry Jones           57
S    George Saimes         56

Cincinnati Bengals

QB   Ken Anderson         121
RB   James Brooks          71
RB   Corey Dillon          54
RC   Chad Johnson          73
RC   Isaac Curtis          67
RC   Cris Collinsworth     65
RC   Bob Trumpy            64
T    Anthony Munoz        137
T    Willie Anderson       86
G    Max Montoya           64
G    Dave Lapham           46
C    Bob Johnson           57

DT   Tim Krumrie           65
DT   Mike Reid             47
DE   Eddie Edwards         61
DE   Ross Browner          51
ILB  Jim LeClair           59
ILB  Glenn Cameron         45
OLB  Reggie Williams       74
OLB  Al Beauchamp          51
CB   Ken Riley             91
CB   Lemar Parrish         77
S    David Fulcher         52
S    Tommy Casanova        49

Cleveland Browns

QB   Otto Graham           83+
RB   Jim Brown            105
RB   Leroy Kelly           74
RC   Ozzie Newsome         81
RC   Milt Morin            57
RC   Gary Collins          53
RC   Paul Warfield         52
T    Lou Groza             99+
T    Dick Schafrath        98
G    Gene Hickerson        92
G    Jim Ray Smith         65
C    Frank Gatski          68+

DT   Bob Gain              78
DT   Michael Dean Perry    71
DE   Len Ford              96+
DE   Bill Glass            58
ILB  Vince Costello        56
ILB  Mike Johnson          47
OLB  Clay Matthews         90
OLB  Walt Michaels         79
CB   Hanford Dixon         68
CB   Frank Minnifield      64
S    Thom Darden           55
S    Ken Konz              46

Denver Broncos

QB   John Elway           138
RB   Terrell Davis         73
RB   Floyd Little          71
RC   Rod Smith            102
RC   Shannon Sharpe        92
RC   Riley Odoms           76
RC   Ed McCaffrey          58
T    Ken Lanier            62
T    Matt Lepsis           62
G    Paul Howard           48
G    Dan Neil              42
C    Tom Nalen             84

DT   Rubin Carter          74
DT   Trevor Pryce          65
DE   Barney Chavous        73
DE   Rulon Jones           64
ILB  Randy Gradishar       92
ILB  Karl Mecklenburg      91
OLB  Tom Jackson           87
OLB  Simon Fletcher        62
CB   Louis Wright          95
CB   Champ Bailey          54
S    Bill Thompson         86
S    Steve Atwater         79

Houston Texans

QB   David Carr            41
RB   Domanick Williams     32
RB   Ron Dayne             10
RC   Andre Johnson         41
RC   Jabar Gaffney         16
RC   Corey Bradford        14
RC   Owen Daniels          14
T    Ephraim Salaam        13
T    Eric Winston          10
G    Chester Pitts         33
G    Zach Wiegert          15
C    Steve McKinney        20

DT   Seth Payne            20
DT   Travis Johnson         9
DE   Gary Walker           22
DE   Jerry DeLoach         18
ILB  Jamie Sharper         25
ILB  Jay Foreman           21
OLB  Kailee Wong           24
OLB  Morlon Greenwood      17
CB   Aaron Glenn           21
CB   Dunta Robinson        19
S    C.C. Brown            14
S    Eric Brown            13

Indianapolis Colts

QB   Johnny Unitas        141
RB   Edgerrin James        99
RB   Lenny Moore           95
RC   Marvin Harrison      121
RC   Raymond Berry        101
RC   John Mackey           76
RC   Reggie Wayne          75
T    Jim Parker           101
T    Tarik Glenn           82
G    Alex Sandusky         68
G    Art Spinney           59
C    Jeff Saturday         73

DT   Art Donovan           81
DT   Fred Miller           78
DE   Gino Marchetti       119
DE   Ordell Braase         74
ILB  Mike Curtis           82
ILB  Jeff Herrod           45
OLB  Don Shinnick          67
OLB  Bill Pellington       64
CB   Bobby Boyd            91
CB   Eugene Daniel         58
S    Jerry Logan           70
S    Rick Volk             70

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB   Mark Brunell          86
RB   Fred Taylor           84
RB   James Stewart         25
RC   Jimmy Smith           94
RC   Keenan McCardell      55
RC   Kyle Brady            33
RC   Pete Mitchell         27
T    Tony Boselli          63
T    Maurice Williams      42
G    Chris Naeole          33
G    Vince Manuwai         30
C    Brad Meester          42

DT   John Henderson        55
DT   Marcus Stroud         51
DE   Tony Brackens         49
DE   Paul Spicer           32
ILB  Mike Peterson         38
ILB  Bryan Schwartz        18
OLB  Kevin Hardy           46
OLB  Daryl Smith           31
CB   Rashean Mathis        45
CB   Aaron Beasley         30
S    Donovin Darius        44
S    Deon Grant            21

Kansas City Chiefs

QB   Len Dawson            98
RB   Priest Holmes         69
RB   Ed Podolak            54
RC   Tony Gonzalez         94
RC   Fred Arbanas          66
RC   Otis Taylor           65
RC   Henry Marshall        53
T    Jim Tyrer             95
T    John Alt              68
G    Will Shields          95
G    Ed Budde              77
C    Jack Rudnay           62

DT   Buck Buchanan        101
DT   Dan Saleaumua         57
DE   Neil Smith            80
DE   Jerry Mays            80
ILB  Willie Lanier         98
ILB  Sherrill Headrick     52
OLB  Derrick Thomas       105
OLB  Bobby Bell           105
CB   Emmitt Thomas         78
CB   Albert Lewis          69
S    Johnny Robinson       92
S    Deron Cherry          78

Miami Dolphins

QB   Dan Marino           146
RB   Larry Csonka          65
RB   Tony Nathan           59
RC   Nat Moore             80
RC   Mark Duper            76
RC   Mark Clayton          75
RC   Paul Warfield         55
T    Richmond Webb         97
T    Norm Evans            66
G    Larry Little          98
G    Bob Kuechenberg       77
C    Jim Langer            80

DT   Bob Baumhower         90
DT   Tim Bowens            63
DE   Jason Taylor         109
DE   Bill Stanfill         77
ILB  Zach Thomas          111
ILB  Nick Buoniconti       62
OLB  Larry Gordon          51
OLB  Doug Swift            47
CB   Sam Madison           79
CB   Curtis Johnson        55
S    Jake Scott            72
S    Dick Anderson         70

New England Patriots

QB   Tom Brady             91
RB   Sam Cunningham        60
RB   Tony Collins          47
RC   Stanley Morgan        80
RC   Ben Coates            58
RC   Troy Brown            54
RC   Russ Francis          48
T    Bruce Armstrong       86
T    Matt Light            59
G    John Hannah          105
G    Sam Adams             44
C    Jon Morris            60

DT   Houston Antwine       66
DT   Ray Hamilton          53
DE   Willie McGinest       71
DE   Richard Seymour       69
ILB  Steve Nelson          70
ILB  Tedy Bruschi          66
OLB  Andre Tippett         90
OLB  Chris Slade           51
CB   Raymond Clayborn      75
CB   Mike Haynes           73
S    Lawyer Milloy         56
S    Fred Marion           49

New York Jets

QB   Joe Namath            88
RB   Curtis Martin         79
RB   Freeman McNeil        78
RC   Wesley Walker         72
RC   Don Maynard           69
RC   Jerome Barkum         62
RC   Rich Caster           61
T    Winston Hill          79
T    Marvin Powell         78
G    Randy Rasmussen       67
G    Dan Alexander         60
C    Joe Fields            68

DT   Joe Klecko            71
DT   Marty Lyons           50
DE   Mark Gastineau        80
DE   Gerry Philbin         60
ILB  Kyle Clifton          56
ILB  Marvin Jones          52
OLB  Mo Lewis              88
OLB  Larry Grantham        87
CB   Aaron Glenn           53
CB   James Hasty           42
S    Victor Green          47
S    Burgess Owens         36

Oakland Raiders

QB   Ken Stabler           79
RB   Marcus Allen          87
RB   Mark van Eeghen       60
RC   Tim Brown            103
RC   Cliff Branch          86
RC   Fred Biletnikoff      85
RC   Todd Christensen      64
T    Art Shell            103
T    Henry Lawrence        66
G    Gene Upshaw          110
G    Steve Wisniewski      90
C    Jim Otto              99

DT   Otis Sistrunk         59
DT   Chester McGlockton    54
DE   Howie Long            97
DE   Ben Davidson          58
ILB  Dan Conners           72
ILB  Matt Millen           54
OLB  Ted Hendricks         75
OLB  Rod Martin            74
CB   Willie Brown         104
CB   Lester Hayes          72
S    George Atkinson       64
S    Jack Tatum            63

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB   Terry Bradshaw       106
RB   Franco Harris        101
RB   Jerome Bettis         65
RC   John Stallworth       80
RC   Hines Ward            72
RC   Lynn Swann            61
RC   Louis Lipps           55
T    Larry Brown           68
T    Jon Kolb              67
G    Alan Faneca           80
G    Sam Davis             49
C    Mike Webster         100

DT   Joe Greene           126
DT   Ernie Stautner       111
DE   L.C. Greenwood        95
DE   Dwight White          65
ILB  Jack Lambert         114
ILB  Levon Kirkland        71
OLB  Jack Ham             119
OLB  Greg Lloyd            89
CB   Mel Blount           111
CB   Rod Woodson          104
S    Donnie Shell          89
S    Carnell Lake          73

San Diego Chargers

QB   Dan Fouts            122
RB   LaDainian Tomlinson  105
RB   Chuck Muncie          41
RC   Kellen Winslow        80
RC   Charlie Joiner        78
RC   Lance Alworth         73
RC   Gary Garrison         60
T    Russ Washington       99
T    Ron Mix               75
G    Doug Wilkerson        80
G    Walt Sweeney          76
C    Don Macek             55

DT   Gary Johnson          69
DT   Jamal Williams        59
DE   Leslie O'Neal         72
DE   Fred Dean             56
ILB  Gary Plummer          42
ILB  Donnie Edwards        41
OLB  Junior Seau          120
OLB  Woodrow Lowe          56
CB   Gill Byrd             60
CB   Mike H. Williams      42
S    Kenny Graham          49
S    Rodney Harrison       46

Tennessee Titans

QB   Warren Moon           97
RB   Eddie George          75
RB   Earl Campbell         63
RC   Ken Burrough          65
RC   Ernest Givins         63
RC   Drew Hill             60
RC   Frank Wycheck         58
T    Brad Hopkins          72
T    Walt Suggs            49
G    Bruce Matthews       120
G    Mike Munchak          84
C    Carl Mauck            32

DT   Ray Childress         92
DT   Curley Culp           59
DE   Elvin Bethea          88
DE   Pat Holmes            50
ILB  Gregg Bingham         65
ILB  Al Smith              54
OLB  Robert Brazile        86
OLB  Keith Bulluck         56
CB   Cris Dishman          52
CB   Zeke Moore            51
S    Blaine Bishop         57
S    Marcus Robertson      53