Top NFL Players of All Time

Attempting to select the greatest NFL player of all time is like trying to identify the greatest cheeseburger of all time. There are so many contenders and so many different characteristics that it’s impossible to pick an absolute winner. Plus, each era owns its own legacy. Ask a fan who watched the NFL in the 1950s, and they might give a completely different opinion of what makes a great football player than someone who started watching football in the 2020s.

One can, however, possibly create a list of perhaps the greatest of the greats. That is what we’re crazy enough to tackle here at Pro Football Reference. 

The NFL released its top 100 NFL players of all time for its 100^th anniversary by position. I will use a similar template, listing some of the best NFL players of all time by position. There is no way to be completely comprehensive here, but I do believe this is a solid list to enjoy and discuss. 

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QUARTERBACKS

What better position to start discussing the best NFL players than with quarterbacks? They have been the focal point of the team since the early days of football. 

I am going to start with Tom Brady simply because everybody reading this knows about Tom Brady and is aware of his Super Bowl rings. He is the easiest person to kick off this list. In terms of championships over a career, Brady ranks among the best of the best in terms of the number of championships for any player at any given position. While some criticized him as being a product of coach Bill Belichick and his system, he did win a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Tom Brady is the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns thrown, and Super Bowl victories. That might not necessarily make him the greatest player in NFL history, but it makes it mandatory to drop his name in the discussion. Furthermore, Brady stands far above any other player in PFR’s career AV ratings. 

If championships are criteria for greatness, then Otto Graham also has to be included on the list of best players in pro football history. While you’re likely familiar with Tom Brady’s high number of Super Bowl appearances, you might not know that Graham led the Cleveland Browns to 10 consecutive league championship games in the era before the Super Bowl. That’s right, Graham quarterbacked the Browns to the modern-day equivalent of 10 straight Super Bowl appearances, from 1946-1955. Like Brady, Graham won three MVP awards. Otto Graham set numerous records over his sparkling career and still holds the career record for yards per attempt, with 9.0 yards. Early in his career, he also returned punts and played defensive back. He even returned an interception back for a touchdown in 1946!

Another three-time MVP, Johnny Unitas was the first quarterback to amass 40,000 yards passing. He held the record for most games with 4 or more passing touchdowns until Dan Marino broke it in 1994. Unitas also retired as the all-time touchdown pass leader, a record he held for several years before retiring. Johnny U led the NFL in passing touchdowns for four consecutive seasons between 1957-1960. No one else has completed that feat before or since. Unitas became the first player to lead the league in touchdown pass percentage in three consecutive seasons, and only Steve Young and Brett Favre have matched that streak. Unitas was also the first NFL quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards when he tossed for 3,099 yards in 12 games during the 1960 season. Frank Tripuka and Jack Kemp also topped 3,000 in the AFL, but that was in a 14-game season, and both fell short of Unitas’ total in his 12-game NFL schedule. Add to it that Johnny Unitas pulled together one of the most iconic drives in NFL history during the 1958 NFL Championship Game, and you have a man that needs to be at the top of the all-time NFL player rankings.

Before Johnny Unitas, there was Sammy Baugh. Baugh was the first quarterback with 20,000 career passing yards and retired as the NFL’s all-time passing leader. Slingin’ Sammy was also the first player to throw 150 touchdowns and retired with the most career touchdown passes and completions. Those weren’t all of the records Baugh held when he retired. Although he hung up the cleats after the 1952 NFL season, his 45.1 yards per punt still stood as an NFL record in the year 2000! Furthermore, Baugh excelled as a defensive back and led the NFL in interceptions in 1943, the same year that he led the league in completion percentage as a quarterback. To top it all off, Baugh once threw for 23 touchdowns in a 10-game season. Although there have been many great quarterbacks in NFL history, Sammy Baugh shined on offense, defense, and special teams. 

Joe Montana won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in 1989 and 1990 before missing the 1991 season with an elbow injury. But it’s his playoff and clutch performances for which he is remembered best. “Joe Cool” never lost a Super Bowl in his four appearances with the San Francisco 49ers and threw the famous touchdown pass to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship Game, forever remembered as “The Catch.” Pro Football Reference credits Montana with five game-winning drives in the playoffs during his career. After leaving the 49ers, he led the Kansas City Chiefs to the 1993 AFC Championship Game, the furthest the team achieved since their Super Bowl-winning season of 1969. He held a .719 winning percentage as a starting quarterback for San Francisco in the regular season and an astonishing .737 winning percentage in the playoffs, eclipsing even Tom Brady’s playoff winning percentage with the Patriots. 

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RUNNING BACKS

Few of the best 100 NFL players of all time have dominated their position like the great Jim Brown. He led the NFL in total rushing yards and rushing yards per game in eight of his nine pro seasons. Brown also made the Pro Bowl in every single season in which he played. He retired at 29 years old after the 1965 season. At the time, Brown stood as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, a full 3,000 yards ahead of future Hall of Famer Joe Perry in second place. Brown’s record stood into the 1970s, when it was broken by Walter Payton. Although his record fell, Brown will always remain the first player to ever rush for 10,000 yards in a career. Brown currently ranks 11^th all-time in rushing yards, but he is the only player with over 8,000 rushing yards combined with a yards-per-carry average of over 5 (5.2).

“Sweetness” truly was a sweet spot for the Chicago Bears. Although he only led the NFL in rushing one season, he retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. Payton currently ranks second today in all-time rushing yards. He was the first player in NFL history to reach the 15,000 rushing yards plateau and was named to 9 Pro Bowls in 13 seasons.  He rushed for at least 1,200 yards in 10 of those years. He might have done it an 11^th time if not for the 1982 players’ strike that wiped out nearly half of the season. Walter Payton is remembered by those who saw him as truly one of the best NFL players of all time.

I mentioned earlier that Jim Brown is the only running back with over 8,000 yards who also owns a yards-per-carry average of over 5. Barry Sanders is next on that list with exactly 5 yards per carry over his stellar career. Like Brown, Sanders also retired in his prime. Nevertheless, Barry surpassed the 15,000-yard rushing mark for his career, one of currently only four running backs in history to accomplish that feat. The sidebar is that Sanders averaged over a half yard per carry over the other three members of that group.  He rushed for well over 1,000 yards in each of his 10 seasons, including over 1,100 yards during a year in which he missed five games. He dashed for over 1,400 yards in an eye-popping 70% of his career seasons and averaged over 5 yards per carry in half of those seasons. The year before he retired, he averaged an astonishing 6.1 yards per carry and topped the 2,000-yard mark. Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl in every single season in which he played.

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RECEIVERS

There are very few who nearly everyone can agree is clearly one of the greatest NFL players of all time, but Jerry Rice is one of those players. He not only is the all-time leader in many if not all of the most important receiving categories, but he’s also miles ahead of the competition. Career receptions? Rice stands over 100 catches ahead of Larry Fitzgerald in second place. Yardage? Jerry Rice is the only player in NFL history with 20,000 yards receiving and towers 5,000 yards ahead of anyone else. Receiving touchdowns? With 197, he’s in first place in that category as well – by over 40 touchdowns. In total touchdowns, Jerry Rice is the only player in NFL history to score 200 touchdowns. He gained at least 800 yards receiving for the first 19 seasons of his career except for one season in which he only played a handful of games due to injury. Of those 19 seasons, he notched at least 1,000 yards in 14 of those seasons. Although it is very difficult to compare eras and determine how great someone truly is in terms of all-time rather than just his generation, Jerry Rice is a rare exception.

Don Hutson might be the only receiver in history that compares with Jerry Rice in terms of dominance within his era. In fact, although Jerry Rice has authored much of the NFL’s receiving record book, Don Hutson still holds records that have stood since the 1940s. He led the NFL in receiving yardage for four consecutive seasons, a feat no one has matched. He led the league in total receptions for five consecutive seasons, which also remains unmatched. Hutson led the NFL in touchdown receptions for 9 out of 10 years – a solid decade of dominance that nobody else has come close to achieving. His streaks of five and four consecutive years of leading the NFL in touchdown receptions rank first and second all-time. Although he played in the 1930s and 1940s, Don Hutson still ranks 11^th all-time in receiving touchdowns. Hutson, however, was more than a receiver. As a defensive back, he led the NFL in interceptions in 1940 and ranked in the top 10 in that category for 5 of his 11 pro seasons. On special teams, Hutson led the NFL in extra points three times. 

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OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

There aren’t many statistics for offensive linemen, especially those who played in the 1950s and 1960s. Jim Parker, however, made All-Pro for 8 consecutive seasons, at both offensive tackle and guard. Perhaps most importantly, he gained the esteem of his peers. Both Hall of Famer Paul Hornung and Parker’s teammate Tory Lorick told me that Jim Parker might not have been one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time, but one of the greatest football players of all time. Parker was named to the NFL 100 team, a compilation of the top 100 NFL players of all time. The Colts won three NFL titles during Parker’s tenure, undoubtedly helped by his often unsung contributions.

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DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

Reggie White leads all defensive players in Pro Football Reference’s career Approximate Value (AV) leaderboard. He is second all-time in career sacks. He won AP Defensive Player of the Year honors twice, and UPI honors three times. He earned one of those AP titles in the second-to-last season of his career, symbolizing his sustained dominance throughout his career. The Minister of Defense was named to the Pro Bowl 13 times, second most for a defensive player in history and the same number of nominations as Jerry Rice. White’s 8 All-Pro selections ties him for first place for defensive players in that category. 

Newly recognized unofficial sack totals provide a glimpse of Deacon Jones’ greatness. He raked in over 20 sacks in three seasons and is currently third on the all-time leaderboard. Knowing that Jones posted those 20+ sack seasons during an era when the NFL played 14-game regular seasons makes his numbers even more impressive. Jones was known for his “head slap” move, which was eventually banned by the NFL rules committee. 

Named to 10 Pro Bowls and the anchor of the Steelers “Steel Curtain” defensive line at the defensive tackle position, Joe Greene was more than just a soda commercial icon. During an era in which statistics such as tackles for loss and forced fumbles were not kept, the disruptive Greene found himself the cause of many of those plays. His unofficial career sack total is 77.5. Although his accrued accolades are the best-preserved statistical indicator of Greene’s stature as a player, few would argue that Joe Greene was one of the best NFL players ever. His has the fifth-highest career AV value for defensive tackles in NFL history.

If you’re wondering who set the all-time record for defensive tackles in touchdowns scored, Pro Football Reference’s Stathead feature will let you know that Bob Lilly was the first player to score four touchdowns as a defensive tackle. Although that total has since been tied, Lilly’s greatness earned him 7 All-Pro honors and 11 Pro Bowl appearances. Defensive tackles often go unheralded, but Lilly finished in the top 10 of the AP’s Most Valuable Player award three times in his career, including a fourth-place finish in 1968. Lilly’s unofficial career sack total is even higher than Greene’s, at 99.5. 

The late 1960s and early 1970s proved to be a golden era for defensive tackles. Alan Page is the third of those men presented on this list, and all three fit easily within the top 100 NFL players in history and are worthy of being included in the discussion of greatest NFL players of all time. Alan Page was such a destructive force that he won the AP’s NFL MVP award in 1971, the first defensive player in history to claim that honor. Page also finished third in MVP voting the previous year. He proved highly productive throughout his 15-year career, collecting 18.5 sacks over his final two seasons. His 148.5 career sacks tally 40 more than any other defensive tackle in history. His career Weighted AV of 144 lands him at 15^th on the all-time list of all players, past and present. 

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LINEBACKERS

Linebacker Lawrence Taylor is the only defensive player besides Alan Page to win AP NFL MVP honors. The outside linebacker was named Defensive Player of the Year three times. In 1986, Taylor racked up 20.5 sacks, the first linebacker to ever nail down the 20-sack mark for a single season. Many writers credit Taylor with redefining the outside linebacker position because of his elite pass-rushing skills. His unofficial career sack total places him 9^th on the all-time list and his Weighted AV slots him 12^th all-time in that category. No top NFL player rankings list would be complete without Lawrence Taylor, who was selected to 10 Pro Bowls and named All-Pro 8 times. 

Recognized as one of the most intimidating players in the history of the league, Dick Butkus was also a highly-skilled pass defender at linebacker. He intercepted five passes his rookie season of 1965 and had at least one interception every year of his injury-shortened career. The ball hawk also recovered 27 fumbles as a pro. He was named to the Pro Bowl 8 times in his 9 seasons, the only exception being the injury-shortened final season of his career. He was named All-Pro five times and was selected for two of the Hall of Fame’s all-decade teams, the 1960s and 1970s. This was despite playing only three full seasons in the 1970s. There weren’t as many defensive statistics kept during Dick Butkus’ era, but his dominance at the middle linebacker position is nonetheless well documented and crashes him into the best NFL players of all time conversation. 

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DEFENSIVE BACKS

Although there is debate about how Dick “Night Train” Lane wound up with his nickname, there is no debating his greatness. His single-season interception record has stood for over 70 seasons. What makes the feat even more incredible is that he accomplished the feat over a 12-game schedule! He finished his career with 68 interceptions, still high enough for fourth on the NFL’s all-time list. While many fans know about his single-season interception record, few know that he also owns the Cardinals team record for the longest touchdown reception, a 98-yard catch and run in 1955. Although primarily a defensive back, Night Train found his way into the end zone every single season of his career, be it through an interception return, fumble return, or a reception. A vicious hitter, his patented “Night Train Necktie” clothesline was feared throughout the league. Lane also stands as perhaps the greatest undrafted NFL player of all time. 

Narrowing the best football players ever down to a short list requires excluding the majority of the top 100 NFL players of all time. This was a very challenging task to tackle. I created a list that included many eras, and a list in which many fans could agree that each player at the very least belongs in the discussion for the greatest ever NFL player. Some of the early great NFL players certainly merit consideration as well, including Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, and Jim Thorpe. Records were not well kept during their time, however, and that makes it exceedingly difficult to compare their eras to others. Eras are already tricky to compare, but the lack of statistics and film in pro football’s earliest days makes it even tougher.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 at 11:53 am and is filed under Top Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.