25 Greatest NFL (Football) Players of All Time
Who are the 25 greatest NFL football players of all time?
Ask 100 football fans and you may get 100 different answers.
Quarterbacks dominate most modern discussions, but football is not played by quarterbacks alone. Running backs, receivers, defensive players and even offensive linemen have changed the game. That is what makes ranking the greatest NFL players ever so difficult—and so much fun.
At Ultimate Rankings, the final answer belongs to the fans.
Tom Brady and the Quarterback Advantage
Any discussion of the greatest NFL player of all time has to begin with Tom Brady.
Seven Super Bowl championships, five Super Bowl MVP awards and a career that lasted more than two decades give Brady a résumé no quarterback has matched. He wasn't the fastest, strongest or most naturally gifted quarterback ever, but nobody accomplished more.
Then come other legendary quarterbacks.
Joe Montana was once considered the postseason gold standard. Peyton Manning may have been the greatest regular-season field general ever. Johnny Unitas helped redefine quarterback play. Roger Staubach, Otto Graham, Dan Marino and Brett Favre all have legitimate historical cases.
And eventually Patrick Mahomes will become part of the all-time discussion—but all-time greatness should never be based solely on projecting what someone might accomplish in the future.
Jerry Rice May Have the Best Non-Quarterback Case
If Brady isn't No. 1, Jerry Rice may be.
Rice didn't simply retire as the NFL's leading receiver. He finished so far ahead of everyone else that many of his records once looked almost impossible to approach.
He combined longevity, postseason greatness, consistency and dominance. Rice was also central to multiple championship teams rather than simply accumulating statistics on mediocre clubs.
For many fans, he remains the greatest football player ever regardless of position.
Don't Forget Jim Brown
Modern statistics sometimes cause older stars to be forgotten.
That would be a major mistake with Jim Brown.
Brown led the NFL in rushing eight times during a nine-year career and retired while still arguably the best running back in football. He dominated his era physically in a way very few NFL players ever have.
Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith also belong prominently in any ranking of the greatest running backs and greatest NFL players of all time.
Payton combined productivity with toughness and versatility. Sanders could make defenders miss in ways that sometimes looked impossible. Smith became the NFL's all-time rushing leader and helped power the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s.
Defensive Players Deserve Respect Too
The greatest NFL players list cannot become a quarterback-and-running-back contest.
Lawrence Taylor changed how offenses were constructed. His speed and violence coming off the edge forced teams to rethink pass protection and helped increase the importance of the left tackle position.
Defensive legends such as Reggie White, Ray Lewis, Dick Butkus, Deion Sanders, Ronnie Lott and Joe Greene deserve serious consideration.
Deion Sanders was especially unique. Opposing quarterbacks sometimes avoided an entire side of the field because throwing in his direction could become a touchdown going the other way.
That's dominance.
Comparing Different Eras Is Nearly Impossible
Could Jim Brown dominate today's NFL?
Would today's quarterbacks put up the same numbers if defensive backs could hit receivers the way they did decades ago?
Would Jerry Rice's records be even greater under today's passing rules?
Nobody knows.
Rules, training, equipment, schedules and offensive systems have changed dramatically. That's why simply comparing statistics is a poor way to rank NFL players from different generations.
Greatness should instead consider:
- Dominance compared with an athlete's own era
- Championships and postseason performance
- Individual awards
- Career longevity
- Statistical production
- Impact on how the sport was played
- Performance in the biggest games
Who Is the Greatest NFL Player Ever?
Brady has the strongest accomplishment argument.
Rice has perhaps the strongest position-player argument.
Jim Brown has one of the greatest dominance arguments.
Lawrence Taylor has the defensive argument.
And legends such as Montana, Peyton Manning, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Reggie White and many others make the Top 25 Greatest NFL Players of All Time one of the hardest rankings in sports.
That's why we don't want one writer, television network or statistician deciding it.
You decide.