Greatest NFL Players of All Time

There is always a difference of opinion among the fans on the subject of deciding on to the best or greatest player in a particular sport. The information presented below is an attempt to list down quality players from the world of football.

Profiles of Greatest NFL Players

Short profiles of the important players who ruled the world of American football are presented in the following paragraphs.

Jim Brown: Born on 17th February, 1936, Jim Brown played for the Cleveland Browns team at the running back position. 'Sporting News' a sports magazine has deemed Jim Brown as the greatest professional football players ever. He has also worked as an actor. Jim Brown made his debut in the year, 1957 and played for 9 seasons comprises 118 games. His achievement of averaging 100 YPG (Yards Per Game) also remains a challenge for rushers.

Jerry Rice: Born on 13th October, 1962, he is regarded as the greatest wide receiver ever and amongst the top 10 greatest NFL players of all time. Jerry Rice started his career in 1985 and played for 20 seasons with 303 games. He holds the record for most catches (1,549), TD catches (197) and receiving yards (22,895). Rice was part of the Pro Bowl team 13 times.

Joe Montana: The career of Joe Montana spanned for 13 seasons in which he played 192 games. Born on 11th June, 1956, Joe Montana has many different nicknames including 'The Golden Great', 'Golden Joe', 'Joe Cool' and 'Comeback Joe'. He received accolades from reputed sports magazines/publications including 'NFL Most Valuable Player' (MVP) from 'Associated Press' and 'Sportsman of the Year' from 'Sports Illustrated' both in 1990. Joe Montana also received the 'AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award' in 1986. The winning drive of Joe Montana in the Super Bowl XXIII is remembered by his fans.

Lawrence Taylor: He played for the New York Giants team at the position of a linebacker. Lawrence Taylor was born on 4th February, 1959 and comes from Williamsburg, Virginia. He was amongst the top defensive football players of his time. He became the first defender to bag the MVP award since the year 1971. Lawrence Taylor was nicknamed as 'L.T' and played 184 games in his career that spanned 13 seasons.

Johnny Unitas: He received the most valuable player award for the years 1959, 1964 and 1967. Johnny Unitas represented the Baltimore Colts for most part of his career; he played at the position of quarterback. 'The Golden Arm' and 'Johnny U' are his nicknames. Johnny Unitas comes from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was born on 7th May, 1933. The leadership qualities possessed by Johnny Unitas are said to be his biggest assets. At the time of his retirement, Johnny Unitas was the most prolific passer of NFL.

List of 50 Greatest NFL Players of All Time
These are the top 50 players to have participated in the National Football League. Some of the players listed below have already been profiled earlier in the article.

Jerry Rice	Lawrence Taylor	Jim Brown
Joe Montana	Johnny Unitas	Walter Payton
Payton Manning	Reggie White	Dick Butkus
Don Hutson	Anthony Munoz	Ronnie Lott
Sammy Baugh	Joe Greene	Otto Graham
Deacon Jones	Ray Lewis	Barry Sanders
Bret Favre	Bronko Nagurski	Gale Sayers
Tom Brady	John Hannah	John Elway
Bo Lilly	Dan Marino	Emmitt Smith
Merlin Olsen	Night Train Lane	Jack Lambert
Jim Parker	Bruce Smith	Deion Sanders
Side Luckman	Raymond Berry	Chuck Bednarik
Lance Alworth	Jim Thorpe	O.J. Simpson
Gino Marchetti	John Mackey	Rod Woodson
Mel Blount	Alan Page	Roger Staubach
Tony Gonzalez	Red Grange	Ray Nitschke
Terry Bradshaw	Mikes Haynes	-

Greatest NFL Players of All Time by Position
The list of top NFL players by position is given below. You should find it useful in sorting the players without much trouble.

Position	Player
Wide Receiver	Jerry Rice
Fullback	Jim Brown
Running Back	Walter Payton
Quarterback	Joe Montana
Right Tackle	Eric Williams
Right Guard	John Hannah
Left Guard	Randall McDaniel
Left Tackle	Anthony Munoz
Center	Mike Webster
Tight End	John Mackey
Strong side Linebacker	Jack Ham
Weak side Linebacker	Lawrence Taylor
Middle Linebacker	Ray Lewis
Right Defensive End	Deacon Jones
Right Defensive Tackle	Mean Joe Greene
Left Defensive Tackle	Alan Page
Left Defensive End	Reggie White
Cornerback	Deion Sanders
Free Safety	Ed Reed
Strong Safety	Ronnie Lott

The facts about the greatest NFL players of all time presented in this article should educate us about their achievements. The National Football League has produced many great players. Only the famous NFL players are presented in the article above, and they deserve every bit of the praise that they have received.