By Thomas Sellers Jr.
So much goes into the game of football.
And the best level of the game on earth is the National Football League. The NFL has completed 100 seasons of gridiron action and is trying to enter year 101 as safely as possible with a global pandemic providing a blindside blitz.
Like most red-blooded U.S. Americans, I’m praying for a normal, full NFL schedule in 2020. Then the playoffs will go smoothly and the first Sunday in February will be the typical holiday festival called the Super Bowl.
With so much optimism, I’m going to use this platform of The Best Sellers’ List throughout the month of September to rank the best of the NFL all time. First I’ll rank the top 10 offensive players of all time. Naturally I’ll follow with the 10 best defensive players in NFL history.
The third week will feature the best quarterbacks of all time. They deserve their own ranking because they get too much credit and too much blame. Then I’ll concluded the month with the 10 best NFL team in the 100-year history of the league.
Let’s kickoff this NFL month with the best offensive players including these honorable mentions: Emmitt Smith, Gale Sayers, John Hannah, Eric Dickerson, OJ Simpson, Forrest Gregg, Red Grange, Jim Parker, Bronko Nagurski, John Mackey, Terrell Owens, Gene Upshaw, Marshall Faulk, Raymond Berry, Earl Campbell, Lance Alworth, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Webster, Orlando Pace, Art Shell, Bruce Matthews, Larry Allen, Jim Otto, Kellen Winslow Sr., Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Roger Craig, Walter Jones, Michael Irvin, Tony Dorsett, Jonathan Ogden, Marvin Harrison, Thurman Thomas, Marion Motley, Herb Adderley, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Steve Largent, Rob Gronkowski and John Stallworth.
- Anthony Munoz
Years: 1980-92
Teams: Cincinnati Bengals
An offensive lineman doesn’t have a lot of stats to reference in his argument to be on the list of all time greats. Most won’t debate that Anthony Munoz is the best offensive tackle to ever play the game. He was a great player on the field protecting his quarterbacks and a good man off the field winning the 1991 Walter Payton Man of the Year. Back to the field, Munoz was a nine-time First Team All-Pro, an 11-time Pro Bowler. His additional achievements are inducted into Hall of Fame in 1998; first-team All-Pro (1981, ‘82, ‘83, ‘85, ‘86, ‘87, ‘88, ‘89, ‘90); 11-time Pro Bowler. - Tony Gonzalez
Years: 1997-2013
Teams: Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons
The best tight end in NFL history at this point is Tony Gonzalez. He is the current NFL record holder at his position for receiving yards and receptions, is second behind only Jerry Rice for most all-time receptions and was named a Pro Bowler 14 times. That ties Gonzalez for the most all-time. He was inducted into the Pro Football HOF in 2019. He was a 6-time First-Team All-Pro (1999-2001, 2003, 2008, 2012). - Jim Thorpe
Years: 1920-28
Teams: Canton Bulldogs, Cleveland Indians, Oorang Indians, Rock Island Independents, New York Giants, Chicago Cardinals
This man is the first superstar of the league and helped usher the brand into the hearts of U.S. Americans. Coming off an amazing 1912 Olympic performance, Jim Thorpe made the transition to professional football smoothly. He was First Team All-Pro in 1923 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. He was a do-it all guy on offense and even did some kicking in the process. - Don Hutson
Years: 1935-45
Teams: Green Bay Packers
The man who brought modernized numbers to the offensive record book in the NFL is the late, great Don Hutson. Before Green Bay became Title Town, Hutson was the key figure in helping the Packers achieve success. He was the face of the franchise becoming a three-time NFL champion and two-time NFL MVP. Hutson was the wide receiver named to eight First Team All-Pro. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963. - LaDainian Tomlinson
Years: 2001-11
Teams: San Diego Chargers, New York Jets
Who is one of the best dual-threat running backs, a guy who can catch and run? LaDainian Tomlinson is a good answer. The offensive LT was the NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. In addition, he was a five-time First Team All Pro at running back.
He is seventh on the all-time rushing list with 13,684 yards in his career. Tomlinson was inducted into the HOF in 2017. - Randy Moss
Years: 1998-2012
Teams: Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers
This man deserved straight cash homie. Randy Moss was a four-time First Team All-Pro which seems too small of a number to be ranked in the top 10 on any body’s list. But Moss was a transcendent talent and when he performed at his peak, arguably there was nobody better.
Moss played in six Pro Bowls and holds the NFL record for most touchdown receptions in a season with 23. This wide receiver created the term “Mossing” or “Moss.” That’s when you catch the ball with one-hand or when you make a reception with one hand with a defender draped all over you.
Put all the controversies aside and look at the work on the field, Moss was a special talent that any coach would have loved to have lined up on the exterior. He walked into the Hall of Fame in 2018 with records like most TD receptions in a rookie season with 17; the only player to catch 90-plus touchdown passes, return a punt for a touchdown, and throw 2 touchdown passes. - Walter Payton
Years: 1975-1987
Team: Chicago Bears
Sweetness. The man the NFL named their person of the year award for is Walter Payton. For several years he was the all-time leading rusher in NFL history with 16,726 yards. He is currently No. 2 on the list. Payton has a Super Bowl champion (1985) and NFL MVP (1977) on his resume.
What can’t be measured is Payton’s impact on the game inspiring running back with his determined runs and gutty performances. Payton was the face of a franchise during lean years and was rewarded with an all-time great defense in 1985 and good supporting parts in helping win Super Bowl 20.
But we’ll remember the leaps into the end zone on short yardage situations. Who could forget Payton kicking those legs out on a long run. And he would lower the shoulder to any defender who dared to try to stop him. Sweetness was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 1993. - Barry Sanders
Years: 1989-98
Team: Detroit Lions
My favorite running back of all time is Barry Sanders. I call him Mr. Cuts On Dimes. For a decade in Detroit, he made the Lions relevant. Sanders was Harry Houdini in cleats. He would appear to be ready to capture or tackle. Then out of nowhere he would escape from would-be tacklers.
With 15,269 yards, Sanders is third all-time on the rushing list. But just think if he didn’t have to improvise on about 60 percent of his runs at the line of scrimmage he would have rushed for 20,000. Sanders did rush for 2,000 in a single season once. He also was named a Pro Bowler 10 times and was the first player to rush for 1,000 yards in his first 10 seasons. Sanders went into the Hall of Fame back in 2004. - Jim Brown
Years: 1957-1965
Team: Cleveland Browns
The legendary achievements of Jim Brown are as followed: inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame om 1971; 1964 NFL Champ; four-time NFL MVP (1957,1958, 1963, 1965); eight-time first-team All-Pro (1957-1961, 1963-1965); All-Pro second-team (1962); nine Pro Bowls appearances; NFL Rookie of the Year (1957); first player to reach 100 rushing touchdowns; first NFL player to rush for over 10,000 yards; 10th most touchdowns in NFL history (126); fifth most rushing TDs in NFL history (106); leads the NFL in average rushing yards per game in career (104.3)
I could drop the microphone right there for this all-time running back. But this physical specimen attacked the running back position with the mindset of a linebacker. He still had breakaway speed and great vision in the open field. Jim Brown would awesome in any era of football. He’s a complete player. - Jerry Rice
Years: 1985-2004
Teams: San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks
He will forever be known as the San Francisco Treat. No. 1 is clearly Jerry Rice. The object of the game of football is to score touchdowns. He has done it the most. In helping lead by 49ers to three Super Bowl championships in his career, Rice has racked up the NFL records in all-purpose touchdowns (208), total receptions (1,549), total receiving yards (23,546) and touchdown receptions (197). In those Super Bowl wins, he twice caught three touchdowns in a game. The other victory was Super Bowl XXIII with Rice winning MVP of the game with more than 200 yards receiving and a TD.
The legend was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. Other awards and achievements for Rice are a NFL MVP, 13 Pro Bowls and he leads the NFL in consecutive games with at least one reception (274). Rice holds 36 total NFL records. That’s G.O.A.T. status.
THOMAS SELLERS JR. is the editor of The Millington Star and both the sports editor and a weekly personal columnist for West 10 Media/Magic Valley Publishing. Contact him by phone at (901) 433-9138, by fax to (901) 529-7687 and by email to thomas@magicvalleypublishing.com.
