The history of the NFL dates back to the 20s. Football appears on the grill in its ferocious way and is seen by some of the greatest athletes of all time. In several different eras, football has different styles of play. Passing-first offense dominates in the NFL today, but a few years ago, championships belonged to defensive-first teams. A variety of quarterbacks were involved in the game, including gunners and accurate passers, tall receivers with strong arms, and agile tactile slot receivers. It’s hard to determine who the greatest player of all time is, especially given the diversity of positions, skills, playing styles, and athleticism in the game.
Jim Brown, Dick Butterkus, Joe Montana and Tom Brady are seen as the best players for different reasons. The NFL’s greatest players are determined by considering statistics, honors, the NFL era at the time, and the strengths/weaknesses that each player has. The most important factor for us to consider is how a player has influenced his team throughout his career, and their overall dominance.
1.Dick Butkus
Between 1965 and 1973, Dick Butkus was a center back for the Chicago Bears. Butkus was one of his greatest defensive players during his time in the league. His opponents feared him, earning him the nickname “Midway Monster”. In addition to ranting and ranting at his opponents, he curses them and tells them that he will destroy them. As a intimidator, Batkus is much more than that. As one of the biggest turnovers in the league, he is fast, skillful and aware of the ball. In his nine years of playing, Butkus made 49 turnovers, 52 interceptions and 27 goals conceded, all of which he recovered.
In his eight consecutive seasons, Butterkus was a professional bowler and was selected as an all-pro five times. In 1970, despite the team winning only one game, Butkus was named the Defensive Player of the Year by American Professional Football Writers. When Butkus retired from professional football, he held the record for forced goals conceded in the NFL. The Dick Butkus Award continues to be hailed as the best defender in football at different levels.
“I just want them to know they’ve been hit. When they stand up, they don’t have to look at who hit them. When they pass by they should say ‘it shouldn’t be any puzzle’ well, it must have been Butkus who caught me. – Dick Bukus
2. Aaron Donald
You might be wondering how Aaron Donald became the top player in history in just a decade. Despite only playing in the league for eight years, Donald is already destined for Hall of Famer nomination. He has been a member of the All-Professional Academy every year except his rookie season, and he hasn’t missed a Pro Bowl since he was drafted in 2014.
Arguably, Donald is one of the greatest players in NFL history. Although he faced three-man and four-man on the inside and twice, he was consistently close to the top of the table in his number of tackles each season. Judging by his defensive tackle position in 2018, Donald leads the league in tackles. He pitched in front of offensive linemen, became thin to split defenders, and simply defeated his opponents with his technique, strength, and technique.
Donald has won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, which set him a new NFL record. He consistently delivers excellent stats every year and is the most dominant defensive player. Currently, Donald is No. 9 on the list of career tackle errors, and if his scoring average remains the same, Donald will end the next four seasons as the leader.
The devastation caused by Donald football’s football in such an unfavorable position speaks volumes about his absolute dominance.
“I know you won’t win every one-on-one, but in my opinion, I deserve to win.” – Aaron Donald
3. Lawrence Taylor
With his single presence, Lawrence Taylor forever changed the way the team works across multiple positions and offensive plans. As a 6-foot-3″ and 255-pound forward, Taylor is still only slightly larger than the average NFL forward in the 1970s. With a general reduction in the number of catch-and-run and running backs, the league began to adopt quarterback-driven offense.
During this time, Taylor entered the league and became a major player in it. Due to his size and speed, he destroyed the offensive plan. Taylor quickly proved that he could overwhelm anyone in his way. In response, the team began looking for bigger, more athletic left tacklers who could compete alone with Taylor on the field. For 30 years, the left tackle has been the second-highest paid position in the NFL after quarterback, making him one of the NFL’s greatest players.
Taylor’s ruthlessness is unbelievable. As strong as they are, he can crush the sideliners, but he also gets around them fast enough. To counter the way Taylor ran from behind the line, the team had to devise new running tactics. It is even common for Taylor to rush when he shouldn’t. According to coach Bill Passers, Taylor was scheduled to play a game on December 1981, 12.
His reaction was to rush rather than pass, resulting in the firing of the opposing quarterback. The positive outcome of the show led Taylor to deviate from it. Parcells scolded Taylor for doing this. In the game, Taylor rushed the ball for the second time, but this time, he resumed a goal-conceding touchdown. After Taylor told Passers to write it down, makeup should be added to the script.
As a defender, Taylor is often considered the greatest defensive player of all time and is often referred to as the greatest defender. In our all-time rankings, he finished in the top five of the NFL’s greatest players after winning the MVP award as one of only two defensive players in the game.
“To play you try to play by the rules, but you can always increase the intensity.” – Lawrence Taylor
4. Barry Sanders
The debate over whether Barry Sanders is the greatest running back in history will never end. Sanders, 30, retired from football early. For most of his first ten seasons, he ran 1,500 yards in a row. In addition to running at least 1,500 yards four straight seasons, Sanders is the only player to do so.
Despite Sanders’ unique skills, he rarely becomes part of the winning team. Given the lack of talent for the Detroit Lions during his career, Sanders’ accomplishments are even more impressive. Although the defenders knew that Sanders would only pose a threat to them, Sanders still managed to dominate. Among his many qualities, he is strong, agile, fast and balanced. In a one-on-one situation, the defenders could barely bring him down due to his speed and ability to keep the post low.
Sanders averaged 99.8 yards per game as a sprinter throughout his career. He scored more than 2,000 yards twice and never ran under 1,300 yards. If Sanders hadn’t retired early, he might have had all the sprint records. However, we can never know this. Even though Sanders left the game early and the team revolved around him, Sanders is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in NFL history, and even now, he inspires players on a personal level in a way that few can do.
“I never took it (career sprint yardage records) so seriously that I thought pursuing it with so much media and marketing attention was worthy of my dignity or that of Walter.” – Barry Sanders
5. Jim Brown
Jim Brown is one of the greatest runners of all time. Many people think Barry Sanders is better and doesn’t overtake Brown because he retired early, but they also don’t realize that Brown retired earlier and at a higher level. After playing football for nine seasons, Jim Brown retired at the age of 29. When Brown disagreed with owner Art Modell, he gave up football and devoted himself to film. More than 50 years after his retirement, he still holds many major sprint titles.
When football was first introduced, only 12-14 matches were played per year. Although Brown averaged more than 100 yards per game and carried more than 5 yards per game during his career, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in the NFL. In addition to leading 8 rushes in the NFL, Brown has led league touchdowns 9 times in his 5-year career. In eight of his nine seasons, he made the Pro Bowl every year as a first-team all-professional. When he played in the NFL, there was no player like him. He never had a chance to break his own record due to his early retirement, finishing the game with 1,544 yards and 17 touchdowns at the end of the MVP season, one of his statistically best years.
It’s Jim’s incredible stamina that makes him even more impressive. He never missed a game, even in the league where he ran bases. While leading the league with six touches, he has never missed a game due to injury. A notable aspect of his performance is that he is more sought-after than major competitors such as Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmett Smith. Although Brown knew the ball would go in his direction, no one could stop him when he played in the NFL. Throughout his career, he rushed the ball for 54.8% of all offensive tactics.
“I went to the extra yard. I jumped at the chance. It has a lot to do with who I am and I don’t respect anything that is disrespectful. They say that the smarter the crossing. I don’t care; I will not respect it. When you accept this game, you accept a certain level of violence. The essence of the game is to hit. If you can only do it for two years, do it for two years and get out. Otherwise, you’re staying away from the game. – Jim Brown.
Conclusion
These are some of the best athletes in the NFL, and they always have been. No matter what level of play you play, even those who can only make it to the practice team have the potential to excel. Those who compete in this field are bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, and want it more than anyone, and some players have all of these attributes at once. As the NFL’s greatest players, their hitting, passing, running, tackles, and kicks have helped them go down in history with incredible athleticism. There’s no better place to experience American football than in the NFL.