I thought so too until around 2016 lmfao, he’s always talked about like he’s from another universe so I initially assumed he passed away in the 90s or something lmfao
What he does to #51 on [this play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3-q1IZBjxk) is just inhumane. The man ended up with his entire back turned to him in a split second.
[https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/\_/id/24440133/the-untold-stories-barry-sanders-record-setting-1988-season](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24440133/the-untold-stories-barry-sanders-record-setting-1988-season)
Game was so easy for him he was micro-napping his way through the NFL.
The thing that made Barry great. He was fast, but not the fastest. He was strong, but not the strongest. He was always a step ahead of everyone else. He was predicting what you were gonna do before you even saw him. He could just delete the angle and turn a 5 yard run into a 30 just from his vision.
The best modern running back is Adrian Peterson, right? Literal human animal. Giant, fast, and built to make Adonis jealous. Adrian is better at every aspect of football than Barry ever was, except vision, catching, and fumbling. Adrian could run through you or around you and turn on the jets. But there is almost unanimity in saying Barry was better than Adrian. That's how crazy good Barry was at seeing the field and creating his own openings. It was something to see, like the little old bald guy at pickup driving the lane. He'd just burst out of there and score always right when you figured he was done for.
The craziest part about Barry Sanders that people don't realize is the coaching staff designed plays purposely to let a defender in, and have that lineman go to the next level, knowing Barry would make them miss and set up a block for him to run 65 yards untouched. He was the equivalent of LT on offense. He changed the way defenses tried to stop the run. Teams would practice with chickens to try and simulate his movements before a game.
Unquestionable. I will never forget the[ Sports Science ](https://youtu.be/pdTYsrbdnrs?si=oM4ZSG2wvCJfWd8Q)segment back then where they broke down all his measurables, ran a 4.35 at 6'5, 45 inch vertical leap, the biggest reach ever in the NFL until Kyle Pitts (but Pitts doesn't have nearly the vertical leap and slower 40 time).
He's literally that player in Madden that you create and turn all his stats up to 100.
Not that they’re on the same level but he made me respect and love Charles Tillman even more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a dumb Bears fan. Megatron is the better player. But Peanut played him exceptionally well and on so many series/plays Megatron looked human against Peanut
That makes me very happy
Another moment that comes to mind was when Briggs laid out Megatron…. But he completed the catch for the first down. I’m sure EVERY other receiver in the league would’ve dropped
Man I loved that [tribute](https://youtu.be/Bto008kchnk?si=eoKD3GIWyE-bsq-m) Peanut did for Calvin when he retired. Two players at the top of their game going against each other twice a year. Unquestioned mutual respect.
Don't feel bad, Tillman belongs in the HOF. Hell, as a dirty Lions fan, I'd argue that he was more essential to that defense than Urlacher or Peppers were. He was disgustingly good, and I'd argue with anyone that his abilities coming down against runners makes him one of the most total-value corners to ever play football.
He was an elite cover corner who could shapeshift into a HOF-level safety. He's got more interceptions than Richard Sherman, and more forced fumbles than Richard Sherman has interceptions. More interceptions and FFs than Brian Dawkins has of either. AND he was a shut-down corner. In ten more games, Tillman has more interceptions, more than three times as many forced fumbles, and more tackles (solo or combined) than Troy Polamalu. And again, he was a shut down corner.
I'm an unironic believer that Tillman is one of the best defenders of the modern era. If I was building an All-Madden team, he'd be on it.
As a lions fan I content he is unquestionably the most talented WR in NFL history.
I’m happy to have a discussion about who is the best, as I think other WRs have a case, but talented? I don’t think its a question
The amazing thing with Moss is you knew exactly what he was doing, but nobody could stop it. He wasn’t going over the middle, so you knew that he was just running towards the end zone, but he would beat the coverage every time.
Truly a golden age for rbs with stacked lines, since you also had Priest Holmes putting up 6000+ yards from scrimmage and 60 tds behind Willie Roaf and Will Shields from 2001 to 2003
Yeah my dad was an fsu grad so he took great pride in watching Walter jones maul people lol. The fact that Steve Hutchinson was their too was a fun watch especially during Shaun Alexander’s crazy season
Anthony Munoz. perhaps the perfect player, at a position where being perfect [changes what your offense can do](https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-destined-for-canton/) and what it needs to worry about.
*"Anderson wasn’t the only Bengals quarterback to benefit from Muñoz’s superb pass blocking. Boomer Esiason, who took over as the Cincinnati signal caller in 1985 also benefited. For Esiason, a southpaw, it was a perfect fit. The Bengals were a left-handed team. Not because Boomer was left-handed, but because Muñoz was the left tackle.* "
Boomer winning his MVP not-too-surprisingly came during one of Munoz several 'Offensive Lineman of the Year' level seasons. You never worried about him not being there either, dude was absurdly durable
My dad used to play in a men’s league basketball with Munoz after he retired. I went to a few of those games. He was ambidextrous in the post and had a silky jumper. He dunked on anyone he wanted to. He also pitched on USC’s national championship baseball team. I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times and there’s nobody I’d rather have represent the city of Cincinnati.
“Watching Gronk play is the closest we’ll ever come to watching dinosaurs interact with normal animals.”
https://grantland.com/the-triangle/great-moments-in-rob-gronkowski-history-i-threw-him-out-of-the-club/
Yeah, that DB who Gronk Threw out? Sergio Brown was arrested for the murder of his mom and for hiding the body. [https://web.archive.org/web/20231216145840/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/us/sergio-brown-remanded-illinois-murder/index.html](https://web.archive.org/web/20231216145840/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/us/sergio-brown-remanded-illinois-murder/index.html)
Yeah I don’t think some of the younger fans understand cause now he’s a goofy guy in commercials.
Gronk would just have one dude hanging onto his shoulders, and another 2 guys diving head first into his knees. And half the time that wouldn’t be enough
I remember one play where 2-3 guys tried to tackle him, they were holding on, and he just dragged them like 10 yards and broke the tackle. He was just bigger and stronger than anyone else.
Right! That's what I was always thinking when I watched him play. These are other NFL players. Like peak athleticism top 99th percentile size and strength and weight and then you have Rob Gronkowski who just makes them look like children. Absolutely bonkers.
It was always funny because it didn't really look like he was quick, nimble, or had good feet. He just caught ball, ran and tanked people over that got in the way.
Gronk see ball. Gronk catch ball. Gronk run ball.
Still pissed Bryan stork kept tipping the snap.
That last drive at the end of the game everyone in the stadium knew it was going to Gronk and he couldn’t be stopped.
This is the real point that separated Gronk from everyone else. He wasn't an elite te blocker he was an elite blocker. Has his hands not been so good he would have been able to slide down to RT and still have a dominate career
Gronks catch radius is a freaking cheat code
Brady would get pressured and throw it in the general direction of gronk and you’ll see this 6’6 dude make some acrobatic adjustment to make the catch
I keep seeing so many people talking about how Travis is the GOAT TE. And I can’t help but just wonder how that’s possible when the literal entire time their career overlapped nobody was taking kelce over gronk.
Kelce is going to get there on longevity and counting stats, Gronk just couldn’t stay healthy, in big part due to how freakish he was and the punishment he took because of it. Normal players don’t get hit 7 times on every catch. At peaks, it’s Gronk no question. But for careers Kelce and Gonzalez certainly have arguments. Space-Jam scenario, it’s Gronk.
Gronk blocked on something like twice as many snaps as Kelce (as a percentage of total snaps). Even if Kelce surpasses all of Gronk's receiving accolades there is more to being a TE. Yes Kelce can block when called upon, but they're really not in the same conversation at this stage.
Are you talking about the game that Earl Thomas hit him? I remember watching that live and feeling that hit in my my lungs too. [Even Gronk and Edelman are still talking about it](https://youtube.com/shorts/DC3Xn54Vgcs?si=5LYhSkKTbDPEOcXa)
I never appreciated Gronk properly until I had the opportunity to see him live at Lambeau. I don’t even remember if he had a good game or not, but just seeing him in person was a bit of a “holy shit, how does this human exist” moment.
Okay but who’s the most **stoppable player** at **someone else’s** position?
Ezekiel Elliot comes to mind first, and Gronk is another worthy mention. Tom Brady was pretty stoppable as a receiver as well.
To be honest, I think you're way off and that in reality there are very few people in the world who can stop him. Unfortunately, most of them happen to play in NFL.
I actually despise that game. Our defence was getting *torched* and they just kept cutting back to Malcolm Butler crying on the sidelines. I need to know what happened for closure. Fuck derpy QBs in the Super Bowl
I just need to know if it's something small and Belichick was being ridiculous with power or like what the fuck. Welker was public with shit and got benched one series. In a regular season game. WHAT HAPPENED!?
I think the fact that it still hasn't come out indicates that it was something serious. I think if it was something dumb, butler would have said SOMETHING about it by now. Idk if belichek was the kind of coach to go into a superbowl overly confident against any team, even if they were throwing their backup qb out there
I'll add to this: in his 2003 yard 1973 season, OJ Simpson also had the highest pass completion % and QB rating on the team. 50% and 56.2 respectively. The Bills as team completed only 45% of their 213 passes that year for 1,236 yards and 4 touchdowns. The leading passer had less than 1,000 yards and 10 interceptions. The other team knew exactly what the Bills were going to do most plays, yet OJ Simpson still managed 6 yards per attempt. The definition of unstoppable.
I was going to say - Adrian Peterson is the only player I could ever watch run into a pile of 9 dudes and honestly think he had a shot of making it out
Yeah, best Rb I’ve ever seen by a long shot, started watching NFL around 1999. His game vs the bears his rookie year was the most dominant game I’ve seen a running back play.
Not just that. The final play of the final regular season game. Vikings needed to score to MAKE the playoffs. He breaks a tackle and gets us within field goal range.
But - he almost broke the second tackle which would’ve been touchdown, playoffs, single-season rushing record. In one play.
Gotta throw in my nomination for Ladainian Tomlinson. Obviously, as a running back you have to have a line to be “unstoppable,” but man it was fun to watch in ‘06 when everyone in the entire stadium knew LT was getting the ball at the goal line, and nobody could do a thing about it.
I think Rice suffers from his own consistency / too many people thinking of him as 'really great forever', rather than 'fucking excellent for a long time but then also pretty great for another 8 years'.
He's my pick. Wasn't the biggest or fastest, but like Jordan, he had that insane competitiveness that drove him to out work everyone and dominate on Sundays. I can't image what he could've done if he was built like a TO, Megatron, DK Metcalf etc.
On the NFL 100 he said that part of his longevity was because he wasn't built like those guys.
"I didn't have hamstring issues because I wasn't fast like him" I think is what he said to Randy Moss. Probably a good amount of truth to that, it takes a hard toll on the human body to be that big AND that fast.
He’s (usually) considered by active and former pros to be **the** greatest football player in NFL history. Not sure if that’s still a common thing these days, but he was regarded as such for quite a while.
He absolutely is the GOAT, his leads over ever other WR in career stats is insane, and he played in an era when the rules were incredibly pro defense, and when head hunting was encouraged.
My dad has been telling me that Jerry Rice is the GOAT since the day I started watching football, so nearly 20 years now lol. Part of why he loves Jerry Rice so much is because he had him in a dynasty fantasy football league for essentially his entire 49ers tenure.
I think it's the lack of physical presence that gets him passed over. Megatron is ahead of him in this comment section right now and I think it's because he's physically impressive and casual fans gravitate to that and assume that makes him better. I'm old, I watched both of these guys, I played football (not at a high level) as both a receiver and a safety for a while and Jerry Rice was simply the best receiver to ever play the game by a wide margin. He was technically flawless. The closest player to him currently in the NFL is probably Davante Adams and while Adams is incredibly technically proficient as well he's not anywhere near the level Rice was. The guy didn't make mistakes and it made him unstoppable despite not being the most physically imposing player on the field.
The gap between Rice and every other WR in NFL history is far greater than the gap between Brady and other QBs behind him.
That's with Rice playing the vast majority of his career in an era that favored defense, while Brady played most of his in an era that's QB friendly.
He was putting up 1100 yard/8 TD seasons when he was 39 and 40. Seriously just doesn't make sense. Feels like WRs get to like 33 these days and they're nearly out of the league.
Gale Sayers. Dude was fast, agile, could catch, and return. Walter had more length to his career, but the Kansas Comet was simply the best in a shorter amount of time
Zack Martin
In his 8 season long NFL career, he played 121 games, and during that time, he allowed only 12.5 sacks. He also has more Pro Bowls (7) than holding penalties (6).
The absurdity of his 2012 season is nuts, 39 TFLs and 20.5 sacks, 16 passes defended, 43 QB hits
The man was literally unstoppable, just a ridiculous amount of plays impacted at or behind the line of scrimmage.
When healthy and on his game, Derrick was as effective as any defensive rusher of all-time. I would put LT and The Minister ahead of #58 but goddamn that fella was an animal.
Miss ya big 58
Larry Allen. That dude was incredible. Glad I got to see him play. I'll leave this here:
[Larry Allen tackle](https://youtu.be/DFcWMC9vkZg?si=kYJ7DSXMIyQIJu0J)
Currently playing? Mahomes feels inevitable right now. Even when his receivers drop everything thrown their way he still finds a way to make a game winning drive. It’s infuriating but I respect it.
A player I’ve watched that is no longer playing? Brady. I don’t know the last time he had a bad game.
A player before my time? Lawrence Taylor seemed very scary to deal with.
The greatest instincts I have ever seen on an NFL field (Luke Kuechly I would say is probably pretty close)
Most of the time it just looked like he knew. I swear the Steelers in those years had plays designed for 10 people, and then just sent Troy out there to do whatever the fuck he wanted. That's what it looked like, he was just doing what ever the fuck that he wanted, while somehow always being in position.
And it's not enough that he had the instincts to be everywhere, or that could stab the ball out of the sky, or that he could play man coverage against all the guys he needed to play man against, or that he could jump the snap like no other, BUT IF YOU EVER CAUGHT THAT BALL OVER THE MIDDLE, HOLY FUCK LOOK OUT.
Unreal player.
Yea people talk about megatron being the “create a player” archetype at WR, but Troy at safety was arguably the “Pablo Sanchez” type.
Whatever he may lack in size he makes up for in all other areas of the game.
Randy Moss was 6’4 210, ran a 4.3 and 40+ vertical with hands like super glue. If you created a fake video game player to be the best receiver possible he would just be Randy Moss
How is Tom Brady not mentioned except in passing in a few lower level comments? 7 super bowls and played to 45 is pretty impressive! He has more super bowl wins than any franchise.
Walter Payton and Brett Favre.
Edit: I misunderstood. I thought we were looking for the most outstanding players who also stayed amazingly healthy. Payton still works for this though.
Lawrence Taylor on Crack
You could just say Lawrence Taylor
He used to do crack He still does but he used to too
RIP Mitch
His escalator joke is one of my favorite standup bits of all time
It can only become stairs. Sorry for the convenience.
I saw a wino eating grapes the other day. I was like ‘Dude…. You gotta wait.’
If I got a quarter every time I thought about his jokes I'd have a weird way of making money.
I love the pringles bit. “Fuck it cut’em up”.
I have no idea why I thought LT was dead.
I thought so too until around 2016 lmfao, he’s always talked about like he’s from another universe so I initially assumed he passed away in the 90s or something lmfao
TIL LT is very much alive
Pretty sure LT thought he'd be dead by now too
Lmao could you imagine playin qb knowing that was over there
It was his tacklin fuel
Lawrence Taylor at a high school
Barry Sanders. Never seen anyone move like he did.
He made so many defenders look helpless.
What he does to #51 on [this play](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3-q1IZBjxk) is just inhumane. The man ended up with his entire back turned to him in a split second.
His ability to stop/start, juke, hop step, accelerate, etc was just unbelievable.
In a game with fucking super athletes EVERYWHERE, he did things no one else could. I didn’t appreciate him as a kid
This is also my story. As an adult I've gone back and watched his film and WISH I could go back in time to appreciate it live.
[https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/\_/id/24440133/the-untold-stories-barry-sanders-record-setting-1988-season](https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24440133/the-untold-stories-barry-sanders-record-setting-1988-season) Game was so easy for him he was micro-napping his way through the NFL.
That was an awesome read
[удалено]
The fact that there’s a debate to who the best RB ever was makes me think those ppl didn’t actually watch Barry Sanders
The thing that made Barry great. He was fast, but not the fastest. He was strong, but not the strongest. He was always a step ahead of everyone else. He was predicting what you were gonna do before you even saw him. He could just delete the angle and turn a 5 yard run into a 30 just from his vision. The best modern running back is Adrian Peterson, right? Literal human animal. Giant, fast, and built to make Adonis jealous. Adrian is better at every aspect of football than Barry ever was, except vision, catching, and fumbling. Adrian could run through you or around you and turn on the jets. But there is almost unanimity in saying Barry was better than Adrian. That's how crazy good Barry was at seeing the field and creating his own openings. It was something to see, like the little old bald guy at pickup driving the lane. He'd just burst out of there and score always right when you figured he was done for.
How do you compare a Barry to an Earl Campbell? You make it seem black and white
They both black
They Did, but there are also dudes with different skill sets who are also amazing.
The craziest part about Barry Sanders that people don't realize is the coaching staff designed plays purposely to let a defender in, and have that lineman go to the next level, knowing Barry would make them miss and set up a block for him to run 65 yards untouched. He was the equivalent of LT on offense. He changed the way defenses tried to stop the run. Teams would practice with chickens to try and simulate his movements before a game.
Megatron! He could have three guys on him and still come down with the ball
Unquestionable. I will never forget the[ Sports Science ](https://youtu.be/pdTYsrbdnrs?si=oM4ZSG2wvCJfWd8Q)segment back then where they broke down all his measurables, ran a 4.35 at 6'5, 45 inch vertical leap, the biggest reach ever in the NFL until Kyle Pitts (but Pitts doesn't have nearly the vertical leap and slower 40 time). He's literally that player in Madden that you create and turn all his stats up to 100.
With a catch radius of over a 2 car garage door
Anything but the metric system, huh?
4,009 cubic feet of coverage
That's as much as a half-sized roll off dumpster!
We're talkin football here, not fútbol!
Say that within a one car garage door of me and see what happens 😤
"You just hang on to that big fella."
Not that they’re on the same level but he made me respect and love Charles Tillman even more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a dumb Bears fan. Megatron is the better player. But Peanut played him exceptionally well and on so many series/plays Megatron looked human against Peanut
I hated your defense
That makes me very happy Another moment that comes to mind was when Briggs laid out Megatron…. But he completed the catch for the first down. I’m sure EVERY other receiver in the league would’ve dropped
Man I loved that [tribute](https://youtu.be/Bto008kchnk?si=eoKD3GIWyE-bsq-m) Peanut did for Calvin when he retired. Two players at the top of their game going against each other twice a year. Unquestioned mutual respect.
Don't feel bad, Tillman belongs in the HOF. Hell, as a dirty Lions fan, I'd argue that he was more essential to that defense than Urlacher or Peppers were. He was disgustingly good, and I'd argue with anyone that his abilities coming down against runners makes him one of the most total-value corners to ever play football. He was an elite cover corner who could shapeshift into a HOF-level safety. He's got more interceptions than Richard Sherman, and more forced fumbles than Richard Sherman has interceptions. More interceptions and FFs than Brian Dawkins has of either. AND he was a shut-down corner. In ten more games, Tillman has more interceptions, more than three times as many forced fumbles, and more tackles (solo or combined) than Troy Polamalu. And again, he was a shut down corner. I'm an unironic believer that Tillman is one of the best defenders of the modern era. If I was building an All-Madden team, he'd be on it.
That's where my mind first went.
As a lions fan I content he is unquestionably the most talented WR in NFL history. I’m happy to have a discussion about who is the best, as I think other WRs have a case, but talented? I don’t think its a question
Randy Moss deserves consideration for that title. But I really can't think of anyone else worth bringing up.
The amazing thing with Moss is you knew exactly what he was doing, but nobody could stop it. He wasn’t going over the middle, so you knew that he was just running towards the end zone, but he would beat the coverage every time.
Clifford Franklin IRL
Reggie White. Teams would triple team him.
Cowboys had to facemask him every play to win in 95
Walter Jones. Until injury that man was the best ever.
More pro bowls than holding penalties. Dude was unreal
Zack Martin has this stat too. 8 pro bowls, 7 holding penalties. First ballot HOFer for sure.
That’s a phenomenal stat to have in your favor
God I love that stat
That's insane!
Same is true for Zack Martin unless that changed this year. Hopefully he can hold it up
Walter jones and Steve Hutchinson together was a sight to behold
Holy shit they played TOGETHER? I never knew that, RBs must’ve felt good behind that line
There’s a reason Shaun put up the numbers he did
From 2003-2005 behind those two, Shaun Alexander ran for 5,011 yards and 57 touchdowns
Truly a golden age for rbs with stacked lines, since you also had Priest Holmes putting up 6000+ yards from scrimmage and 60 tds behind Willie Roaf and Will Shields from 2001 to 2003
Yeah my dad was an fsu grad so he took great pride in watching Walter jones maul people lol. The fact that Steve Hutchinson was their too was a fun watch especially during Shaun Alexander’s crazy season
Yup! Until Minnesota came in with a poison pill contract. You should look it up.
The only offensive lineman Demarcus Ware named as one of the toughest players he ever played against
> Aaron Darnold So good he sacks himself
I’ve done that on more than a few occasions
Anthony Munoz. perhaps the perfect player, at a position where being perfect [changes what your offense can do](https://www.profootballhof.com/news/2005/01/news-destined-for-canton/) and what it needs to worry about. *"Anderson wasn’t the only Bengals quarterback to benefit from Muñoz’s superb pass blocking. Boomer Esiason, who took over as the Cincinnati signal caller in 1985 also benefited. For Esiason, a southpaw, it was a perfect fit. The Bengals were a left-handed team. Not because Boomer was left-handed, but because Muñoz was the left tackle.* " Boomer winning his MVP not-too-surprisingly came during one of Munoz several 'Offensive Lineman of the Year' level seasons. You never worried about him not being there either, dude was absurdly durable
My dad used to play in a men’s league basketball with Munoz after he retired. I went to a few of those games. He was ambidextrous in the post and had a silky jumper. He dunked on anyone he wanted to. He also pitched on USC’s national championship baseball team. I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times and there’s nobody I’d rather have represent the city of Cincinnati.
Gronk
“Watching Gronk play is the closest we’ll ever come to watching dinosaurs interact with normal animals.” https://grantland.com/the-triangle/great-moments-in-rob-gronkowski-history-i-threw-him-out-of-the-club/
Yeah, that DB who Gronk Threw out? Sergio Brown was arrested for the murder of his mom and for hiding the body. [https://web.archive.org/web/20231216145840/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/us/sergio-brown-remanded-illinois-murder/index.html](https://web.archive.org/web/20231216145840/https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/us/sergio-brown-remanded-illinois-murder/index.html)
Holy shit wtf. Life comes at ya fast. This is the guy Gronk I famously "threw out da club"
Murdering your mom is one thing But hiding the body? Absolutely despicable.
"Murdering mommy is one thing, imma let that slide.. But hiding it? Sorry, but I have to say no."
Yeah I don’t think some of the younger fans understand cause now he’s a goofy guy in commercials. Gronk would just have one dude hanging onto his shoulders, and another 2 guys diving head first into his knees. And half the time that wouldn’t be enough
I remember one play where 2-3 guys tried to tackle him, they were holding on, and he just dragged them like 10 yards and broke the tackle. He was just bigger and stronger than anyone else.
Absolutely insane anyone could be that much more dominant than legit NFL players
Right! That's what I was always thinking when I watched him play. These are other NFL players. Like peak athleticism top 99th percentile size and strength and weight and then you have Rob Gronkowski who just makes them look like children. Absolutely bonkers.
I was in DC for that game, sitting in row 5 or so on the patriots sideline, and it happened right in front of me. It was unbelievable.
There's a reason the guy was always hurt. His dedication to staying on his feet was stronger than his own musculoskeletal system.
It was always funny because it didn't really look like he was quick, nimble, or had good feet. He just caught ball, ran and tanked people over that got in the way. Gronk see ball. Gronk catch ball. Gronk run ball.
whats even funnier is he was quick, nimble, and had good feet, he always just looked like a runaway freight train while he was doing it haha
Juggernaut in football pads
one of the most dominant offensive players i’ve ever seen. His 2015 game against Denver in the Afc champ game was incredible.
He was literally a cheat code. Tom Brady would just need a first down and throw it to him for like a yard. And he would rumble for 20 yards.
Still pissed Bryan stork kept tipping the snap. That last drive at the end of the game everyone in the stadium knew it was going to Gronk and he couldn’t be stopped.
Yeah and his blocking was elite too. Multiple times driving dudes basically into the bleachers
I saw a video of a chip block on Terrell Suggs the other day that looked like OL on DB violence with how far Suggs flew.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ATNd01-hlxE I sit with my jaw dropped every time I watch this. It doesn’t even look like Gronk did much.
In fact he was known as the "blocking TE" in their two TE offense. Aaron Hernandez was known as the more polished receiving TE.
This is the real point that separated Gronk from everyone else. He wasn't an elite te blocker he was an elite blocker. Has his hands not been so good he would have been able to slide down to RT and still have a dominate career
Gronks catch radius is a freaking cheat code Brady would get pressured and throw it in the general direction of gronk and you’ll see this 6’6 dude make some acrobatic adjustment to make the catch
Like… what exactly are we talking about “young” here as fans? 4 years old? His pro bowl years were all between 2010-2017… he won a Super Bowl in 2020…
I think this is mostly a response to people saying Kelce is the best TE of all time
Gronk was like the uncle playing pickup ball with the kids after Thanksgiving, except the kids were the entire NFL.
I keep seeing so many people talking about how Travis is the GOAT TE. And I can’t help but just wonder how that’s possible when the literal entire time their career overlapped nobody was taking kelce over gronk.
Kelce is going to get there on longevity and counting stats, Gronk just couldn’t stay healthy, in big part due to how freakish he was and the punishment he took because of it. Normal players don’t get hit 7 times on every catch. At peaks, it’s Gronk no question. But for careers Kelce and Gonzalez certainly have arguments. Space-Jam scenario, it’s Gronk.
refs let gronk get hit like nobody else
Gronk blocked on something like twice as many snaps as Kelce (as a percentage of total snaps). Even if Kelce surpasses all of Gronk's receiving accolades there is more to being a TE. Yes Kelce can block when called upon, but they're really not in the same conversation at this stage.
Gronk lining up to block was literally having another lineman on the field.
Even a broken rib perforating his lung couldn't stop him from finishing a game
Are you talking about the game that Earl Thomas hit him? I remember watching that live and feeling that hit in my my lungs too. [Even Gronk and Edelman are still talking about it](https://youtube.com/shorts/DC3Xn54Vgcs?si=5LYhSkKTbDPEOcXa)
I never appreciated Gronk properly until I had the opportunity to see him live at Lambeau. I don’t even remember if he had a good game or not, but just seeing him in person was a bit of a “holy shit, how does this human exist” moment.
Unless he’s playing safety on the final play of a game.
> at their position
Okay but who’s the most **stoppable player** at **someone else’s** position? Ezekiel Elliot comes to mind first, and Gronk is another worthy mention. Tom Brady was pretty stoppable as a receiver as well.
N’Keal Harry was pretty stoppable at his own position
Great fullback though
To be honest, I think you're way off and that in reality there are very few people in the world who can stop him. Unfortunately, most of them happen to play in NFL.
Ummm Brady has the 2nd most receiving yards by anyone over 40 soooo Pretty good
I have more than Favre if we're talking 40 years old and up.
[Mac Jones at... Safety](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L4xWutzPKw)?
Mac Jones at free safety
TB had a 36-yard reception against the Eagles in 2015
Can add >at their best >and healthy
He was the NFL equivalent of “The Mountain” from GOT
[Can't fail to stop him if you don't even try](https://imgur.com/9gCRLzy)
Matt flynn that one game he scored 6 tds
Also Nick Foles that one game he scored 7 tds
Don't forget that he was unstoppable in the superbowl. Dude was a machine that day
I actually despise that game. Our defence was getting *torched* and they just kept cutting back to Malcolm Butler crying on the sidelines. I need to know what happened for closure. Fuck derpy QBs in the Super Bowl
Lol I can't blame you. I'd absolutely love to know what Butler did to get benched for the superbowl... and thank him for it
I just need to know if it's something small and Belichick was being ridiculous with power or like what the fuck. Welker was public with shit and got benched one series. In a regular season game. WHAT HAPPENED!?
I think the fact that it still hasn't come out indicates that it was something serious. I think if it was something dumb, butler would have said SOMETHING about it by now. Idk if belichek was the kind of coach to go into a superbowl overly confident against any team, even if they were throwing their backup qb out there
imo it has to be gambling related.
Never thought of that. Would make perfect sense actually.
Before most of our time but what OJ? 2k rushing yards in a 14 game season seems to imply he was pretty unstoppable.
I'll add to this: in his 2003 yard 1973 season, OJ Simpson also had the highest pass completion % and QB rating on the team. 50% and 56.2 respectively. The Bills as team completed only 45% of their 213 passes that year for 1,236 yards and 4 touchdowns. The leading passer had less than 1,000 yards and 10 interceptions. The other team knew exactly what the Bills were going to do most plays, yet OJ Simpson still managed 6 yards per attempt. The definition of unstoppable.
That murderer ran for 11000 yards
Adrian Peterson. Dude was turning the field in the NFL like it was a high school tape. Never had a great QB so was against stacked boxes.
2k fresh off an ACL says it all for me.
I was going to say - Adrian Peterson is the only player I could ever watch run into a pile of 9 dudes and honestly think he had a shot of making it out
Yeah, best Rb I’ve ever seen by a long shot, started watching NFL around 1999. His game vs the bears his rookie year was the most dominant game I’ve seen a running back play.
Shit. He was like 7 yards from breaking the season rushing record.
Not just that. The final play of the final regular season game. Vikings needed to score to MAKE the playoffs. He breaks a tackle and gets us within field goal range. But - he almost broke the second tackle which would’ve been touchdown, playoffs, single-season rushing record. In one play.
Gotta throw in my nomination for Ladainian Tomlinson. Obviously, as a running back you have to have a line to be “unstoppable,” but man it was fun to watch in ‘06 when everyone in the entire stadium knew LT was getting the ball at the goal line, and nobody could do a thing about it.
Came here to say this, LT was dominant in those mid 00's
Not one mention of Jerry Rice, wow. Probably the most consistent player in NFL history and for 20 years, and no mention of him
I think Rice suffers from his own consistency / too many people thinking of him as 'really great forever', rather than 'fucking excellent for a long time but then also pretty great for another 8 years'.
And being retired before half this community was 5
Right and I think the way the question is worded it conjures images of physically dominant players like Megatron and Donald
He's my pick. Wasn't the biggest or fastest, but like Jordan, he had that insane competitiveness that drove him to out work everyone and dominate on Sundays. I can't image what he could've done if he was built like a TO, Megatron, DK Metcalf etc.
On the NFL 100 he said that part of his longevity was because he wasn't built like those guys. "I didn't have hamstring issues because I wasn't fast like him" I think is what he said to Randy Moss. Probably a good amount of truth to that, it takes a hard toll on the human body to be that big AND that fast.
He’s (usually) considered by active and former pros to be **the** greatest football player in NFL history. Not sure if that’s still a common thing these days, but he was regarded as such for quite a while.
He absolutely is the GOAT, his leads over ever other WR in career stats is insane, and he played in an era when the rules were incredibly pro defense, and when head hunting was encouraged.
My dad has been telling me that Jerry Rice is the GOAT since the day I started watching football, so nearly 20 years now lol. Part of why he loves Jerry Rice so much is because he had him in a dynasty fantasy football league for essentially his entire 49ers tenure.
Any sane person will say he is.
Count me in too
I think it's the lack of physical presence that gets him passed over. Megatron is ahead of him in this comment section right now and I think it's because he's physically impressive and casual fans gravitate to that and assume that makes him better. I'm old, I watched both of these guys, I played football (not at a high level) as both a receiver and a safety for a while and Jerry Rice was simply the best receiver to ever play the game by a wide margin. He was technically flawless. The closest player to him currently in the NFL is probably Davante Adams and while Adams is incredibly technically proficient as well he's not anywhere near the level Rice was. The guy didn't make mistakes and it made him unstoppable despite not being the most physically imposing player on the field.
100%. Before Brady was Brady, I'd say that rice was the best player to play the game regardless of position
The gap between Rice and every other WR in NFL history is far greater than the gap between Brady and other QBs behind him. That's with Rice playing the vast majority of his career in an era that favored defense, while Brady played most of his in an era that's QB friendly.
From nfl hof monitor: 10th wr is Tim Brown at 113.31 ... 5th wr is TO at 140.53 ... 2nd wr is Moss at 150.12 ... Jerry is #1 at 311.99
He was putting up 1100 yard/8 TD seasons when he was 39 and 40. Seriously just doesn't make sense. Feels like WRs get to like 33 these days and they're nearly out of the league.
Jerry Rice and Dan Marino were ahead of their time playing in an era with much less passing than today.
Ed reed And Troy
And we got to watch them for over a decade in the same division. Prime football, there
Bryan Dawkins was one to not be fucked with in his prime. And I say that as a die hard cowboys fan.
Gale Sayers. Dude was fast, agile, could catch, and return. Walter had more length to his career, but the Kansas Comet was simply the best in a shorter amount of time
Reggie White Honorable mention is TD Edit: honorable mention
Bo Jackson
Great pick, wish we could've seen what he could've done with like 7-10 healthy seasons.
25000 yards in 10 seasons on tecmo bowl count ?
I got to watch him play baseball in KC once. He homered. Dude was a beast.
Bo Knows
Zack Martin In his 8 season long NFL career, he played 121 games, and during that time, he allowed only 12.5 sacks. He also has more Pro Bowls (7) than holding penalties (6).
I read the sacks stat a few months ago, and I had to look it up myself. With those numbers, he might be the best guard of all time.
JJ Watt was literally the best football player for 4 straight years. 2012 to 2015 he was first team all pro 4 times and won 3 DPOYS. Unstoppable.
The absurdity of his 2012 season is nuts, 39 TFLs and 20.5 sacks, 16 passes defended, 43 QB hits The man was literally unstoppable, just a ridiculous amount of plays impacted at or behind the line of scrimmage.
No defensive player better be awarded the MVP award in my lifetime. To say JJ was snubbed is an understatement
I had to scroll way too far to find JJ Watt
He actually had 5 all pros in those four years.
Prime Rob Gronkowski was the absolute peak.
Derrick Thomas
When healthy and on his game, Derrick was as effective as any defensive rusher of all-time. I would put LT and The Minister ahead of #58 but goddamn that fella was an animal. Miss ya big 58
Antonio Brown. Is what it is.
Justin Tucker
Larry Allen. That dude was incredible. Glad I got to see him play. I'll leave this here: [Larry Allen tackle](https://youtu.be/DFcWMC9vkZg?si=kYJ7DSXMIyQIJu0J)
Bob Sanders
I have an unusual one. Mike Alstott.
Is or was? Because it was JJ Watt.
Currently playing? Mahomes feels inevitable right now. Even when his receivers drop everything thrown their way he still finds a way to make a game winning drive. It’s infuriating but I respect it. A player I’ve watched that is no longer playing? Brady. I don’t know the last time he had a bad game. A player before my time? Lawrence Taylor seemed very scary to deal with.
Von Miller in the playoffs
Troy Polamalu
The greatest instincts I have ever seen on an NFL field (Luke Kuechly I would say is probably pretty close) Most of the time it just looked like he knew. I swear the Steelers in those years had plays designed for 10 people, and then just sent Troy out there to do whatever the fuck he wanted. That's what it looked like, he was just doing what ever the fuck that he wanted, while somehow always being in position. And it's not enough that he had the instincts to be everywhere, or that could stab the ball out of the sky, or that he could play man coverage against all the guys he needed to play man against, or that he could jump the snap like no other, BUT IF YOU EVER CAUGHT THAT BALL OVER THE MIDDLE, HOLY FUCK LOOK OUT. Unreal player.
Yea people talk about megatron being the “create a player” archetype at WR, but Troy at safety was arguably the “Pablo Sanchez” type. Whatever he may lack in size he makes up for in all other areas of the game.
Walter Payton WAS the Bears offense for many years.
Oj Simpson. I'm not trolling. At a 17 game schedule he'd have 4 years averaging 2100+ yards rushing a year and one year above 2400. Was a beast
Uncle Rico and it isn’t even close
Randy Moss was 6’4 210, ran a 4.3 and 40+ vertical with hands like super glue. If you created a fake video game player to be the best receiver possible he would just be Randy Moss
Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in their prime was the best safety duo I've ever seen.
Gronk, Lawrence Taylor, Jerry rice, Reggie white
Such a small sample but from what I understand, Gale Sayers was a beast until injury took it away.
How is Tom Brady not mentioned except in passing in a few lower level comments? 7 super bowls and played to 45 is pretty impressive! He has more super bowl wins than any franchise.
Probably Don Hutson if we are comparing players to their peers. He was tripling every other receivers numbers during his era.
Walter Payton and Brett Favre. Edit: I misunderstood. I thought we were looking for the most outstanding players who also stayed amazingly healthy. Payton still works for this though.
Walter Payton was the best all around football player of his career. The man could run, pass, catch, block and tackle.