The Greatest?

Hearing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo state that tight Jason Witten is the greatest Cowboy of all time got me thinking about the greatest player in the history of each of the 32 teams. It doesn't take much to get me thinking about football. So, here goes. The greatest players for each team according to me.

Minnesota Vikings: Alan Page
Green Bay Packers: Don Hutson
Chicago Bears: Walter Payton
Detroit Lions: Dutch Clark
New York Giants: Mel Hein
Dallas Cowboys: Bob Lilly
Philadelphia Eagles: Steve Van Buren
Washington Redskins: Sammy Baugh
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LeRoy Selmon
Atlanta Falcons: Claude Humphrey
Carolina Panthers: Steve Smith
San Francisco 49ers: Jerry Rice
Cleveland/Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams: Deacon Jones
Seattle Seahawks: Walter Jones
Chicago/St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals: Larry Wilson
Pittsburgh Steelers: Joe Greene
Cleveland Browns: Jim Brown
Cincinnati Bengals: Anthony Munoz
Baltimore Ravens: Jonathan Ogden
New England Patriots: Tom Brady
Buffalo Bills: Bruce Smith
New York Jets: Joe Namath
Miami Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts: Johnny Unitas
Houston Texans: J.J. Watt
Jacksonville Jaguars: Fred Taylor
Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans: Earl Campbell
Oakland Raiders: Art Shell
Kansas City Chiefs: Bobby Bell
San Diego Chargers: Kellen Winslow
Denver Broncos: John Elway

There you go. The Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were probably the most difficult decisions. The Bears history is so long and successful. Bronko Nagurski, Bulldog Turner, George Connor, Sid Luckman, Dick Butkus. Tough choices. Jim Brown isn't a slam dunk for the Browns. Otto Graham has to get some consideration. He led the Browns to the championship game in all ten seasons of his career. Bill Willis and Marion Motley deserve attention as well. For the Giants, how do you decide between Hein and Lawrence Taylor. Hein might have played every minute of every game for 15 years. He was a center and was the league's MVP in 1938. The Ravens choice comes down to Ogden, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Any of the three are deserving. The Colts? My goodness, how do you decide between Unitas and Peyton Manning? When he's through playing, Andrew Luck might make this decision even more difficult. The Chiefs of the late 1960s are an extremely underrated team. They have a Super Bowl win but are often forgotten when the great teams in league history are discussed. They were loaded with talent. Especially on defense. Buck Buchanan and Bell are two of the best to ever play their positions. The best Buccaneer? For me, it comes down to Selmon, Warren Sapp, and Derrick Brooks. The decision is a tough one.

The Texans are the youngest team in the league so it's no real surprise that their greatest player is a young one. It's still a little shocking to see a player drafted in 2011 on a list of the greatest ever. J.J. Watt is playing at a level right now that has rarely been seen. There are a bunch of defensive players that impact games but few take them over. Watt is doing that. He has joined Lawrence Taylor as the most dominant defensive players that I have seen play the game. If he can sustain this level of play, he'll be among the best ever.