The Athletic is counting down their 100 best players in the history of the National Football League. The NFL 100. Their most recent reveals are the players ranked 30-21.
30. Merlin Olsen
29. Emmitt Smith
28. Deion Sanders
27. Barry Sanders
26. Rod Woodson
25. John Hannah
24. Aaron Donald
23. Sammy Baugh
22. Brett Favre
21. Aaron Rodgers
It’s sweet that the Athletic kept both of the Sanders together. They were drafted together. Now, they are ranked together. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see both ranked much higher. Rod Woodson too.
While Adrian Peterson is technically still active, The two Aarons, Donald and Rodgers, are the first players that are currently on a team to appear on the NFL 100. I expect another quarterback to join them.
Sammy Baugh should be higher than #23. The write-up in the Athletic suggested that Baugh might’ve made the Hall of Fame at any one of the three positions that he played. Quarterback, safety, punter. That sounds like a player that should be much higher than #23. He definitely should be ahead of Brett Favre.
Sportswriter Dan Daly was on top of this Favre over Baugh injustice. He tweeted this little comparison between the excellent quarterbacks from two different eras:
Baugh 2 NFL titles, Favre 1 NFL title
Baugh 5 NFL title games, Favre 2 NFL title games
Baugh established an NFL franchise, Favre revived one
But here’s the key:
Baugh: dead
Favre: alive
So naturally, Favre is ranked 22nd on the Athletic’s all-time list and Baugh’s 23rd.
(Never mind all of Baugh’s INTs as a defensive player and his record-setting punting.)
In my opinion, and Daly’s opinion, there’s zero reason for Favre to be ranked higher than Baugh. I’m not sure if I’d have Favre in the top half of a Top 100 list. I’d certainly have Baugh higher than #23.
Pre-Super Bowl Era Tracker:
Steve Van Buren
Jim Otto
Mike Ditka
Fran Tarkenton
Elroy Hirsch
Lenny Moore
Willie Davis
Willie Brown
Bobby Layne
Buck Buchanan
Bulldog Turner
Mel Hein
Leo Nomellini
John Mackey
Paul Warfield
Bobby Bell
Marion Motley
Joe Schmidt
Raymond Berry
Ray Nitschke
Bart Starr
Herb Adderley
Lance Alworth
Chuck Bednarik
Gale Sayers
Dick “Night Train” Lane
Sid Luckman
Jim Parker
Forrest Gregg
Gino Marchetti
Bronko Nagurski
Bob Lilly
Merlin Olsen
Sammy Baugh
Of the 80 players revealed so far, 34 played at least a portion of their career before the first Super Bowl. That’s nice representation. Most lists like this have such a recency bias that they’re meaningless.
A recap of the previously revealed players:
100-31:
100. Derrick Brooks
99. Dermontti Dawson
98. Steve Van Buren
97. Jim Otto
96. Mike Ditka
95. Fran Tarkenton
94. Elroy Hirsch
93. Mike Singletary
92. Lenny Moore
91. Willie Davis
90. Willie Brown
89. Bobby Layne
88. Darrell Green
87. Champ Bailey
86. Buck Buchanan
85. Bulldog Turner
84. Mel Hein
83. Leo Nomellini
82. Kellen Winslow
81. John Mackey
80. Willie Lanier
79. Mike Haynes
78. Roger Staubach
77. Ted Hendricks
76. Art Shell
75. Paul Warfield
74. Bobby Bell
73. Marion Motley
72. Adrian Peterson
71. Mel Blount
70. Marshall Faulk
69. Terry Bradshaw
68. Charles Woodson
67. Gene Upshaw
66. Earl Campbell
65. Joe Schmidt
64. Walter Jones
63. Raymond Berry
62. Ray Nitshke
61. Bart Starr
60. Jonathan Ogden
59. Junior Seau
58. Herb Adderley
57. Mike Webster
56. Rob Gronkowski
55. Lance Alworth
54. Chuck Bednarik
53. Gale Sayers
52. Jack Ham
51. LaDanian Tomlinson
50. Dick “Night Train” Lane
49. Steve Young
48. Sid Luckman
47. Randy White
46. Tony Gonzalez
45. Larry Allen
44. Bruce Matthews
43. Drew Brees
42. Jim Parker
41. O.J. Simpson
40. Eric Dickerson
39. Ed Reed
38. Randy Moss
37. Jack Lambert
36. Forrest Gregg
35. J.J. Watt
34. Gino Marchetti
33. Bronko Nagurski
32. Alan Page
31. Bob Lilly
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