Arizona Cardinals, 1988-2019: Aeneas Williams. St. Louis Cardinals, 1960-1987: Larry Wilson. Chicago Cardinals, 1920-1959: Dick "Night Train" Lane. Cardinals overall, 1920-2019: Wilson. I could have gone with Kurt Warner for the Arizona years. Lane may have been the best cornerback ever, but he split his career with 2 other teams. Wilson may have been the best safety ever, up there with Emlen Tunnell, Willie Wood, Paul Krause and Ronnie Lott.
Atlanta Falcons, 1966-2019: Claude Humphrey. Deion Sanders was a Falcon for only 5 seasons. So was Tony Gonzalez. Morten Andersen was there for 8, but he was a kicker. For longevity, and for being the godfather of the 1st good Falcon team, the late 1970s' "Gritz Blitz," I'm giving it to Hall-of-Famer Humphrey.
Baltimore Ravens, 1996-2019: Ray Lewis. You don't have to think he was a good guy. You should admit that he was the best linebacker of the 21st Century.
Buffalo Bills, 1960-2019: Bruce Smith. Even if O.J. Simpson hadn't done what he did after leaving Orchard Park, Bruce would still be ahead of him.
Carolina Panthers, 1995-2019: Cam Newton. His days in Charlotte now appear to be done, but he is clearly the best player in franchise history.
Chicago Bears, 1920-2019: Walter Payton. How do you choose among Payton, Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Sid Luckman, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary? We are talking about some of the best and baddest players ever. But who was better, badder, or sweeter than "Sweetness"?
Cincinnati Bengals, 1968-2019: Anthony Munoz. With the possible exception of Forrest Gregg, he was the best offensive tackle of all time.
Cleveland Browns, 1946-2019: Jim Brown. The greatest football player of all time? It's either him or Jerry Rice, and I don't want to hear about no cheating Tom Brady.
Dallas Cowboys, 1960-2019: Emmitt Smith. Bob Lilly? Roger Staubach? Tony Dorsett? Troy Aikman? No, go with the game's all-time leading rusher.
Denver Broncos, 1960-2019: John Elway. A lot of really good players, including some greats on defense, but Elway is still the franchise's defining player, even if his skill as an executive now appears to have been limited to bringing in Peyton Manning.
Detroit Lions, 1934-2019: Barry Sanders. Bobby Layne split his career with Pittsburgh. Doak Walker cut his career short. Dick "Night Train" Lane split his career with 2 other teams. Joe Schmidt, despite still being alive at this writing, isn't as well remembered as some other great defensive players of his time. But Barry often seemed to be beyond human.
Green Bay Packers, 1919-2019: Don Hutson. For all the greatness of the Vince Lombardi years, even Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke, Willie Davis and Willie Wood can't match Hutson, the game's 1st great receiver, from the Curly Lambeau era. Nor can Mike Holmgren era players like Brett Favre and Reggie White. Nor can Aaron Rodgers, not that I would call him a player of the Mike McCarthy era.
Houston Texans, 2002-2019: J.J. Watt. He's not ahead of Earl Campbell as Houston's best player ever, but he is for the Texans franchise.
Indianapolis Colts, 1984-2019: Peyton Manning. Baltimore Colts, 1947-1983: Johnny Unitas. Colts overall, 1947-2019: Unitas. How great do you have to be to be ahead of Peyton? As great as Johnny U, who still gets some acclaim as the greatest quarterback who ever lived.
Jacksonville Jaguars, 1995-2019: Fred Taylor. The Jags don't yet have any Hall-of-Famers. Tony Boselli wasn't there long enough. So, until somebody else develops, it's probably a coin flip between Taylor and Jimmy Smith.
Kansas City Chiefs, 1960-2019: Willie Lanier. A tough call over fellow Super Bowl IV-winning defenders Buck Buchanan and Bobby Bell, and their quarterback, Len Dawson. Patrick Mahomes? Looks great, and got them their next ring, but he's got a long way to go.
Las Vegas Raiders, 2020: Haven't happened yet. Los Angeles Raiders, 1982-1994: Howie Long. Oakland Raiders, 1960-1981 and 1995-2019: Art Shell. Raiders overall, 1960-2019: Long. Hard to believe that this franchise, so long known for freaks and rogues, has as its greatest player a straitlaced intellectual from a Jesuit school in the Philly suburbs. For the L.A. years, Howie is a close call over Marcus Allen.
Los Angeles Chargers, 1960, 2016-2019: Philip Rivers. San Diego Chargers, 1961-2015: Kellen Winslow Sr. Chargers overall, 1960-2019: Winslow. Lance Alworth and LaDainian Tomlinson make it a tough choice.
Los Angeles Rams, 1946-1994 and 2015-2019: Deacon Jones. St. Louis Rams, 1995-2014: Marshall Faulk. Cleveland Rams, 1936-1945: Bob Waterfield. Rams overall, 1936-2019: Jones. Up there with Reggie White as the best defensive end of all time, and the coiner of the term "sack," Deacon was his name, flattening ballcarriers was his game.
Miami Dolphins, 1966-2019: Larry Csonka. Sorry, Dan Marino, but you didn't win a ring.
Minnesota Vikings, 1961-2019: Alan Page. For all that Fran Tarkenton achieved, when you think of the Vikings, you think of their 1970s "Purple People Eaters" defense, led by Page.
New England Patriots, 1960-2019: John Hannah. Usually considered the greatest guard in football history, and he never had to cheat.
New Orleans Saints, 1967-2019: Drew Brees. Until he led them to victory in Super Bowl XLIV, it was a tough choice, possibly Rickey Jackson. But with Brees now having some of the best passing numbers ever, it's him.
New York Giants, 1925-2019: Lawrence Taylor. You don't have to think he was a good guy. You could admit that he was the best linebacker of the 20th Century. Actually, the Giants may have had a better linebacker before LT was even born: Sam Huff. And Mel Hein, from back in the 1930s, might have been the greatest center ever.
New York Jets, 1960-2019: Curtis Martin. Joe Namath brought them that title, but his career stats just don't match up with those of Curtis, including 10,302 rushing yards and 58 touchdowns -- plus another 2,439 yards on 367 catches.
Philadelphia Eagles, 1933-2019: Chuck Bednarik. The best center ever? It could have been "Concrete Charley." The best linebacker of his era? If not Huff, it could have been Bednarik. Yes, he is a contender on both counts, the last of the 60-minute men.
Pittsburgh Steelers, 1933-2019: Joe Greene. Terry Bradshaw is rightly beloved, but even he would say, "Describe the Pittsburgh Steelers? Defense." And no defensive tackle, not even Merlin Olsen, was ever better than Mean Joe Greene.
San Francisco 49ers, 1946-2019: Jerry Rice. How good do you have to be to be ahead of the possible greatest quarterback who ever lived, Joe Montana, who gave him a jump-start to his career? Maybe the best player ever. It's either Rice or Jim Brown.
Seattle Seahawks, 1976-2019: Russell Wilson. It's not too soon to say so. Certainly, it wouldn't be, if Pete Carroll hadn't stupidly called that pass.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976-2019: Derrick Brooks. A tough call over his teammate Warren Sapp, and earlier Bucs defensive stalwart Lee Roy Selmon.
Tennessee Titans, 1997-2019: Eddie George. Houston Oilers, 1960-1996: Earl Campbell. Oilers/Titans overall, 1960-2019: Campbell. George should be in the Hall of Fame. Campbell not only is, but is one of the defining running backs of his or any other era.
Washington Redskins, 1937-2019: Sammy Baugh. He was the game's 1st great passer. He was a great defensive back. And he is the all-time leading in punting yard average. Think about it: In today's terms, he was Patrick Mahomes, Richard Sherman and Brett Kern at the same time.
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