Brad Oremland is a sportswriter and football historian. There are few who have given as much thought to the history of pro football as Brad has over the years. What follows is Brad’s latest work, a multi-part series on the greatest players in pro football history.

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This is the fifth article in a twelve-part series profiling the greatest pro football players of all time. You can find the previous installments below:

111-125
101-110
91-100
81-90

If you haven’t read those yet, especially the one introducing the series (111-125), I hope you’ll start there.

80. Darrelle Revis
Cornerback
New York Jets, 2007-12, 2015-16; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2013; New England Patriots, 2014; Kansas City Chiefs, 2017
29 INT, 466 yards, 3 TD; 4 FF, 12 FR, 28 yards; 2 sacks
1 DPOY, 3 consensus All-Pro, 4 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls

“Revis Island” is a dumb nickname for a player. Saying that opposing receivers were stranded on Revis Island, however, was great: it’s an evocative metaphor, one of the few ways to communicate what Revis did to the most outstanding WRs in football. His 2009 season was the best I’ve ever seen from a defensive back. Andre Johnson, 4 catches for 35 yards. Randy Moss, 4 for 24 and 5 for 34. Carolina’s Steve Smith, 1 for 5 yards. Roddy White, 4 for 33. Reggie Wayne, 3 for 33. Revis had a career-high 6 interceptions that season, and his 31 pass deflections are the single-season record, by far, though the stat has only been recorded since 1999. In the 20 seasons the stat has been kept, there have only been 10 individual seasons with at least 25 PD:

1. Darrelle Revis, 2009 — 31
t2. Sheldon Brown, 2005 — 27
t2. Troy Vincent, 2001 — 27
t4. David Amerson, 2015 — 26
t4. Marcus Peters, 2015 — 26
t4. Darius Slay, 2017 — 26
t7. Donnie Abraham, 1999 — 25
t7. Brandon Carr, 2010 — 25
t7. Deltha O’Neal, 2001 — 25
t7. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, 2009 — 25

Revis is all alone. In subsequent seasons, his stats were extremely modest, because opponents rarely threw to his side of the field, but his effect on the team was monumental. The 2009 Jets only allowed 8 pass TDs all season, with an opponents’ passer rating of 58.8, the lowest allowed by any team in the illegal contact era. Quarterbacked by Mark Sanchez, the Jets made back-to-back AFC Championship Games on the strength of their defense, but in particular on the strength of Revis. I’ve never seen a more impactful defender. He almost single-handedly made the Jets a great defense.

Everyone knows about his excellence in coverage, but Revis also played the run well, took on blockers, and didn’t shy away from contact. I remember a game in 2014 in which Revis knocked down a pulling tackle. Early in the second quarter, on a run to the left, Revis took out Colts LT Anthony Castonzo. Revis was listed at 5-11, 198 lbs, Castonzo at 6-7, 311. Revis blew up the running lane, knocked Castonzo on his butt, and the play went for a 3-yard loss.

79. Gene Upshaw
Offensive Guard
Oakland Raiders, 1967-81
9 AP All-League, 7 All-Star Games, 1970s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team

It’s hard to pinpoint what was most remarkable about Gene Upshaw. He was big for his era, drafted to contend with the Chiefs’ Buck Buchanan. But even more than size and strength, Upshaw was known for his speed. Broadcaster Charlie Jones quipped of Upshaw that “it should have been illegal for him to sweep” on artifical turf. Upshaw was also a highly intelligent player and a respected leader, executive director of the NFLPA following his retirement as a player. Paul Zimmerman wrote that Upshaw “knew tricks they hadn’t even invented yet.”

Upshaw played with celebrated teammates, including quarterbacks Daryle Lamonica, Ken Stabler, and Jim Plunkett. Comparably anonymous, Upshaw mused, “I’ve compared offensive linemen to the story of Paul Revere. After Paul Revere road through town everybody said what a great job he did. But no one ever talked about the horse. I know how Paul Revere’s horse felt.” Along with his linemate Art Shell, Upshaw was the horse the Raiders rode to a 144-51-7 (.730) record during his tenure. The Raiders had a winning record in each of Upshaw’s first 14 seasons, before going 7-9 in his final year.

Nicknamed Highway 63 because of his uniform number and the paths he cleared, Upshaw was a superb drive blocker, with his combination of size and strength, and he pushed rules to their limits. His play was carefully calibrated to maximize what he could get away with, to great effect. In 1987, Upshaw became a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the first pure offensive guard inducted into the PFHOF. ^[1]Yes, it took 25 years for a pure guard to make it to Canton. Jim Parker, enshrined in 1973, is usually listed as a guard, but spent the first half of his career as a standout tackle.

My favorite Gene Upshaw story: following Super Bowl II, the Packers’ future Hall of Fame DT Henry Jordan reported of the rookie Upshaw, “That kid was in there asking me what he did wrong, and all he did was kick the hell out of me. I kept asking myself, ‘What if he does something right?’ ”

78. Art Shell
Offensive Tackle
Oakland Raiders, 1968-82
2 consensus All-Pro, 4 AP All-Pro, 8 Pro Bowls, 1970s All-Decade Team, All-Century Team

Art Shell was a dominator. In 2003, Paul Zimmerman called him the greatest power tackle who ever lived. But Shell was also a college basketball player with surprising agility. He was intelligent and studious, attributes which helped him become the first African-American head coach in modern history, leading the Raiders to three playoff appearances in six seasons and winning Coach of the Year in 1990.

Of course, Shell was even more successful as a player, appearing in 23 postseason games, including eight conference championship games and two Super Bowl victories. Shell’s performance in Super Bowl XI is often cited as the most perfect game ever played by an offensive lineman. Matched up against the Vikings’ Jim Marshall, a two-time Pro Bowler, Shell completely nullified him: Marshall didn’t make a single tackle. Sportswriter and historian Ray Didinger argued that the performance was MVP-worthy: “Jim Marshall and Alan Page are great players. [Gene] Upshaw and Shell didn’t just block them, they erased them in that game.”

Upshaw and Shell, who played next to each other for 14 years, are often grouped together. When NFL Films compiled its Top 10 Raiders All Time, Upshaw and Shell were ranked together atop the list. It’s hard to separate the accomplishments of one from the other. Who was better? Shell’s peak was higher, but Upshaw was good sooner, All-AFL as a rookie. Shell took longer to develop, and Upshaw had more good seasons. I lean slightly towards Shell, but it seems appropriate to rank them one next to the other, just as they played for so long. Both were difference makers.

77. Aaron Donald
Defensive Tackle
St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, 2014-18
59.5 sacks; 13 FF, 4 FR, 40 yards
2 DPOY, 4 consensus All-Pro, 4 AP All-Pro, 5 Pro Bowls, Defensive Rookie of the Year

I hate this ranking. It’s an insult to a player of Aaron Donald’s talent to rank him outside the top 50. He is the most dominant and disruptive defensive tackle of the last 30 years, at least. But after only five seasons — even five excellent seasons — can I justly rank him ahead of players with 15-year careers, who were excellent in five of them and very good in many more? I try to avoid projecting careers, and this seems like where Donald should rate right now. I expect him to rise very quickly.

Since entering the league, Donald has — by far — the most tackles for loss (97) in the NFL. He leads the league, over the same period, in QB hits (149), an especially remarkable achievement for an interior (rather than edge) pass rusher, and he’s tied for third in sacks (59.5). For an interior lineman to average 12 sacks per season is almost unheard of. Warren Sapp, in the five best seasons of his career (not consecutive) recorded 58.5 sacks. Ndamukong Suh, who has played 142 games (to Donald’s 78) has 56 sacks in his career to date. Within a few years, Donald will likely challenge Alan Page as the greatest pass-rushing DT in history.

In hindsight, it’s hard to understand how Donald was “only” the 13th pick in the 2014 draft. He won numerous honors in college, including the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Outland Trophy, and he devastated the NFL Combine. His 4.68-second 40-yard dash was the fastest ever run by a defensive tackle, and his 35 bench press reps were among the best at any position. He is faster than a 285-pound man has any right to be, and stronger. He is more exceptional as a pass rusher than a run defender, but he’s among the best in the league at both; so far, he has no weakness opponents have discovered. Lawrence Taylor, J.J. Watt, and Donald are the only players to win back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

76. Eric Dickerson
Running Back
Los Angeles Rams, 1983-87; Indianapolis Colts, 1987-91; Los Angeles Raiders, 1992; Atlanta Falcons, 1993
13,259 rush yards, 4.43 average, 90 TD; 281 rec, 2,137 yards, 6 TD
5 consensus All-Pro, 5 AP All-Pro, 6 Pro Bowls, 1980s All-Decade Team

Eric Dickerson rushed for double-digit TDs five times, led the NFL in rushing four times, and rushed for 1,800 yards three times. He was a consensus All-Pro five times, with two different teams. He retired with the second-most rushing yards in history, and still holds the single-game postseason record for rushing yards, 248 against the Cowboys in January 1986.

Dickerson had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time. He rushed for 1,808 yards, which remains the most by any rookie, and caught 51 passes for another 404 yards. His 2,212 yards from scrimmage was just 31 yards short of the all-time record; he broke the mark the next year, but we’ll get to that. Dickerson also scored 20 touchdowns, one of only two rookies in history to do so (Gale Sayers). The next season, he rushed for 2,105 yards, a record that still stands, and set the YFS record that eluded him as a rookie. Dickerson is one of only three players with four seasons over 2,000 yards from scrimmage: Dickerson, Walter Payton, and Marshall Faulk.

Dickerson was also noteworthy for his ability to sustain effectiveness with a back-breaking workload. In 2004, Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders warned about the perils of overworking RBs: “Here are all the running backs in NFL history who topped 370 carries in a single season. These backs basically fall into three categories: guys who got injured the next year, guys who were never as good again, and guys who are Eric Dickerson.” Dickerson has four of the top 20 single-season totals in history for rush attempts. Ricky Williams is the only other player with more than one such season.

Unlike some RBs who have been dismissed as the product of their offensive lines, Dickerson excelled regardless of line play. He was the best running back in the league with the Rams, and he was the best with the Colts. Dickerson was big (6′ 3″, 220 lbs) and he had great speed, but he ran in a graceful, gliding style that gave the impression he wasn’t running hard. No less an authority than Bill Walsh raved, “Eric Dickerson was the most feared man in the National Football League. Whenever you played him, he seemed unstoppable.”

75. Michael Strahan
Defensive End
New York Giants, 1993-2007
141.5 sacks; 24 FF, 15 FR, 17 yards, TD; 4 INT, 124 yards, 2 TD
1 DPOY, 3 consensus All-Pro, 6 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

A successful media personality after his playing career, Michael Strahan initially made his name as a high-motor pass rusher. In the 1980s and ’90s, teams usually lined up their best pass rusher on the quarterback’s blind side, and offenses answered by putting their best pass blockers at left tackle. While many pass rushers today play on the opposite side, matched up with the right tackle, Strahan was among the first perennial Pro Bowlers to regularly line up on the front side rather than the blind side. He collected a huge number of sacks from that position, officially 6th all-time. In 2001, he set the official single-season record, 22.5 sacks, although many people believe the last one was a gift from his friend Brett Favre.

Strahan was effective both with a bull rush and a speed rush. As evidenced by his media career, he’s intelligent — a quick thinker — and he applied that on the field, manipulating blockers out of position or off-balance. He out-schemed, overpowered, and outworked his opponents, never giving up on a play. Strahan wasn’t as impressive to watch as some other great pass rushers, not as flashy as Dwight Freeney or Julius Peppers. Often he just rammed into the blocker and kept moving him backward until they reached the quarterback. The sacks almost look like accidents. One-hundred forty-one and a half accidents.

In his 2001 Defensive Player of the Year season, Strahan led the NFL in sacks (22.5), tackles for loss (24), forced fumbles (6), and fumble return TDs (1). He led the league in sacks again in 2003, one of only six players since 1982 (when sacks became an official statistic) to lead the NFL in sacks more than once. The 2003 season may have actually been more impressive. League-wide sack rates were substantially lower in 2003, and that Giants team was terrible, 4-12 with nine double-digit losses. Opponents seldom faced predictable passing situations in which for Strahan to tee off on the QB, and his teammates did little to command attention from opposing blockers, allowing frequent double-teams on Strahan.

Strahan had 9.5 sacks in 10 postseason games, including 1.5 sacks against the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV and a sack against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. He had nine sacks in his final regular season and retired when he was still a valuable player. He played the run well and never seemed to get discouraged, collecting coverage sacks on plays when other rushers might have given up after their first move failed to produce.

74. Jason Taylor
Defensive End
Miami Dolphins, 1997-2007, 2009, 2011; Washington, 2008; New York Jets, 2010
139.5 sacks; 46 FF, 29 FR, 246 yards, 6 TD; 8 INT, 110 yards, 3 TD
1 DPOY, 3 consensus All-Pro, 4 AP All-Pro, 6 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

There are five defensive ends who have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility: Gino Marchetti, Deacon Jones, Reggie White, Bruce Smith, and Jason Taylor. Many factors contributed to Taylor’s immediate induction, but if you prefer to isolate one, he scored 60 points, an extraordinary amount, more than any other defensive lineman or linebacker in history, excepting those who also played offense. Taylor scored 9 touchdowns and 3 safeties, including 6 fumble return TDs, the most of any player in NFL history.

Taylor made more big plays than any lineman of his time. From 1995-2012 (the period that begins two years before Taylor entered the league and concludes two years after his retirement), Taylor led the NFL in sacks, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, defensive fumble recoveries, fumble return yards, and fumble return TDs. He also had by far the most pass deflections of any pass rusher, and ranks near the top of the list (among the top 100 in sacks) for interceptions, INT return yards, and INT return TDs. He was an explosive, opportunistic player who created an inordinate number of high-impact plays. In his 2006 Defensive Player of the Year season, Taylor had 13.5 sacks (4th in the NFL), with 9 forced fumbles (1st), 4 takeaways, over 100 return yards, 2 INT TDs (tied 1st), and double-digit pass deflections. Every way you want defensive ends to contribute, Taylor did.

There are a lot of smart people who rate Michael Strahan higher than Taylor. Strahan played the run better and he was more consistent. But Taylor was so much more explosive, with many more big plays. Their sack totals are about equal, but Taylor had almost twice as many forced fumbles and fumble recoveries, he did have twice as many interceptions, more than twice as many return yards and TDs, and many more pass deflections. I place a lot of value on those big plays, so Taylor rates slightly better on my list.

73. DeMarcus Ware
Rush Linebacker
Dallas Cowboys, 2005-13; Denver Broncos, 2014-16
138.5 sacks; 35 FF, 8 FR, 91 yards, 2 TD; 3 INT, 44 yards, 1 TD
4 consensus All-Pro, 7 AP All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

Drafted 11th overall in 2005, DeMarcus Ware was an impact player immediately. In a loaded rookie class that also included Shawne Merriman (10 sacks), Lofa Tatupu (Pro Bowl), Odell Thurman (64 tkl, 5 INT), Derrick Johnson (79 tkl) and LeRoy Hill (starter in Super Bowl XL), he didn’t win Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he made an immediate impression. He went on to record eight seasons of double-digit sacks, including two years leading the league and another season when he got 19.5 sacks but didn’t lead the NFL (2011, Jared Allen). Like Michael Strahan, he is one of only six players since 1982 to lead the NFL in sacks more than once. Ware also led the league in tackles for loss three times, and he had 7.5 sacks in 8 postseason games, including 2 sacks in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory. The previous week, he was credited with 7 QB hits against Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Chase wrote a provocative post last year, suggesting that Ware’s 2008 season, when he had 20 sacks in a depressed sack environment, might be the greatest pass rushing season of all time.

Take my own selections with as many grains of salt as you choose, but in 2007, I selected Ware as the Defensive Player of the Year. In 16 seasons selecting a Pro Bowl team for Sports Central (2002-17), I chose Ware six times, most of any linebacker and tied for the most of any defensive player. ^[2]With Jared Allen, Ronde Barber, and Julius Peppers. With apologies to Kevin Greene, Derrick Thomas, and Von Miller, Ware is the best rush linebacker of the last 30 years. I prefer to rate active and recently retired players conservatively, and this is a conservative rank for Ware.

72. John Elway
Quarterback
Denver Broncos, 1983-98
51,475 yards, 300 TD, 226 INT, 79.9 rating
1 MVP, 3 AP All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 1990s All-Decade Team

John Elway had the strongest arm of his generation, maybe of all time. His passes instantly arrived downfield, and his receivers would talk about the Elway cross, a mark from the end of the ball if you let one of his passes hit you in the chest. If you don’t remember prime Elway, the 2018 comparison is Patrick Mahomes.

But just as notable as Elway’s arm was his spirit. I don’t know if he was the most intense competitor I’ve ever seen at quarterback — I suppose that might be Tom Brady — but Elway had incredible will to win. Everyone wants to win, of course, but Elway needed to win. I don’t think he was a necessarily a better clutch player than anyone else, I just think no one cared about winning more than Elway did. His career was full of memorable moments. Over and over, he seemed to do the impossible.

Statistically, Elway had some of his best seasons at the end of his career. He made five Pro Bowls in his last six seasons, retired following back-to-back Super Bowl victories, and was named Super Bowl MVP in the final game of his career. He set a career best for net yards per attempt (7.14) in his final, age-38 season. Working with Mike Shanahan, Terrell Davis, Rod Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and a top-notch offensive line, Elway finally posted the great stats that often eluded him in his athletic prime, when he was the only weapon on a punchless offense. As a young player, Elway found himself needing to pull off miracles, since if he didn’t create plays, the Broncos simply wouldn’t make any. Elway elevated relatively average teams and led them to three Super Bowl appearances in four years, before a new group of teammates returned the favor in Elway’s final two seasons.

Elway’s 79.9 career passer rating is the lowest of any Hall of Fame quarterback to debut after the 16-game schedule, but it’s not reflective of his talent. It also bears mention that Elway was a prolific runner. He ranked among the top 10 QBs in rushing yards a record 14 times. Elway rushed for over 200 yards in a season 11 times — the most of any QB in history — and he was among the top three running QBs in 1984, ’85, ’87, and ’94. Perhaps the most memorable single play of his career was a run, The Helicopter in Super Bowl XXXII. It’s also a perfect example of what drew so many fans to Elway: his visible passion for football.

Upon his retirement, Elway ranked third all-time in touchdown passes, second in yards, and first in wins as a starting quarterback. Elway made nine Pro Bowls, and he was second-team All-Pro three times. The Associated Press award voting in 1987 is hard to figure. AP named Joe Montana the first-team All-Pro QB, and Elway second-team, while other major organizations like NEA and Sporting News chose Elway first. Yet where all the other major organizations chose Jerry Rice as league MVP, AP chose its own second-team All-Pro QB. They dissed Elway in the All-Pro voting but bucked consensus by selecting him as MVP. Elway is one of four HOF quarterbacks never to be named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press; the others were Roger Staubach, Warren Moon, and Troy Aikman.

Elway had all the qualities you want in a quarterback: huge arm, good mobility, leadership, and so forth with the many little things that round out a great QB. He played for 16 seasons, and he made his teams better. Surround him with average teammates and he had them in contention, surround him with Pro Bowlers and you had a champion.

71. Roosevelt Brown
Offensive Tackle
New York Giants, 1953-65
5 consensus All-Pro, 8 AP All-Pro, 9 Pro Bowls, 1950s All-Decade Team, 75th Anniversary Team

Rosey Brown was All-Pro every year from 1956-63, usually a consensus first-team selection. In those eight seasons, the New York Giants went 73-25-4 (.745) and reached the NFL Championship Game six times. It is the greatest dynasty in the almost 100-year history of the franchise. Did the Giants’ success win Brown his acclaim, or did Brown’s excellence give birth to the team’s success?

Almost certainly, a bit of both, but Brown’s talent was unmistakeable. He was that rarest of players, an eye-catching offensive lineman. Relative to his peers, Brown was probably the fastest offensive tackle in history. He pulled, leading sweeps for Frank Gifford and Alex Webster. He wasn’t overpowering, winning with speed and technique rather than brute strength, but he was perfect for offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi’s scheme (1954-58). When the Giants started winning in 1956, fans noticed that their team had the fastest lineman in the league, a tackle who blocked all over the field. Paul Zimmerman called him “eye-catching on the sweeps or downfield.”

Brown’s speed gave the Giants flexibility to run plays no other team could pull off. Here was a player who could pass protect against Gene Brito and lead Gifford’s sweeps, big enough to block linemen and fast enough to block almost anyone. When he finally slowed down, the Giants fell apart. There were plenty of other factors in the team’s sudden collapse, but it’s not simply a coincidence that Brown’s best seasons were the team’s best seasons. He was a game-changing player — quite literally, since the Giants re-wrote their playbook to take advantage of his speed. Brown was just the second pure offensive lineman inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (two years after Jim Parker).

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This series will continue here every Tuesday and Thursday for the next four weeks. The best way to reach me with comments and questions is via Twitter (@bradoremland), where I’ll also offer some brief bonus material on most days there’s no new article. Thanks for reading. Next article: Best Players in History, 61-70.