Texas A&M Football: 10 Greatest Aggie Players in NFL History

The Texas A&M Football program has an illustrious history of winning and tradition.

The program also has a good reputation for putting players into the NFL. There are currently 19 Aggies on NFL rosters. The Aggies had six players invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine so you should expect that number to increase during the 2012 season.

Over the year multiple Aggies have gone to Pro Bowl, won Super Bowls and distinguished themselves at the highest level of football.

This is a look at the greatest NFL football players that Texas A&M produced.

10. Aaron Glenn

Aaron Glenn was the 12th overall selection of the 1994 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

He played cornerback in the NFL for 14 years with the Jets, Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars and Saints.

Glenn was named to the Pro Bowl three times. He was also a three-time All-Pro.

He grabbed 41 career interceptions returning six for touchdowns.

At A&M Glenn was a two-time All-SWC selection and an All-American.

9. Dante Hall

Dante Hall was a very good running back for the Aggies for 3.5 seasons before being selected in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hall switched positions to wide receiver in the NFL and earned the nickname the "X-Factor" as he developed into a elite return man.

In 2002 Hall became only the second player in NFL history to return a kick and punt for a touchdown in the same game. In 2003 he had a four-game streak where he returned either a punt or kickoff for a touchdown which set an NFL record.

He went to the Pro Bowl and was named All-Pro in 2002 and 2003. He was selected as a member of the NFL All-Decade Team.

Hall had six career punt returns for touchdowns and six career kickoff returns for touchdowns. He is third all time in kick return touchdowns and sixth all time in punt return touchdowns.

8. Ray Childress

Ray Childress was a two-time All-American at Texas A&M before being taken as the third overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers.

Childress would go on to earn five Pro Bowl selections during his 12-year NFL career with the Oilers and Dallas Cowboys.

He was a great defensive lineman for the Oilers and is still widely respected throughout the league.

Childress was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

7. Lester Hayes

Lester Hayes was one of the most dominant cover corners in the history of the NFL.

He went to five Pro Bowls and helped the Oakland Raiders win two Super Bowls.

Hayes was a member of the 1980's All-Decade Team.

In 1980 Hayes grabbed 13 interceptions and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

6. Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith was a first-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1992 NFL Draft. He spent nine years with the franchise and played on three Super Bowl-winning teams.

His career was cut short by injuries but he still managed to intercept a Cowboy record 19 passes.

He was an elite corner for the Cowboys until the injuries hampered him.

Smith was an All-Conference and All-American player on some great Aggie defenses in the early 1990's.

5. Sam Adams

Sam Adams was an All-Conference and All-American defensive lineman at A&M and the eighth overall selection in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

Adams spent 13 seasons in the NFL and earned three trips to the Pro Bowl.

He was the starting nose guard on the 2000 Baltimore Ravens team that won the Super Bowl and had one of the best defenses in NFL history.

Adams also played in the 2002 Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders.

He was dominant against the run and was one of the better defensive tackles of his era.

4. John David Crow

John David Crow was the 1957 Heisman Trophy winner and a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1958 NFL Draft.

Crow played in the NFL for 11 seasons and went to four Pro Bowls.

He was a running back in the NFL but also managed to throw for five touchdown passes.

He eventually came back to the college game where he coached and was an athletic director. Crow is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

3. Jack Pardee

Jack Pardee spent 15 years in the NFL playing linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Redskins.

The Aggie legend racked up 22 interceptions in his career from the linebacker position and went to one Pro Bowl.

He later coached in college and in the NFL for the Houston Oilers.

He was one of the greatest football players to ever come out of the state of Texas.

2. Von Miller

Von Miller has only played one year in the NFL but it was a heck of a year.

The second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft justified his selection by becoming the 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Miller had 11.5 sacks and forced two fumbles in helping lead the Denver Broncos to the playoffs.

Miller earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. He is already one of the top pass-rushers in the league and should only get better with more experience.

Miller should be a dominant defensive player in the NFL for years to come.

1. Shane Lechler

Shane Lechler will probably be considered the greatest punter of all time when he finishes his NFL career.

Lechler has spent 12 years in the NFL and has been named an All-Pro in nine of those seasons. He is also a regular at the Pro Bowl and holds the NFL record for career punting average at 47.6 yards per punt.

He has had two seasons where he averaged over 50 yards per punt.

Lechler is the highest paid punter in the history of the NFL and there is a good chance that he will be the only punter ever elected into the NFL Hall Of Fame.

The former QB recruit at A&M spent four years punting for the Aggies. He was a two-time All-American who regularly flipped field position with his moonshot punts.

No A&M player has been so good at what he does in the NFL as Lechler has.