Most Consistent Performers in the NFL

In today's NFL, the truly great players can be defined by a number of characteristics.

Great players can be those who have elite athleticism and match it with superior football intelligence. They can be the guys whose work ethic and determination is great enough that they can almost will their teams to victory. Great players also tend to embrace the moment when the pressure is at its pinnacle, and they never shrug away from responsibility.

The absolute best of the best, however, manage to do all of the above and do it on a consistent basis.

Consistency definitely isn't something that can be taken for granted. Anyone can have a couple of shining moments, but very few can maintain a high level of performance week after week for years on end. That type of consistency deserves to be recognized.

Today, we'll do exactly that and take a look at the NFL's most consistent players.

Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys

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This past week, Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten leapt into the NFL history books by snagging the 1,000th reception of his career. By doing so, he became just the 12th player in league history to reach 1,000 catches and only the second tight end after Tony Gonzalez. 

Earning a place in the 1,000-catch club is something Witten was only able to obtain through a combination of ability and consistency.

Since becoming a full-time starter in his sophomore season of 2004, Witten has not missed a regular-season game. During that span, he has been one of the league's most reliable and consistent targets just about every single week.

Since 2004, Witten has caught at least 60 passes in every single season (he's currently at 60 for the 2015 season). He has caught at least 70 passes in eight of those seasons and at least 90 in four of them. In his 12 seasons prior to 2015, Witten has been named to the Pro Bowl 10 times.

"He's just consistent with everything he did," former Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe recently said of Witten, per Todd Archer of ESPN.com. "He was just always open. When he ended up being open, he caught the ball for us. Just extremely reliable on every play." 

Witten has never been the flashiest player on the field, nor has he been the biggest or the fastest. However, his consistency over the years has allowed him to accomplish something that only one other tight end in league history has done.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans

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Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt may not have the career resume that some of the more experienced players on this list possess, but he's still worthy of recognition. This is because there might not be a more consistently dominant defender in the game today.

Watt has the ability to single-handedly change the course of the game on a single sack, pressure or pass deflection. That he brings this ability to the field each and every snap is remarkable. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick recently compared Watt's game-changing ability to that of legendary pass-rusher Lawrence Taylor.

"There's been very few players I would put in the same conversations with Taylor, but I would put Watt there," Belichick said, per Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. "It's early in his career and he's done a lot already. Taylor did it over a long period of time, but Watt's done it pretty consistently now. He's that same kind of player."

Watt only produced 5.5 sacks his rookie year in 2011. However, over the past four seasons, including this one, he has averaged 16.5 sacks per year. Already this season, Watt has accounted for 13.5 sacks, 29 quarterback hits and 26 additional hurries, according to Pro Football Focus.

Not limited to just being a sack artist, Watt has also produced 286 tackles, 42 passes defended, 13 forced fumbles, a safety, an interception and three receiving touchdowns in his career. He has been named to three Pro Bowls.

Watt's consistency, though, does reside most in his sack ability. For his entire career, Watt has averaged just under one sack per game. For a pass-rusher, that's pretty consistent.

Joe Thomas, OT, Cleveland Browns

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Because their positions don't produce impressive statistics or earn spots on the evening highlight reel, offensive linemen are often the most underappreciated players in the NFL. However, the truly great ones are able to earn recognition through superior and consistent play.

Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas is easily one such player.

Just consider the fact that Thomas has been named to the Pro Bowl in every one of his eight NFL seasons. The former third-overall draft pick is still playing at an extremely high level and is likely headed toward his ninth Pro Bowl invite in season nine.

Pro Football Focus rates Thomas second overall among all offensive tackles for the 2015 season. The Wisconsin product is rated first overall among all tackles in pass blocking. He has allowed just two sacks in 845 snaps this season.

Speaking of snaps, Thomas has never missed one in his pro career. That's right, Thomas is in his ninth NFL season and has played every single offensive down for the Browns. That's consistency.

The Browns haven't had a lot of reasons to celebrate in recent years, but the consistently impressive career of their starting left tackle is definitely one of them.

Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Usually, a player's consistency simply speaks for itself. Sometimes, though, that consistency comes out screaming its presence with an impressive streak.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown recently finished off a streak that shouts consistency from the proverbial rooftops. Earlier this season, the Baltimore Ravens ended a streak of 35 games in which Brown had produced at least five receptions and at least 50 receiving yards.

Former NFL receiver Laveranues Coles held the previous mark of 19 games with five receptions and 50 yards.

It is worth noting that Brown played that game without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Having that streak end shouldn't detract from the ability and consistency Brown has shown in his six NFL seasons.

Brown barely saw the field as a rookie in 2010, but he has emerged as one of the league's best receivers since. The past three seasons have been particularly impressive. Brown averaged 119.5 receptions between 2013 and 2014, and is on pace for 124 receptions this season.

Since his sophomore season in 2011, including this season, Brown has also averaged 1,280 receiving yards per season. This is why he is also consistently regarded as one of the most dangerous offensive playmakers in the entire league.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

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When his career finally comes to an end, there's a good chance that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will go down as the best signal-caller to ever play the game.

Now only has Brady been to six Super Bowls and won four rings, but he has played at such a consistently high level that it's almost hard to fathom. Just consider the fact that in Brady's 14 seasons as a starter prior to 2015, he was named to 10 Pro Bowls and led New England to 12 playoff appearances.

One of those seasons was cut short after Brady suffered a torn ACL in the opening game. 

This means the Patriots have only missed the playoffs once with Brady healthy and at the helm. Oh, and those games missed to the ACL tear are the only games Brady has missed since becoming a starter back in 2001. That's consistency.

What's scary is that Brady is likely to be consistently great for the foreseeable future. Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com recently explained why:

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Brady actually doesn't even need that additional time to secure his standing as the best ever. However, you can rest assured that he is well aware of the NFL records that are well within his reach if he plays long enough. He already has the most playoff wins of any quarterback in NFL history (21), but he also ranks fifth in career passing yards (55,312), fourth in career touchdown passes (408) and third in regular-season victories (166).

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The most consistent quarterback of all time? Yeah, Brady might well finish his career with that title, too.

Charles Woodson, S, Oakland Raiders

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Oakland Raiders safety Charles Woodson has been so fantastic and so consistent for so many years (18 of them) that it really seems to defy logic.

Woodson, who began his pro career at cornerback way back in 1998, has been named to eight Pro Bowls, has been a first-team All-Pro four times and has won a Super Bowl ring. He has also racked up 989 total tackles, 20.0 sacks, 65 interceptions, 28 forced fumbles and 11 defensive touchdowns.

Even at 39 years old, Woodson is still playing at an incredibly high level. Woodson is rated first overall among all safeties by Pro Football Focus in pass coverage this season. 

Peter King of the MMQB recently put Woodson's lengthy career into perspective:

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Charles Woodson is in his 18th NFL season and still playing at a high level, a fairly amazing accomplishment considering that he broke into the league when Reggie White won his second Defensive Player of the Year award and Randall Cunningham was the league’s All-Pro quarterback. The first player Woodson ever tackled in the pros? Andre Rison, who has been retired for 15 years. 

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Expectations were undoubtedly high for the former Heisman Trophy winner when Woodson came into the league, but few probably saw a career like this coming. Woodson may well be the best defensive back in league history, and he has definitely been one of the most consistent turnover machines the NFL has seen. 

Woodson has snagged at least one interception in each of his 18 NFL seasons, and he has produced multiple turnovers in all but one of them.

It really doesn't get much more consistent than that.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

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We opened our list with Jason Witten, who caught his 1,000th NFL pass this past weekend. We're going to end it with Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who also caught his 1,000th ball this past weekend.

As is the case with Witten, Fitzgerald's achievement is a testament to both his greatness on the football field and the consistency with which he plays. Few wide receivers over the years have been this good for this long, especially with one team.

Fitzgerald is now in his 12th NFL season. He has missed just six games since his rookie season in 2004, and he has been named to the Pro Bowl eight times. He has seven 1,000-yard seasons on his resume, and he has caught at least 70 passes in nine of his 12 seasons.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer recently explained how Fitzgerald's work ethic has allowed him to become one of the league's all-time greats.

Zimmer, per Brian Murphy of the (St. Paul) Pioneer Press:

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He doesn't complain when he gets a pass interference (call) or somebody holds him or something like that. Obviously, he's got great hands, runs great routes and he doesn't try to be the center of the game. He tries to be a professional receiver, and I have a lot of respect for him. He was raised right. He's phenomenal.

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To this point in his career, Fitzgerald has averaged  5.5 receptions per game. At this pace, it would take Fitzgerald barely more than a season to surpass Hall of Famer Tim Brown (1,094 receptions) at No. 5 on the all-time receptions list. If he wanted to chase Jerry Rice's all-time record of 1,549 receptions, Fitzgerald could do it in about six-and-a-half more seasons at his current rate.

Only the most consistent of players could even dream about having a realistic shot at such a record.