The All-Time NFL Dream Team

From Johnny Unitas to Paul Krause, here is a position by position breakdown of the greatest players of all-time.  I am using a 48-man roster, including a kicker, a punter, a kick returner, and a special teamer, as well as a coaching staff.  On defense, I am using a 4-4-4 defense (four lineman, four linebackers and four defensive backs) to account for the fact that some teams use the 3-4 defense and some teams use a 4-3. 

Quarterback

Johnny Unitas: A ten time pro-bowler and three time MVP, Unitas was cool under pressure and best in the clutch.  His 47 consecutive games with a TD pass remain unsurpassed even today.  Sporting news ranked him no. 1 among its top-50 quarterbacks.  If I had the ball on my own ten and there were 2:00 left in the game, and I needed someone to take me down the field for the winning touchdown, Unitas would be my guy.

Backups: Dan Marino, Steve Young

Halfback

Jim Brown: He averaged 5.2 yards per carry and 104 yards a game. He only played nine seasons, (being named first team All-Pro every season except one, where he was second team), yet is still ninth in all-time rushing yards.

*Unimportant yet interesting note* He is also considered by many to be the greatest lacrosse player ever as well.

Backups: Walter Payton, Marshall Faulk

Fullback

Bronko Nagurski: The legendary 6’2” 235-pound FB was one of the toughest football players ever.  On one play, he is said to have blown past two linebackers, sent a safety flying, run over a corner, bounced of the goalpost and smashed headfirst into a brick wall behind the end-zone.  He goes back to the huddle and remarks “That last guy hit me pretty hard.” 

Yeah, this guy is tough.

Wide Receiver

WR1: Jerry Rice: Simply the best.  His 1,549 receptions were 447 receptions ahead of the second place record held by Marvin Harrison. His 22,895 receiving yards were 7,961 yards ahead of the second place spot held by his Raiders teammate Tim Brown.

His 197 touchdown receptions are 65 scores more than the 132 touchdown receptions by his former 49ers teammate Terrell Owens, and his 208 total touchdowns were 33 scores ahead of Emmitt Smith's second place 175.  In 10 games against Deion Sanders, one of the greatest corners ever, he recorded 60 catches for 1051 yards and 11 TDs, averaging six catches for 105 yards and 1.1 TDs per game.

WR2: Don Hutson: Back in an era where passing was rare, Don Hutson dominated through the air with 99 career receiving touchdowns, a record that stood for 44 years before Jerry Rice shattered it.

Backups: Elroy Hirsch, Raymond Berry, Lynn Swann

Tight End

Tony Gonzalez: He currently stands with 999 receptions and leads all TE in all major statistical categories, including receptions, yards, TDs, and seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards.

Backup: Kellen Winslow Sr.

Offensive Line

LT: Jonathan Odgen: In his twelve-year career, he played in 177 games, and consistently performed as one of the best offensive linemen in the league. He is a nine-time All-Pro and an 11-time Pro Bowler at left tackle. 

Ogden was a monstrous blend of size, power and agility, excelling in both run blocking and pass blocking. Ogden allowed fewer adjusted sacks than any other left tackle in the NFL in 2006.

LG: John Hannah: One of the fastest guards ever, Hannah was a huge factor on sweeps and counters, which require a guard to pull out and lead interference.  What he lacked in size he made up for in tenacity and speed. 

He won the Offensive lineman of the year award four straight times, was named All-pro 10 times, and was named to both the 70s and 80s all-decade team, one of few players to achieve that feat.  He also was the starting guard on the NFL 75th anniversary team.

C: Chuck Bednarik: Nicknamed “Concrete Charlie”, Bednarik was known not only for being a great center, but was also a ferocious linebacker.  One of the NFL’s last “60 minute men,” he dominated for 14 seasons, missing only three games during that span.  He made number 54 on Sporting News’ list of top 100 NFL players of All-Time, and was the highest ranked center.

RG: Jim Parker: Considered by many to be the greatest lineman ever, Parker played both tackle and guard.  He ranked 24th on Sporting News’ Top-100 greatest football players.

RT: Anthony Munoz: Anthony Munoz played for 12 seasons and missed just three games.  He was an 11-time Pro-bowler and a four-time Offensive Lineman of the Year.  His 11 pro bowls tied for the most in league history at the time of his retirement.  He also showed some skill as a receiver, scoring four reception touchdowns on his career.

Backups: Gene Upshaw, Mel Hein, Forrest Gregg

Defensive End

Deacon Jones: Jones was a highly motivated little known 14th-round pick in the 1961 NFL draft.  He teamed with Merlin Olsen, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy to give the rams the “Fearsome Foursome,” one of the greatest defensive lines of all time. 

He coined the term “sack” and kept track of his sacks by making marks in his playbook.  According to him, he made 26 sacks in a 14 game season in 1967, which would put him first in single season sack totals.  In 1968 he says he had 24, putting him second in single season sack totals. 

He also unofficially had 173.5 sacks on his career, third all-time.  He was one of the most feared defenders ever to play the game.  His signature move was the head-slap, were he slapped in offensive lineman on the side of his helmet, causing him to blink and hesitate.  Then, when he opened his eyes, Deacon would be taking down the quarterback.

Reggie White: The “Minister of Defense,” White played dominantly on both the Eagles and the Packers.  He set the Eagles record with 124 sacks, more than the amount of games he played.  He also racked up 68.5 sacks during his time with Green Bay, also a then all-time Packers record. 

In 2000, he came out of retirement and racked up six sacks, setting his all-time total to 198.5, second all-time.  He set an NFL record with nine straight seasons with at least 10 sacks.  He was named All-Pro 13 times over his 15-year career and DPOY twice.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006, two years after his death.

Backups: Bruce Smith, Doug Atkins

Defensive Tackle

“Mean” Joe Greene: one of the meanest and roughest players ever to play the game, Greene was disappointed at being drafted by the Steelers due to their history of losing.  His lack of tolerance to losing quickly helped turn the Steelers around, and he anchored the Steelers defense and helped win four super bowls in six years. 

Greene had a bad temper and a mean streak, even spitting on Dick Butkus, widely considered the most intimidating football player ever, and challenging him to a fight.  In another incident, he repeatedly kicked a defenseless lineman who was lying on the ground. 

Bob Lily: The center piece of the vaunted “Doomsday Defense” Bob Lily was first team All-Pro seven times and Pro-Bowl 11 times.  Lily had amazing reflexes and instincts.  NFL Films called Lily the “unblockable, unstoppable force of the Doomsday Defense.”  He only missed one game in his entire career, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. 

Backups: Gino Marchetti, Merlin Olsen

Outside Linebacker

ROLB: Lawrence Taylor: Considered by many the greatest defensive player of all-time, LT completely changed the way the game was played with his incredible speed and ferocious hitting off the left side, or “blind side” of the quarterback.  Joe Gibbs of the Redskins developed the two TE, one HB offense, for the sole purpose of stopping Taylor from sacking the quarterback.  LT retired with 1,088 tackles, 142 sacks, 9 picks, 2 TDs, and 33 forced fumbles.

LOLB: Jack Ham: Ham was the Pittsburgh Steelers second-round draft pick (34th overall) in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Penn State, where he was an All-American. He won the starting left linebacker job as a rookie. He was First-team All-Pro six years and was named to eight straight Pro Bowls. 

He was named the greatest outside linebacker of all time by a consortium of professional sports writers, beating Lawrence Taylor for this honor.  According to Coach Chuck Noll, he was the fastest player on the team for the first ten yards.  He was a ferocious hitter, a great pass-rusher, and excelled in pass coverage.  He is one of the most intelligent players ever to play the game, and could think on his feet.  He was almost never caught out of position.  He joined 8 other renowned players in the 20/20 club, with over 20 career sacks and 38 career interceptions.

Backup: Kevin Greene

Inside Linebacker

Dick Butkus: Named No. 1 on NFL Network’s list of the top ten most feared hitters of all-time and crowned by Sports Illustrated as the most feared player in the game.  He was ranked fifth on the AP's list of top 100 football players ever. 

He was most known for his devastating tackling and his uncanny ability to force fumbles.  This was not a statistic at the time, although Butkus would certainly be near the top if it had been.  He was named to the Pro Bowl every season he played, first team All Pro for six seasons and second team All-Pro for the other two.  He made both the 1960s All-Decade Team as well as the 1970s All-Decade Team

Ray Lewis: Considered by many scouts too small to make much of an impact in the NFL, Ray Lewis quickly proved them all wrong.  He is an 11-time Pro Bowler and nine-time All-Pro, and still going strong at 35.  He led a dominant Ravens defense in the late 90’s and early 2000’s that did not allow a 100 yard rusher for 51 consecutive games. 

As well as being a devastating hitter, he was also known for being a very complete linebacker.  On his career to date he has 1,770 tackles, 14 forced fumbles, 105 passes defended, 94.5 tackles for loss, 36.5 sacks, 16 fumbles recovered, 28 interceptions, one safety, and two touchdowns in 194 games. 

He was named Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl 35, and is a two time AP defensive player of the year.  He will almost certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. 

Backups: Jack Lambert, Ray Nitchske

Cornerback

Night Train Lane: A 24-year old walk-on, he quickly rose to prominence with 14 interceptions in his rookie season, a record that stands today, despite the fact that the regular season was only 12 games long back then. 

As well as a great interception artist, he was also one of the hardest hitters in the game, being named No. 2 in NFL Networks list of top ten hardest hitters.  His signature move was a clothesline hit across the neck.  On his career he recorded 68 picks (five of which he returned for TDs).

Deion Sanders: One of the greatest all around athletes ever, Sanders was prominent in baseball as well as football, being the only player to play in a World Series and in the Super Bowl. 

In football, he was prominent as a cornerback, punt returner, kick returner, and even had some success at wide receiver, playing both in games while Michael Irvin served a five game suspension in 1996. 

One of the fastest players in football, he recorded an unofficial 4.1 40 yard dash in his pro-day workout.  He ranks fourth on NFL Networks top-10 fastest players of all-time.  He and Bill Dudley are the only players in NFL history to score touchdowns six different ways, interception return, fumble recovery, kickoff return, punt return, receiving and rushing. 

 Backups: Rod Woodson, Mel Blount

Safety

SS: Ronnie Lott: No. 4 in NFL Network’s top ten hitters, Ronnie Lott delivered game changing hits that helped the 49ers win four Super Bowls in his career.  He was so tough he once had his finger amputated just so he could play a game. 

Lott had 63 picks in the regular season on his career, as well as nine in the post-season.  He is known as one of the greatest open-field tacklers in the history of the league, thanks to his instincts and awareness.

FS: Paul Krause:  Paul Krause holds the all-time record for interceptions with 81 on his career, from 45 different quarterbacks.  He only missed two games in his 16 year career, and was inducted into the hall of fame in 1998.

Backup: Sammy Baugh

Special Teams

Special Teams: K: Adam Vinatieri: Nicknamed “Iceman” for his ability in the clutch, Adam Vinatieri kicked two last second field goals to win Super Bowls with the Patriots.  He is perhaps most famous for his game tying and game winning field goals in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Oakland Raiders, which was played in a thick blizzard.

P: Ray Guy: The only punter ever selected in the first round (by Al Davis and the Raiders, who else?), Ray Guy was by far the greatest punter of all-time. 

He played in 207 consecutive games, averaging 42.4 yards per punt, punting 210 punts inside the 20 yard line.  He had five punts of over 60 yards in 1981, and never had any of his punts returned for a touchdown.  He was also quite versatile, starting at safety in college as well as placekicking (he kicked a 61-yard field goal in a snowstorm in college). 

Guy also played quarterback and was the Raiders third string quarterback for much of his career.  He once kicked a ball so high that the other team had it tested for helium.

KR: Deion Sanders: Had BLAZING speed on his returns.  No one ever caught him from behind.

Player: Steve Tasker: One of the most underappreciated players ever, the 5’9” 183-ppund special teamer made a career on special teams without ever being a returner.  He had blazing speed, allowing him to reach the return man quickly, and was also a ferocious hitter.  Many people have made arguments that he should be in the HOF based solely on his special teams play.

Coaching Staff

Coach: Bill Walsh: Bill Walsh was the leader and innovator and guiding force behind the three Superbowls the 49ers won under him.  He took many no-name quarterbacks and brought them to prominence, before settling on third round pick Joe Montana and making him one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.  He utilized the West Coast offense amazingly well and was a great drafter, setting up a system that the 49ers rode on to win all five of their Super bowls.

Offensive Coordinator: Don Coryell: Innovator of the high-scoring Chargers passing offense of the late 70s early 80s, Don Coryell’s “Air Coryell” offense led the league in passing yards a record 6 straight times.  Don Coryell’s scheme enabled Dan Fouts to become only the second quarterback to pass for 4000 yards in a single season.  Fouts also averaged 320 yards per game in 1982.

Defensive Coordinator: Dick LeBeau: As well as being a great cornerback for the Lions, Dick LeBeau is also considered one of the greatest football minds ever.  Innovator of the famous “Zone Blitz” scheme, LeBeau led dominant Steelers teams of the 90s and 00s, taking people like practice squad reject James Harrison and making him Defensive Player of the Year. 

He was also a renowned coordinator for the Bengals in the late 90s, and was promoted to Head Coach in 2000.  He was unsuccessful for the three years he coached, and was signed by the Steelers again as Defensive Coordinator, which he remains to this day.

Notable Exceptions

There were so many great players in the NFL, that in an all-time team there are going to be some great players left out.  Here are a few notable players that didn't quite make the cut.

QB: Joe Montana

RB: Emmit Smith

WR: Terell Owens, Marvin Harrison

TE: Mike Ditka

DL: Michael Strahan

Safety: Ed Reed