DeSean Jackson, Chris Johnson and the 25 Cockiest Players in the NFL Today
Cockiness is defined by Dictionary.com as "arrogant; pertly self-assertive; conceited."
But when it comes to the NFL, cockiness is taken in a number of different ways: as swagger, confidence or flat-out stupidity.
No matter which way you look at it, though, you know it when you see it.
These 25 NFL players take cockiness to such a high level that we'd have to consult Merriam-Webster to come up with a new word to describe them.
25. Jared Allen, DT, Minnesota Vikings
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From his mullet, to his on-field demeanor and to his sack celebrations, Jared Allen just screams, "Look at me! Look at me!"
I personally find it funny, but the Vikings defensive end definitely has his haters.
It's hard to explain, but Allen has this aura about him that makes it seem like his head is in the clouds.
After racking up 83 sacks in just seven seasons, though, maybe it deserves to be.
24. Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers
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During a live chat with NFL.com prior to the 2009 NFL Draft, a fan asked wide receiver prospect Michael Crabtree, “You’re going to look good in silver and black...What do you say to those who say you are cocky?”
And Crabtree responded:
“I’m not cocky at all. People talk, man, but I’m a cool guy. As for playing for the Raiders, no comment.”
Essentially, he could have said: "I'd rather be chilling with Plaxico Burress than playing in Oakland."
So, how's everything working out for you in San Francisco, Crabby?
23. James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Generally a low-key but lethal enforcer on the football field, James Harrison also shows a bit of quiet cockiness off it.
This is what the Steelers linebacker had to say after he racked up multiple fines for illegal hits.
"This is a free world. I can say what I want to as long as I don't cuss you or anything else. I can say what I want to. It's my opinion.
"I've never seen a rule in the NFL Rulebook that says I can't speak my opinion as long as I didn't use any perverse words."
He added, "Right now, after they fined me $100,000, I have 100,000 reasons to speak my mind."
Harrison isn't boasting, per say, but he isn't backing down from the league either.
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22. Roy Williams, WR, Dallas Cowboys
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Roy Williams is the cocky-though-I-know-I-shouldn't-be player on this list, thanks to the sheer stupidity of some of the things that have come out of his mouth.
He once famously said something along the lines of his team—the Detroit Lions at the time—being "stupid-close" to putting up 40 points against the Seattle Seahawks.
Um, the Lions actually lost that game, 9-6.
And Williams didn't learn his lesson, guaranteeing a victory against the Chicago Bears the next week.
Guess what? The Lions lost, 34-7.
Here's a guarantee: I guarantee that Good Ol' Roy needs to take a class on talking smack.
21. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
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This might be a controversial choice, but who remembers Aaron Rodgers' whole title-belt routine from this season?
Sure, he actually delivered on his championship belt gesture when the Packers won the Super Bowl (and he draped the World Heavyweight Championship belt across his shoulder), but this isn't boxing or the WWE.
It's the NFL.
Had Rodgers' team not won a ring, he would have been criticized as a cocky moron.
But now he's still an arrogant guy, however, he's one who just so happens to have won a Super Bowl.
20. Shawne Merriman, LB, Buffalo Bills
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Shawne Merriman has toned down his on-field antics over the last few years, mainly because he's either never actually on the field or isn't making any plays.
But once upon a time, he was an elite defender who celebrated any halfway-decent sack with his "Lights Out" dance that eerily resembled someone injecting himself with steroids.
Maybe if Merriman racks up more than four sacks over the next three years—like he did over the last three—he'll shoot up this list.
19. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
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The lesser of the Manning brothers once dropped this golden line that made me think, "WTF?"
“There’s a lot of similarities between Peyton and me."
Yeah right, Eli.
Sure, you both have a Super Bowl ring and share the same last name, but in no other category are you even remotely close.
Plus, we can't just forget that you were "too good" to play for the Chargers, so you had to finagle your way out of San Diego and to New York.
18. Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons
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The typically quiet Roddy White broke out of his shell prior to a game against the Saints late in the 2010 season, when he wrote the following on Twitter:
"The saints win one championship and want to go crazy well yall a*s aint winning this year we gone make sure tht doesn't happen."
"The grace of god gave them tht championship so tht city wouldn fall apart now and now they think they hot #!@%*# in my chad voice child please."
"Yall fans keep talking making it worst for those guys tht got to guard me cause yall don't lol."
"No chance in hell the Aints come into the dome and win once trent dilfer [sic]."
At least the grammatically challenged White backed up his comments with a win against New Orleans inside the Georgia Dome.
Nevermind. He didn't.
17. Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens
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Two Defensive MVP awards, a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP, 12 Pro Bowl selections and seven First Team All-Pro selections give Ray Lewis every right to like himself.
But you and I both know that, after every game, this guy goes home, looks in the mirror and tells himself how great he is.
Or he tells the New York Jets: "The bottom line is there ain’t no man over there that’s just gonna flat-out whoop me, so I’m good with that part of it."
Hey, he's not wrong.
But a little humility never hurt anybody.
16. Brandon Marshall, WR, Miami Dolphins
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When asked about the potential of an NFL lockout next season, Brandon Marshall said he had another job lined up...in the NBA.
The Dolphins wide receiver told ESPN, "My first team will be the Nuggets and my second team will be the Heat—I'm serious."
He was then asked whether he will "pursue" an NBA career and dropped this line, "Not pursuing—I'm going to be on an NBA team. Seriously."
Hell, for all I know, Marshall could be awesome at basketball.
But just walking onto an NBA roster? Really?
I don't think so.
15. Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears
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So, if you're, at best, a mediocre quarterback who's thrown 60 interceptions over the last three seasons, what do you do?
Well, act like you're the second coming of Joe Montana, of course.
Seriously, I don't know if the fact that he's dating Kristin Cavillari has anything to do with it, but Jay Cutler has this undeniable arrogant air about him.
Maybe it would actually be OK, though, if he could have taken the Bears to the Super Bowl.
14. Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets
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If I was playing football with a group of my friends and referred to my area on the field as "Oestriecher Island," the consensus reaction among the group would be that I have an overblown ego and could use a reality check.
But alas, Darrelle Revis does the same exact thing, and he generally gets a free pass because he backs up all this talk about "Revis Island."
Still, you can't just create your own country/island/city/whatever it is and expect no one to think you're cocky.
13. DeAngelo Hall, CB, Washington Redskins
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DeAngelo Hall thinks so highly of himself that I'm truly surprised he can even fit his huge head inside FedEx Field.
"I always feel like I'm the best guy out there," Hall said. "When a guy catches a pass, it almost seems like luck to me. If a guy makes another catch, I'm like, 'Two? How did that happen?'"
You got burned, that's how that happened.
12. Bart Scott, LB, New York Jets
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Here was Bart Scott running his mouth about the New England Patriots, only to have it shut when his Jets team lost its second consecutive AFC Championship Game the following week.
"We showed them that we can make adjustments. We did it the first game. Check.
"In the second game, they came in and beat us. Check.
"We came in when it counted the most. Check—checkmate."
Think he's ever actually played chess before?
"If you go down board for board, and look at our roster and look at their rosters, we got better players all across the field. All across the field," Scott said about the Patriots.
"Last I checked, Tedy Bruschi and Rod Harrison and Richard Seymour—those guys aren't on their sidelines. You guys fear 'em, [but] we don't fear anybody," Scott said.
"We believe that we can match up against anybody. That's all we try to establish and say at the beginning, no matter how cocky or arrogant we may sound."
Thanks for doing my work for me, Bart. Yes, you sound cocky and arrogant, because that's what you are.
11. Randy Moss, WR, Tennessee Titans
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Two reasons why Randy Moss is cocky.
No. 1: Mooning.
No. 2: Straight cash, homie.
10. Joey Porter, LB, Arizona Cardinals
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Joey Porter's most recent (and notable) verbal battle came against then-Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall in 2008, but that was just one instance in a long line of Porter trash-talking moments.
The guy just runs his mouth, runs it again and runs it some more, usually defeating his smack-talking opponent in the process.
Though there are a ton of examples to choose from, let's keep it simple.
"I'm going to send him the new plasma black-and-white TV. Hopefully, he's going to get the chance to watch us in our playoff game in Indianapolis."
Ah, when Porter was actually on playoff contenders—those were the days.
9. Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
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Philip Rivers is the ultimate taunter, a guy who loves to jaw at opposing teams when anything happens that even remotely resembles a good play.
He was fined for taunting Raiders defensive tackle Gerard Warren in 2009, he made sure to rub a last-second win in the faces of Giants fans and, of course, we all remember his verbal spat with Jay Cutler.
It's like this guy thinks he's a good quarterback or something.
8. Antonio Cromartie, CB, New York Jets
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Plain and simple—Antonio Cromartie hates Tom Brady.
From the mouth of Cromartie came these words: Brady's an "a**hole....F#$k him."
"That's what I think about him. I don't really give a damn about him," Cromartie said.
"I don't have to play against him. I play against the receivers. If I beat the s**t out of his receivers, he can't throw the ball."
Maybe Cromartie should worry less about Brady and the Patriots receivers and more about remembering the names of all his kids.
7. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle Seahawks
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"We want the ball, and we're gonna score!"
That is all.
6. DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
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DeSean Jackson lost a lot of his street cred when he appeared on The View—though he did have a good reason for doing it.
There's just something about the way the guy carries himself on the football field that screams "ego-stroker."
The 175-pounder plays as if no one will ever prevent him from getting into the end zone and has a habit of assuming he will score before he actually does.
I wonder if he knows what the word "humble" means.
5. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com notes that, despite his success there, Ben Roethlisberger hasn't always been loved in Pittsburgh.
Check out this excerpt from a column about the Steelers QB:
Then he (Roethlisberger) won his second Super Bowl. Big Ben went to his head.
Team insiders say he became surly again. There are reports of him treating people rudely in public. He wasn’t warm and fuzzy with his teammates, even if he did take his linemen to some wrestling night out, making it look like he cared.
True story: In 2008, while the Steelers were en route to another Super Bowl, I actually had some Steelers players saying the team would have been better off with Roethlisberger on the bench.
In other words, Big Ben really likes himself. No shocker there.
4. Cortland Finnegan, CB, Tennessee Titans
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How can you call Cortland Finnegan anything other than cocky?
He has developed a reputation as the league's biggest trash talker at cornerback, despite the fact that he only has 13 interceptions in five NFL seasons.
And, of course, we all remember Finnegan's fight with Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson this past season.
I'm sure Finnegan was just tired of Johnson eating his lunch every time they face each other, though.
3. Chad Ochocinco, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
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Only a true narcissist would change his last name to reflect his jersey number, and that's exactly what Chad Ochocinco did.
But going from Johnson to Ochocinco wasn't enough, as the Bengals wide receiver also made a checklist of which cornerbacks he would burn, raced a horse and anointed himself as a future Hall of Famer with a self-made HOF jacket.
Then, of course, he paraded around his VH1 reality show and put 85 women through ridiculous challenges for them to have a chance to date him in what was the ultimate ego-stroking move.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but one thing we won't see on Ochocinco's tombstone is the word "modest."
2. Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
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Here are some gems from Chris Johnson. Enjoy.
- "It's like Obama. Obama was the first black president. I could be the first black face of the NFL."
- "Basically just come out here this year, another year, and try to get those 2,500 yards; make all my fantasy owners proud."
- "Do any body got payton address I got to go get my award [sic]," Johnson tweeted after Peyton Manning won the 2009 MVP award.
- "In real life, I'm 100 percent unstoppable. I got no home. I run for days," Johnson proclaimed after receiving an overall rating of 99 in Madden 2011.
So to sum up—CJ is equivalent to Obama, better than Manning, a future 2,500-yard rusher and not satisfied with being the best player in Madden.
Nah, he's not cocky.
1. Terrell Owens, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
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According to Terrell:
- "I feel like football players are overworked and underpaid compared to any other sports."
- "I'll watch the highlights every now and then but, as far as watching the game, I feel like I am the game."
- “But naked women throw themselves at T.O. all the time, and it's not every day he gets to play for the Eagles.”
- “Get your popcorn ready, 'cause I'm gonna put on a show.”
- “I'm going to work with T.O. and only T.O."
Ladies and gentlemen, the man who does sit-ups in his driveway—Terrell Owens.
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