The Best Player to Ever Wear Each NFL Jersey Number | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Mia Lopez 10: Fran Tarkenton, Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings/New York Giants/Minnesota Vikings, 1961-1978
No quarterback in NFL history has more passing and more rushing yards than Fran Tarkenton, who led the Vikings to three Super Bowls in 18 seasons. He earned the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 1975 and retired as the all-time record holder for quarterbacks in pass attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, rushing yards and victories.
11: Norm Van Brocklin, Quarterback/Punter, Los Angeles Rams/Philadelphia Eagles, 1949-1960
The only quarterback in NFL history to lead two different teams to an NFL championship (1951 Rams and 1960 Eagles), Norm Van Brocklin led the NFL in yards per attempt five times and passer rating twice. He holds the single-game record for passing yards (554) and also served as a punter for 10 of his 12 seasons in the NFL.
12: Tom Brady, Quarterback, New England Patriots, 2000-Present
Arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, there's nothing Tom Brady hasn't accomplished during his career. In his first four seasons, he led the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles, twice winning MVP honors. In his last nine seasons, he's earned two MVP Awards, one during a season where he threw 50 touchdowns and another during a year in which he posted a 36-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Brady has led the Patriots to at least 12 wins in eight different seasons, including a 16-0 finish in 2007, and he's tied for first with five Super Bowl appearances.
13: Dan Marino, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins, 1983-1999
You could still make an argument for Dan Marino's 1984 season as the best by a quarterback in NFL history. Marino completed 362 out of 564 passes for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns, good for a 108.9 passer rating. The completions, yards, touchdowns and passer rating were single-season records. During his 17 seasons, Marino threw for 61,361 yards and 420 touchdowns and led the league in lowest sack percentage 10 different times.
14: Don Hutson, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers, 1935-1945
The first great wide receiver, Don Hutson created many of the modern routes in today's NFL. He held virtually every single receiving record upon his retirement, including catches (488), yards (7991) and touchdowns (99). He finished first in receptions, yards or touchdowns 24 times in 11 seasons (and in the top three 32 of 33 times).
Hutson won the receiving Triple Crown five times, as many as every other receiver in NFL history combined. Twice, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player, and his 1942 season, in which he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and 17 touchdowns, is easily the most impressive year by any receiver ever.
Oh, and Hutson also intercepted 30 passes as a defensive back and served as the Packers' kicker for six seasons. He's probably the second-best all-around player in NFL history, trailing just Sammy Baugh.
15: Bart Starr, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers, 1956-1971
The only quarterback in the last 60 years to win five NFL championships, Bart Starr was a master of efficiency. He led the league in completion percentage three times, interception percentage three times, yards per attempt twice and passer rating three times. The league MVP in 1966, Starr has the highest postseason passer rating in NFL history.
16: Joe Montana, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers/Kansas City Chiefs, 1979-1994
No quarterback in NFL history played better in clutch situations than Joe Montana, who threw 11 touchdowns and posted a 127.8 passer rating in four Super Bowls. He was named the Most Valuable Player in three of those games and led a 92-yard game-winning drive in the final three minutes of the one game where he didn't win MVP.
Montana was selected as the league's Most Valuable Player in 1989 and 1990, and he overcame career-threatening injuries in both 1986 and 1990.
17: Harold Carmichael, Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles/Dallas Cowboys, 1971-1984
At 6'8'', Harold Carmichael was the tallest wide receiver in the history of the NFL. He used his massive size to reel in 79 touchdown catches with the Philadelphia Eagles. Upon retirement, he held the league record by catching a pass in 127 straight games.
18: Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts/Denver Broncos, 1998-Present
The most dominant regular-season quarterback ever, Peyton Manning has been selected the league's Most Valuable Player five times (and he probably should have won in 2005, 2006 and 2012). He's held the record for single-season passing yards, touchdowns and passer rating.
He started the first 208 games of his career. He's averaged 4,300 passing yards and 33 touchdowns per season since he entered the NFL in 1998. He's led the Colts and Broncos into the postseason 13 times, including three Super Bowl appearances and a victory (and MVP) in Super Bowl XLI.
19: Johnny Unitas, Quarterback, Baltimore Colts/San Diego Chargers, 1956-1973
Johnny U led the NFL in every passing category at least once throughout his career, winning league MVP honors in 1959, 1964 and 1967. He set a record by throwing a touchdown pass in 47 straight games and led the Colts to a dramatic victory in the 1958 NFL Championship Game, widely regarded as the greatest game ever played. Sporting News named him the greatest quarterback of all-time in 2004.