Hall of Fame inductee Gil Brandt ranks all-time top 10 at every position
Is anyone alive more qualified to pick an all-time National Football League team than Gil Brandt? The Class of 2019 Pro Football Hall of Famer will be inducted at Canton
this weekend along with Champ Bailey, Pat Bowlen, Tony Gonzalez, Ty Law, Kevin Mawae, Ed Reed and Johnny Robinson.
As a boy growing up in Wisconsin, Brandt’s favorite player was Don Hutson of Curly Lambeau’s Green Bay Packers. Hutson was a charter Hall of Fame enshrinee in 1963.
Brandt was working as an NFL scout by the 1950s. He became co-architect of a Dallas Cowboys team that got to five Super Bowls. He has kept a close connection to the game and everyone in it into his 60s, 70s and now 80s. His is one of the most conspicuous faces at every Super Bowl and every Combine.
Brandt’s most recent big project, via NFL.com, was ranking the best players in NFL history at every position. He began the endeavor in 2017 and completed it in 2018. His lists went much deeper than a top 10, but in the interest of space, we offer Brandt’s top 10s at each position.
Quarterbacks
Top 10: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Otto Graham, John Elway, Roger Staubach, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Troy Aikman.
Wide Receivers
Top 10: Jerry Rice, Don Hutson, Randy Moss, Lance Allworth, Antonio Brown, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Bob Hayes, Cris Carter. Tight Ends
Top 10: Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow, John Mackey, Jason Witten, Dave Casper, Rob Gronkowski, Mike Ditka, Antonio Gates, Charlie Sanders, Ozzie Newsome.
Note: Gonzalez joins Brandt in the Class of 2019. Running Backs
Top 10: Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Gale Sayers, Bo Jackson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, O.J. Simpson.
Offensive Tackles
Top 10: Jim Parker, Jonathan Ogden, Anthony Munoz, Walter Jones, Ron Yary, Forrest Gregg, Joe Thomas, Mike McCormack, Joe Stydahar, Rayfield Wright.
Guards
Top 10: John Hannah, Gene Upshaw, Bruce Matthews, Tom Mack, Mike Munchak, Larry Allen, Randall McDaniel, Joe DeLamielleure, Larry Little, Dick Stanfel.
Centers
Top 10: Jim Otto, Chuck Bednarik, Mel Hein, Dwight Stephenson, Bulldog Turner, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson, Frank Gatski, Alex Mack, Jim Ringo.
Defensive Ends
Top 10: Reggie White, Deacon Jones, Bruce Smith, Gino Marchetti, Doug Atkins, Lee Roy Selmon, J.J. Watt, Jack Youngblood, Michael Strahan, Carl Eller.
Defensive Tackles
Top 10: Bob Lilly, Joe Greene, Merlin Olsen, Randy White, Warren Sapp, Arnie Weinmeister, Cortez Kennedy, Buck Buchanon, John Randle, Curley Culp
Linebackers
Top 10: Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Thomas, Dick Butkus, Ted Hendricks, Derrick Brooks, Bobby Bell, Bill George, Chuck Howley, Jack Ham, Joe Schmidt.
Cornerbacks
Top 10: Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Mike Haynes, Charles Woodson, Willie Brown, Mel Blount, Aenas Williams, Darrell Green, Richard Sherman, Mel Renfro. Safeties
Top 10: Emlen Tunnell, Ken Houston, Ronnie Lott, Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, Yale Lary, Cliff Harris, Jack Christiansen, Willie Wood, Larry Wilson.
Note: Reed joins Brandt in the Class of 2019. Kickers
Top 10: Justin Tucker, Adam Vinatieri, Morten Andersen, Jason Hanson, Gary Anderson, Jan Stenerud, Stephen Gostkowski, Lou Groza, George Blanda, Jim Bakken.
Punters
Top 10: Shane Lechler, Yale Lary, Ray Guy, Sammy Baugh, Sean Landeta, Jerrel Wilson, Reggie Roby, Johnny Hekker, Andy Lee, Pat McAfee.
(The Canton Repository/TNS)