QB - Peyton Manning: The best pure passer of my lifetime, with this supporting cast he wouldn't have any trouble winning in the playoffs.
RB - Terrell Davis: It didn't last long, but when he was healthy Davis was a faster, more powerful, and all-around better version of Emmitt Smith. Davis had a three-year run where he posted regular season rushing totals of 1,538; 1,750; and 2,008 yards.
RB - Marshall Faulk: In his prime with the Rams, there was no more complete offensive player that I've ever seen. He could have been an All-Pro wideout, but also ran for 1,300 yards per season for the Greatest Show on Turf. In one of those years he even tallied 1,048 receiving yards. During this stretch, he registered a jaw dropping 5.5 yard per carry average.
WR - Jerry Rice: Simply the best of all time, think what he would do with the robotic accuracy of Manning.
WR - Randy Moss: Rice was the GOAT, but Moss is the best deep threat of all-time and an unbelievable red zone target.
WR - Wes Welker: A relatively new, vogue NFL creation, the slot receiver, Welker is immaculate as an underneath, jitterbug target.
TE - Tony Gonzalez: Hands softer than a baby's bottom, sweet routes, and great size, Gonzalez is the best tight end ever.
LT - Anthony Munoz: With the best offensive lineman of all time to keep Manning clean the results are frightening.
LG - Larry Allen: The most dominant guard I've ever seen was rumored to once have bench pressed 700 pounds. He also gets points because if I saw this guy coming toward me in a dark alley, I'd run faster than Usain Bolt in the other direction.
C - Kevin Mawae: Toughness personified and a hell of a run and pass blocker, this is a guy who just didn't make mistakes, an absolute rock.
RG - Bruce Matthews: He played every position on the offensive line and made 14 Pro Bowls, 9 at guard, which is where he plays for me.
RT - Jonathan Ogden: Normally a left tackle, everything came easy to the best lineman of his generation. The 6'9", 340-pound Ogden was peerless when he played, and absolutely nobody got by him.
Defense
DE - Lawrence Taylor: Out of position maybe, but this guy probably could have excelled as a cornerback. I put him at end because I want the most purely dominant pass rusher ever going after the quarterback every snap.
DT - Reggie White: Normally an end, but at 6'5", 300 pounds and with Superman strength, White easily could have played tackle and been the best interior pass rushing presence ever. Also, he'd consistently blow up the run in the backfield.
DT - Haloti Ngata: An immovable object at 6'4" and 340 pounds, but for his size, Ngata ranks as one of the best athletes of all time. Next to White, Ngata is the enormous wall of a man you need to occupy blocks, but he can do so much more than that.
DE - Deacon Jones: To some, this is the greatest pass rusher ever, but he played in a time when sacks were a bit fuzzy in the way they were recorded. At his time he was the most athletic end in the league, reminiscent of today's DeMarcus Ware or Jevon Kearse types. Jones also revolutionized an infamous head slap move to beat his man.
OLB - Derrick Brooks: One of the most instinctive players of all-time, Brooks was a tackling machine just as likely to sniff out the run as he was to read an underneath route and intercept a pass.
DT - Reggie White: Normally an end, but at 6'5", 300 pounds and with Superman strength, White easily could have played tackle and been the best interior pass rushing presence ever. Also, he'd consistently blow up the run in the backfield.
DT - Haloti Ngata: An immovable object at 6'4" and 340 pounds, but for his size, Ngata ranks as one of the best athletes of all time. Next to White, Ngata is the enormous wall of a man you need to occupy blocks, but he can do so much more than that.
DE - Deacon Jones: To some, this is the greatest pass rusher ever, but he played in a time when sacks were a bit fuzzy in the way they were recorded. At his time he was the most athletic end in the league, reminiscent of today's DeMarcus Ware or Jevon Kearse types. Jones also revolutionized an infamous head slap move to beat his man.
OLB - Derrick Brooks: One of the most instinctive players of all-time, Brooks was a tackling machine just as likely to sniff out the run as he was to read an underneath route and intercept a pass.
MLB - Ray Lewis: The best middle linebacker I have ever seen, Lewis has range sideline to sideline, a great knack for intercepting the ball, is a devastating hitter, and would be the heart and soul of my team.
OLB - Dick Butkus: Displaced from the middle because though he was a devastating tackler, he was also essentially another safety on the field with his pass coverage skills. He intercepted 5 passes his rookie year alone.
CB - Deion Sanders: I'm trusting this front seven to stop the run, so Prime Time won't even have to worry about making a tackle. And if his sole responsibility is coverage, you can forget about throwing to his side of the field. Sanders was the most dynamic athlete ever to play the position; took risks without ever getting beat; and once he picked off a ball, he was usually headed to the end zone.
CB - Rod Woodson: Though maybe a shade worse than Sanders in coverage, Woodson hit like a safety and also had 71 career interceptions, which rank 3rd all-time.
FS - Troy Polamalu: I thought about Ed Reed here, but there isn't a player in the NFL teams have to gameplan more for than the do-everything Polamalu. This tackling machine brings 4.3 speed, top-level ball hawking skills, and unprecedented range to the safety position.
SS - Ronnie Lott: A player who had the speed of a corner, hit like a linebacker, and played every position in the secondary, Lott was the best safety of all time.
OLB - Dick Butkus: Displaced from the middle because though he was a devastating tackler, he was also essentially another safety on the field with his pass coverage skills. He intercepted 5 passes his rookie year alone.
CB - Deion Sanders: I'm trusting this front seven to stop the run, so Prime Time won't even have to worry about making a tackle. And if his sole responsibility is coverage, you can forget about throwing to his side of the field. Sanders was the most dynamic athlete ever to play the position; took risks without ever getting beat; and once he picked off a ball, he was usually headed to the end zone.
CB - Rod Woodson: Though maybe a shade worse than Sanders in coverage, Woodson hit like a safety and also had 71 career interceptions, which rank 3rd all-time.
FS - Troy Polamalu: I thought about Ed Reed here, but there isn't a player in the NFL teams have to gameplan more for than the do-everything Polamalu. This tackling machine brings 4.3 speed, top-level ball hawking skills, and unprecedented range to the safety position.
SS - Ronnie Lott: A player who had the speed of a corner, hit like a linebacker, and played every position in the secondary, Lott was the best safety of all time.
Special Teams
K - Adam Vinatieri: Though not the most accurate in history, Vinatieri is the best clutch kicker of all-time by far.
P - Shane Lechler: The all time leader in yard per punt (47.3) is the man for the job.
KR - Devin Hester and Dante Hall: Because I can't pick one, and it's my list dammit! Hester is history's most prolific returner, but for a brief time Hall was the most exciting. The Barry Sanders of returning kicks, Hall could stop on a dime and accelerate like a Ferrari.
--from @AdamHocking
P - Shane Lechler: The all time leader in yard per punt (47.3) is the man for the job.
KR - Devin Hester and Dante Hall: Because I can't pick one, and it's my list dammit! Hester is history's most prolific returner, but for a brief time Hall was the most exciting. The Barry Sanders of returning kicks, Hall could stop on a dime and accelerate like a Ferrari.
--from @AdamHocking
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