All-time defensive players:

Safeties

5) Carnell Lake  4) Donnie Shell  3) Kenny Easley  2) Jack Tatum  1) Ronnie Lott

Cornerback

5) Darryl Green  4) Mel Blount  3) Michael Haynes  2) Champ Bailey  1) Rod Woodson

(note: Deion Sanders does not make my list because he was too scared to tackle a cheerleader.  You can’t tackle, you’re not a real defender in my book.  Great cover corner, but not a well-rounded football player)

Outside Linebackers

5) Kevin Greene  4) Greg Lloyd  3) Derrick Thomas  2) Jack Hamm  1) Lawrence Taylor

Inside Linebackers

5) Chris Spielman  4) Harry Carson  3) Jessie Tuggle  2) Jack Lambert  1) Ray Lewis

Defensive/Nose Tackles

5) Lyle Alzado  4) Fred Smerlas 3) Randy White 2) Joe Klecko 1) Joe Green

Defensive Ends

5) Richard Dent  4) Howie Long  3) Lee Roy Selmon  2) Bruce Smith  1) Reggie White

All-time greats, continued:

Tackles

5) Art Shell  4) Erik Williams  3) Jonathan Ogden 2) Anthony Munoz  1) Tony Boselli

Guards

5) Bruce Matthews 4) Russ Grimm 3) Alan Faneca 2) Larry Allen  1) John Hannah

Centers

5) Dwight Stephenson  4) Dave Dalby  3) Jeff Van Note  2) Mike Webster  1) Dermonti Dawson

The offensive linemen don’t get the glory of a quarterback, and unlike defensive players who get their names called every time they make a play, o-linemen only get announced when they make a mistake.  But people who know football know that games are won and lost by these men.  The team whose offensive line better controls the line of scrimmage is usually the team that wins the game.  The guys I’ve listed here are the ones who I feel were the best to play their individual positions.  There are a lot of great lineman I left off who probably deserve to be on here, guys like Randy Cross and Gary Zimmerman, but I wanted to narrow it down to five at each position.

My all-time favorite players by position, continued (Again, only players I’ve seen play, and based on how much I have enjoyed watching them play):

Wide Receivers

5) John Stallworth  4) Hines Ward  3) Steve Largeant  2) Art Monk  1) Jerry Rice

Tight Ends

5) Kellen Winslow, Sr.  4) Mark Bavaro  3) Eric Green  2) Jason Witten 1) Ozzie Newsome

Fullbacks

5) John Alstott  4) Tom Rathman 3) Darryl Johnston  2) Franco Harris  1) Lorenzo Neal

Running Backs

5) Emmitt Smith 4) Eric Dickerson  3) Curtis Martin  2) Barry Sanders  1) Walter Payton

Quarterbacks

5) Terry Bradshaw  4) Dan Marino  3) Brett Favre  2) Peyton Manning  1) Joe Montana