Top Three NFL Players at Every Position, Ranked

Quarterback

1. 1Tom Brady. Seven Super Bowl wins and five Super Bowl MVPs, 649 regular-season touchdown passes, and 5,316 passing yards in 2021 at age 44. He played 23 seasons, 2000 through 2022.
2. 2Joe Montana. Four Super Bowl wins, three Super Bowl MVPs, and a 4-0 record in Super Bowls.
3. 3Peyton Manning. Five AP MVP awards, 539 touchdown passes, and 55 in 2013, which is still the single-season record. Two Super Bowl wins.

Also considered: Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, and the still-active Patrick Mahomes.

Running Back

1. 1Jim Brown. 12,312 rushing yards in nine seasons at 5.2 yards a carry, and the NFL rushing leader in eight of those nine years. He left after the 1965 season.
2. 2Walter Payton. 16,726 rushing yards and the 1977 AP MVP, in 13 seasons and 190 games.
3. 3Emmitt Smith. 18,355 rushing yards and 164 rushing touchdowns, three Super Bowl wins, and the 1993 AP MVP.

Also considered: Barry Sanders, who topped 1,000 yards in all ten of his seasons and ran for 2,053 in 1997.

Wide Receiver

1. 1Jerry Rice. 1,549 catches, 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns, all NFL records, plus three Super Bowl wins and the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII.
2. 2Randy Moss. 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns, including a record 23 in 2007. Hall of Fame class of 2018.
3. 3Terrell Owens. 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, from 1996 through 2010.

Also considered: Calvin Johnson, whose 1,964 yards in 2012 is the single-season record. He played nine seasons and finished with 11,619 career yards.

Tight End

1. 1Tony Gonzalez. 1,325 catches and 15,127 yards, both tight end records, 14 Pro Bowls and six first-team All-Pro nods over 17 seasons. Hall of Fame class of 2019.
2. 2Rob Gronkowski. Four Super Bowl wins and four first-team All-Pro seasons, with 92 touchdown catches in 143 games, roughly two for every three games he played.
3. 3Travis Kelce. Still active: four first-team All-Pro seasons, three Super Bowl wins and five Super Bowl appearances, with 13,248 receiving yards through the early weeks of the 2026 season.

Gronkowski edges Kelce on touchdown rate and peak dominance. Kelce is still adding to his case, so expect this order to be revisited.

Offensive Line

1. 1Anthony Muñoz. Thirteen seasons, all with Cincinnati, with 11 Pro Bowls and nine first-team All-Pro selections. Hall of Fame class of 1998.
2. 2Jonathan Ogden. Eleven Pro Bowls in 12 seasons, four first-team All-Pro seasons, and a Super Bowl win with the Ravens. The fourth overall pick in 1996.
3. 3Larry Allen. Eleven Pro Bowls and six straight first-team All-Pro seasons, 1996 through 2001, while playing right tackle, right guard, left tackle and left guard.

The case for Muñoz over Ogden is nine first-team selections to four. 17-0 treats the offensive line as one slot, so we did the same.

Edge Rusher

1. 1Lawrence Taylor. 142 career sacks in Pro-Football-Reference’s count, of which 132.5 are official; the other 9.5 came in his 1981 rookie year, before the league tracked sacks. He was the 1986 AP MVP, won three Defensive Player of the Year awards, was a first-team All-Pro eight times, and won two Super Bowls.
2. 2Reggie White. 198 sacks, eight first-team All-Pro seasons, two AP Defensive Player of the Year awards and a Super Bowl win.
3. 3Bruce Smith. 200 career sacks, the most of anyone, over 19 seasons, with eight first-team All-Pro selections and two AP Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Also considered: Deacon Jones, credited with 173.5 sacks before the stat became official in 1982. Smith has more sacks than Taylor; we gave Taylor the edge for peak.

Defensive Tackle

1. 1Aaron Donald. 111 sacks from the interior in 156 games, three AP Defensive Player of the Year awards (2017, 2018, 2020) and eight first-team All-Pro selections through 2023. He retired after that season and returned to the Rams for 2026, so his totals are still moving.
2. 2Joe Greene. Four Super Bowl wins as a player, Defensive Player of the Year in 1972 and 1974, and five first-team All-Pro seasons with Pittsburgh.
3. 3Bob Lilly. Eleven Pro Bowls and seven first-team All-Pro selections over 14 seasons in Dallas, after being drafted 13th overall in 1961.

Linebacker

1. 1Ray Lewis. Seventeen seasons, all with Baltimore, with 2,059 tackles, seven first-team All-Pro seasons, two Defensive Player of the Year awards (2000, 2003), and the MVP of Super Bowl XXXV.
2. 2Dick Butkus. Eight Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro seasons in just nine years, with 22 interceptions and 27 fumble recoveries.
3. 3Mike Singletary. Ten Pro Bowls, seven first-team All-Pro seasons, two Defensive Player of the Year awards (1985, 1988) and the heart of the Bears team that won Super Bowl XX.

Cornerback

1. 1Deion Sanders. 53 interceptions for 1,331 return yards, six first-team All-Pro seasons, the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year, and Super Bowl wins with San Francisco and Dallas. He is the only athlete to have played in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
2. 2Rod Woodson. 71 interceptions, the third most in NFL history, six first-team All-Pro seasons, the 1993 Defensive Player of the Year, and a spot on the All-1990s team. He moved to safety late in his career.
3. 3Mel Blount. 57 interceptions, four Super Bowl wins and the 1975 Defensive Player of the Year with the Steelers.

Also considered: Darrelle Revis, with four first-team All-Pro seasons in an 11-year career. His case rests on peak shutdown play more than counting stats.

Safety

1. 1Ronnie Lott. 63 interceptions, four Super Bowl wins, and first-team All-Pro at cornerback (1981), free safety (1986, 1987, 1989, 1990) and strong safety (1991).
2. 2Ed Reed. 64 interceptions, plus nine more in the playoffs, the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, and five first-team All-Pro seasons.
3. 3Troy Polamalu. The 2010 Defensive Player of the Year, four first-team All-Pro seasons, two Super Bowl wins with the Steelers, and a first-year Hall of Fame election in 2020.