Twenty-seven players, seven decades, and the numbers that make the case for each.
This guide follows the same seven eras the 17-0 player pool uses, one per calendar decade, and places each player in the decade where most of his peak fell. We kept the commentary short and the numbers checkable. When a player is in the 17-0 pool, we list the card (team and era) he appears on, so you can see where he turns up in a draft. A few legends below, including Johnny Unitas, Earl Campbell and Willie Brown, are not in the pool at the time of writing.
Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, a 35-10 game between the champions of two separate leagues. The AFL and NFL played as one league starting with the 1970 season. Sacks were not an official statistic, which is why the numbers for pass rushers from this decade are later tallies.
Three-time AP MVP (1959, 1964, 1967) who retired with 290 touchdown passes. Hall of Fame, 1979.
He ran for 12,312 yards at 5.2 yards a carry in nine seasons (1957 to 1965) and led the league in rushing in eight of them. He walked away in 1966, at 30, after his last season as the league's leading rusher.
In 17-0: Browns, 1960s.
He is credited with coining the word "sack." Pro-Football-Reference's retroactive count gives him 173.5 for his career and 22.0 in both 1964 and 1968, and he was a first-team All-Pro five straight years (1965 to 1969).
In 17-0: Rams, 1960s, as an edge rusher.
He played 16 seasons (1963 to 1978), the last twelve with Oakland, and finished with 54 regular-season interceptions. His 75-yard interception return for a touchdown sealed Super Bowl XI. Hall of Fame, 1984.
The Steelers won four Super Bowls in the decade (after the 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 seasons), and Miami went unbeaten in 1972, a team we rank in our greatest teams list.
He won two Super Bowls and threw 153 career touchdown passes. Counting the playoffs, he led 15 fourth-quarter comebacks and 23 game-winning drives. His last season was 1979.
In 17-0: Cowboys, 1970s.
The first pick of the 1978 draft, listed at 5-11 and 232 pounds. He was the 1978 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and AP Offensive Player of the Year, and the 1979 AP MVP. He led the league in rushing with 1,934 yards in 1980 and was a three-time AP Offensive Player of the Year. Hall of Fame, 1991.
He was the MVP of Super Bowl X, with 4 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown in a 21-17 win over Dallas. He won four Super Bowls in nine seasons and entered the Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 17-0: Steelers, 1970s.
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1974 and Defensive Player of the Year in 1976. He made nine straight Pro Bowls (1975 to 1983), won four Super Bowls, and played all 11 of his seasons in Pittsburgh. Hall of Fame, 1990.
In 17-0: Steelers, 1970s.
The NFL began counting sacks officially in 1982, so Lawrence Taylor's 1981 rookie year is a retroactive tally. San Francisco won Super Bowls after the 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons, the Bears after 1985 and the Giants after 1986.
Four Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl MVPs. In Super Bowl XXIII he led a 92-yard drive in the closing minutes, finished by a 10-yard touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left, for a 20-16 win. Hall of Fame, 2000.
In 17-0: 49ers, 1980s, and also Chiefs, 1990s.
16,726 rushing yards and 110 rushing touchdowns, over 190 games in 13 seasons (1975 to 1987). He was the AP MVP in 1977 and ran for 1,551 yards in the Bears' 1985 season. Hall of Fame, 1993.
In 17-0: Bears, 1970s and Bears, 1980s.
Drafted 16th overall in 1985. He retired after 2004 with 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards and 197 receiving touchdowns across 20 seasons, and three Super Bowl wins. Hall of Fame, 2010. His 1989 season is on our greatest teams list: 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns.
In 17-0: 49ers, 1980s and 49ers, 1990s.
The 1986 AP MVP, when he had 20.5 sacks and 105 tackles. No defensive player had won the award since Alan Page in 1971, and none has won it since. He was a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year (1981, 1982, 1986), won two Super Bowls, and finished with 142 sacks by Pro-Football-Reference's count. Hall of Fame, 1999.
In 17-0: Giants, 1980s and Giants, 1990s.
The Cowboys won three Super Bowls (the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons), the 49ers took the 1994 title, and Denver won back-to-back (1997 and 1998).
He started 10 games in his first four 49ers seasons (1987 to 1990), then took over. In 1994 he threw 35 touchdown passes, ran for 293 yards, and then went 24-of-36 for 325 yards and six touchdowns (a 134.8 rating) in a 49-26 win over San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX. Hall of Fame, 2005.
In 17-0: 49ers, 1990s.
He retired in 1999, at 31, with 15,269 rushing yards on 3,062 carries, a 5.0 average. That left him 1,457 yards short of Walter Payton's career record. He played ten seasons, all in Detroit, and the Lions never reached a Super Bowl in that span.
In 17-0: Lions, 1990s.
He played for Atlanta (1989 to 1993), San Francisco (1994), Dallas (1995 to 1999), Washington (2000) and Baltimore (2004 to 2005). He was the 1994 AP Defensive Player of the Year, won Super Bowls with San Francisco and then Dallas, and finished with 53 interceptions.
In 17-0: Falcons, 1990s.
He intercepted 71 passes, third on the all-time list, across 17 seasons (1987 to 2003) with Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Baltimore and Oakland. He made 11 Pro Bowls and the Hall of Fame's All-1990s Team, moved from cornerback to safety in 1999 at age 34, and won Super Bowl XXXV with Baltimore at 35.
In 17-0: Steelers, 1990s, as a cornerback.
New England won Super Bowls after the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, Indianapolis after 2006, and Baltimore after 2000, with a defense that allowed 165 points, the fewest in a 16-game season. The quarterback rivalry gets the attention, but half the players below are defenders.
Five AP MVP awards (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013). His 2004 season produced 4,557 yards, 49 touchdowns and a 121.1 passer rating, the third-best single-season rating ever recorded. He was the MVP of Super Bowl XLI. Hall of Fame, 2021.
In 17-0: Colts, 2000s and Broncos, 2010s.
As a rookie in 1998 he had 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns. In 2007 he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns, one more than Jerry Rice's previous single-season record. Hall of Fame, 2018.
In 17-0: Vikings, 1990s and Patriots, 2000s.
Drafted 11th overall in 2002, he finished with 125.5 sacks in 16 seasons and won a Super Bowl. Seven Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pro selections, and Hall of Fame class of 2024.
In 17-0: Colts, 2000s.
The MVP of Super Bowl XXXV and the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003. He played 228 games over 17 seasons (1996 to 2012), made 12 Pro Bowls, and won two Super Bowls. Hall of Fame, 2018.
In 17-0: Ravens, 1990s, Ravens, 2000s and Ravens, 2010s.
Three of the most extreme single-season marks in the sport came from this decade: Aaron Rodgers's 122.5 passer rating (2011), Calvin Johnson's 1,964 receiving yards (2012) and Peyton Manning's 55 touchdown passes (2013). A decade that offense-friendly also produced a defense that allowed the fewest points in the league and then beat that Manning offense 43-8.
He won AP MVP awards in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021 and the MVP of Super Bowl XLV. His 122.5 rating in 2011 is the highest single-season mark in league history, with his own 121.5 in 2020 second.
In 17-0: Packers, 2000s and Packers, 2010s (and Jets, 2020s).
In 2011 he caught 90 passes for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns, and led the league in touchdown catches. He was a four-time first-team All-Pro (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017) and won four Super Bowls, three with New England and one with Tampa Bay.
In 17-0: Patriots, 2010s.
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2020. A first-team All-Pro eight times, he has 111 career sacks, remarkable for an interior lineman. His Super Bowl win (LVI) came after the 2021 season.
In 17-0: Rams, 2010s and Rams, 2020s.
He led the NFL with 8 interceptions in 2013 and was a first-team All-Pro in 2012, 2013 and 2014. In the 2013 NFC Championship Game he deflected a pass that Malcolm Smith intercepted, sealing a 23-17 win that sent Seattle to the Super Bowl.
In 17-0: Seahawks, 2010s.
This decade is only partly written, so treat this section as a snapshot. Everything below is through the 2025 season.
Two AP MVP awards (2018, 2022) and three Super Bowl wins with three Super Bowl MVPs (the 2019, 2022 and 2023 seasons). In 2018 he threw 50 touchdown passes, tying Tom Brady's 2007 total for the second-most ever behind Manning's 55.
In 17-0: Chiefs, 2010s and Chiefs, 2020s.
He holds the record for receiving yards through a player's first two seasons (3,016) and first three (4,825). His 1,809 yards in 2022 led the league and won him Offensive Player of the Year, but that is not the single-season record: Calvin Johnson's 1,964 in 2012 still is.
In 17-0: Vikings, 2020s.
In 2025 he recorded 23 sacks, the most in a season since the league began counting them officially in 1982, passing Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021) at 22.5. He was the AP Defensive Player of the Year that season and in 2023, and finished 2025 with 125.5 career sacks.
In 17-0: Browns, 2010s and Browns, 2020s.
Several of these players appear on more than one card in 17-0, with a different team and era each time. Drafting Moss as a Vikings rookie and drafting him as a Patriot are different choices, which is the idea behind the game. For a different cut of the same names, see our position-by-position rankings.
Career totals, awards and single-season figures come from Pro-Football-Reference player and season pages and its single-season leaderboards. Hall of Fame years, Willie Brown's Super Bowl XI return, Swann's Super Bowl X line and Montana's three Super Bowl MVPs were checked against the Pro Football Hall of Fame; the Super Bowl XXIX line comes from the Pro-Football-Reference box score. "Retroactive" sack counts are Pro-Football-Reference's, which marks every total before 1982 as unofficial.
Corrections to an earlier version of this article: