Best Receiver of Each of the Decades

OPINION
By John Turney

Recently we did a series of posts detailing who we think were the top players in each decade and each mid-decade (beginning and ending in the middle of a decade). They can be found HERE.

Then we expanded it to offensive and defensive linemen and defensive backs afre upcoming.

Now, here are the receivers, (ends, tight ends, wide receivers all grouped together). We begin with 1935-45, the first full "decade" that receiving stats were available.

Don Hutson was so far ahead of the game it was ridiculous. Jim Benton was the only guy close and there was a big gap between him and Hutson. Perhaps Benton deserves a long look for the Centennial Class of the Hall of Fame.

Pete Pihos, who was also a fine defense end was the next consistently great receiver. He was an end, usually tight, but all of the ends back then were.

The 1950s was tough because there were guys who flashed and then disappeared. Hirsch was fairly consistent, but he had one MVP-type year then nothing else close. Billy Howton had two monster years then little else close

Lance Alworth was an easy choice for the 1960s. John Mackey was the next-most impactful receiver of that decade.

Harold Jackson does not get a lot of love, but from 1969-81 he led the NFL in receptions, yards, touchdowns and was fifth in yards per catch. He also led the NFL from 1970-79 in same categories. Drew Pearson was a big-play receiver from his rookie year to the end.

Steve Largent was excellent every year from 1975-85. Lynn Swann's skills were a big part of the Steelers offense and were key to their wins. He had a short prime (career ended after 1982) but his impact was felt—especially in Super Bowls X, XIII, and XIV.

For the 1980s the biggest deal was Kellen Winslow who changed the game as part of Air Coryell. Again, another player who had injuries cut into production but we go by impact and peak performance not just stats. James Lofton takes the next spot, he was a throwback to the deep receivers of the 1950s-70s.

Jerry Rice dominates from mid-1980s through the 1990s. Sterling Sharpe and Cris Carter back him up, but they were not that close.

For the mid-90s to mid-00s Marvin Harrison takes the top slot and we are going with Ike Bruce behind him though Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are qualified. Ike's ring helped make the decision.

For the 2000s Randy Moss ranks first then T.O. was next. 

Megatron was the "next great thing" and he's number one from 2005-15 and his runner up was Larry Fitzgerald.

For the 2010s the receiver with the most impact was tight end Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown us next. Julio Jones is an honorable mention and is very close to Brown but Brown's numbers exceed Jones by enough to make a difference. However, since there is one year left in the 2010s we reserve the right to change if Jones has a monster year and maybe Brown disappoints.

Offensive and Defensive Linemen of the Decades

OPINION
By John Turney

Recently we did a series of posts detailing who we think were the top players in each decade and each mid-decade (beginning and ending in the middle of a decade). They can be found HERE.

Now, and we know you were dying to see them, we present the top linemen of the decades. We start with the offensive linemen and then add separate defensive linemen as the historical record becomes clear enough with the available film and the literature of the day,  et al.

Here are our offensive line picks:

Duke Slater and George Trafton are honorable mentions for the 1920s. It was close but all were solid. We are hoping Slater will be able to be elected to the Hall of Fame next year in the newly announced "Centennial Class" which should bring into the Hall many players who have been overlooked.

Duke Slater

Ox Emerson deserves an honorable mention for the 1930s he was a top, if not the top blocker on a line that set rushing records that lasted until the 1970s. Like Slater, we are hoping the voters for the "Centennial Class" look his way. Hein and Turk Edwards were the top two linemen in our view.

Ox Emerson

Mel Hein is the top blocker for two time frames and Danny Fortmann and Al Wistert are his runners up.

Mel Hein

Rosey Brown was easy for the 1950s and Dick Stanfel was second, edging teammate Lou Creekmur who is an honorable mention. There were other good ones but Brown stands out in our view.

Rosey Brown

Rosey Brown backups up Jim Parker for 1955-65 and Forrest Gregg and Ron Mix take to the slots for the sixties.

Ron Mix

Jim Otto is an honorable mention for the 1960s. For 1965 to 1975 we had a lot of contenders. Jim Tyrer and Gene Hickerson and Gene Upshaw get honorable mentions.

Hannah edged Joe DeLamielleure and Yary, Shell, Langer and others in the 1970s. It was a very competitive decade. Doug Wilkerson and Ed White get honorable mentions for 1975-85.

Munoz and Stephenson just dominate the 1980s. Stephenson has a slightly higher "peak" but Munoz was healthier and kept his ranks high the whole decade. Finding a runner up was difficult but with Jackie Slater having an amazing year in 1980 and then being the NFC Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1983, 1986, 1987, and 1989 help him take the nod over Mike Kenn and Joe Jacoby.

John Hannah

Gary Zimmerman is an honorable mention behind the two Oilers from 1985-95. Larry Allen, who was close to being the runner-up in the 1990s is a runner-up because McDaniel played longer and at a high level, though Allen's peak was higher.

Zach Martin has been in our top 5 every year since 2014 and has been #1 a couple of times and top 3 other years. Smith has had some great years but has been nagged by injuries in a couple of others so the inconsistency put him at the runner-up spot. Marshal Yanda is an honorable mention.

Here are the defensive line picks:

Hewitt was known for his defense as much as offense in his career. "Tarzan" Christensen was part of the good Lions offenses and defenses of the 1930s.

Bruiser Kinard

Bruiser Kinard was a great Hall of Fame two-way tackle who takes our top slot for 1935-45. Paul Zimmerman thought Dick Plasman was worthy of the Hall of Fame. "Dick Plasman, 6'4", 220 pounds, helmetless, ferocious on his blocks, a great pass rusher and a receiver, too. The guy was terrific, a force out there, and then I remembered that Plasman was the last guy to play without a helmet", wrote Zim.  Jim Poole was a fine two-way end and was received post-season honors in four seasons and missed three seasons due to WWII.

Dick Plasman

For the 1940s we depart for form and pick someone who only had three seasons of service in the 1940s. Al Blozis was better than anyone we've seen on film in that era. And since we picked a short-career guy for the top slot we are going with Dick Huffman as the runner up. He also has a short career in the 1940s and then went to Canada. So, the 1940s were our "cop out" decade but we picked the two best linemen of the period.

Al Blozis

We also give Al Wistert an honorable mention for the 1940s. George Allen called him "one of the first great pass rushers". He was quick and used his hands and if we'd gone with longevity over peak, he likely would be one of the top two defensive linemen of the 1940s (he was already the runner-up as an offensive lineman).

Arnie Weinmeister

From 1945-55 not only did Bill Willis and Arnie Weinmeister had tons of honors they were the best two players on film that we've seen. Weinmeister, as we've written before, was listed as a tackle and we usually follow suit, but he was more technically a defensive end, or at least that is what he'd be called in today's verbiage. Ed Sprinkle gets an honorable mention for that period.

Gino Marchetti did well enough as a rookie in 1952 (then was offensive linemen in 1953) to warrant honorable mention for the 1950s but the consistency of Nomellini and the peak of Ford make them first and second and Marchetti is the honorable mention. We also give Gene Brito an honorable mention as well.

From 1955-65 two Giant ends Jim Katcavage and Andy Robustelli deserve honorable mention as does Big Daddy Lipscomb. Lipscomb, when motivated could be great but too often, especially early in his career could loaf and it shows on film.

Of course, the top two linemen are Marchetti and Doug Atkins who was just coming into his own around 1957.

Tom Sestak

The AFL's Tom Sestak is an honorable mention for the 1960s. Knee injuries dogged him into an early retirement but at his peak he was great. Willie Davis, Doug Atkins, and Alex Karras would also merit mention in the sixties.

But the top players—Deacon Jones and Bob Lilly were simply a cut above. And Merlin Olsen was the closest to them.

Carl Eller

From 1965-75 Olsen was the top defensive lineman, making Pro Bowls (and deserved them) through 1975. Lilly tailed off in 1973 and 1974 as he was taken out on passing downs. Lilly told us "I don't know why. I was a better pass rusher than run player at that stage of my career". But Tom Landry thought different and was bringing in "wave" rushers Harvey Martin, Bill Gregory and Ed Jones for the starters in that era.

Carl Eller, whose "decade" would be 1966-75 make him an honorable mention in that time frame. He got some sort of postseason honors every year from in that decade and had good years in 1976 and 1977, too.

Jack Youngblood was the top defensive end of the 1970s but Greene and Page edged him out for the top two slots. Like Eller, Youngblood's excellence continued past his "decade". Youngblood was top notch in 1980-81 an then in a 3-4 defense he was a top 10 DE in 1983 and 1984.

We are going to give  Fred Dean an honorable mention for 1975-85. He was a very good end with the Chargers and played All-Pro-type football from 1977-80 with them, then in 1981 he was the NFC Defensive Player of the Year as a designated rusher and he also had a big year in 1983 in that role.

In the 1980s Fred Smerlas, Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko all are honorable mentions. Smerlas had played more games, started more games, made All-Pro and the Pro Bowl more than any pure 3-4 nose tackle ever. He was the prototype of the position for years. He was great in the early 1980s and then ended excellent as well.

Gastineau caught lots of criticism (deservedly so) for his lack of ability (desire) to play the run but he was a five-time All-Pro and led the decade in sacks with 105½. Klecko was All-Pro as a defensive end in 1981 and was All-Pro in 1985 as a nose tackle. He was not All-Pro as a defensive tackle but he was a Pro Bowler at that spot. However, due to injuries he missed a lot of time and was up and down in other years.

Chris Doleman's 1985-95 was good enough for a mention so was Ray Childress's. In the 1990s, again, Doleman was an honorable mention. Neil Smith, too. Cortez Kennedy and John Randle were honored a lot but both had flaws. However, when all things considered, they get an honorable mention. Warren Sapp is a high honorable mention behind Strahan and Bryant Young.

Justin Smith

For the 2000s we give Jason Taylor an honorable mention. For 2005-15 we will give Jared Allen and Haloti Ngata mention as well. For the current decade, we give an honorable mention to Geno Atkins.

Players of the Decade

REVIEW
By John Turney

Recently we made an effort to name the tops players for each decade and mid-decade going back to pre NFL times. Here is, in list form, our picks for Players of the Decade plus links to each story.

Here is the same chart horizontally
(Click to enlarge)

And here are links to the individual stories
1915-25
1920s
1925-35
1930s
1935-45
1940s
1945-55
1950s
1955-65
1960s
1965-75
1970s
1975-85
1980s
1985-95
1990s
1995-05
2000s
2005-15
2010s

Players of the Decade—2010s Thus Far

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the 18th in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95, the 1990s, 1995-05, 2000s, 2005-15, and now the current decade.

However, there is a caveat. We reserve the right to make changes after the 2019 season. These picks assume the chosen players will have good seasons, doing nothing to hurt their legacy. They do NOT assume an MVP or All-Pro season. With nine of the ten seasons in the bag, a good year cannot change much.

But if a player does have a bad year and he has someone close to him (in our view) the honorable mentions could move up. So, if Aaron Rodgers has a bad (for him season) and maybe Aaron Brown has a 130-catch, 1,800-yard, 15-TD season, maybe, just maybe he overtakes Rodgers.

So, with that explained here are the picks for the 2010s

2010s Player of the Decade
Tom Brady

Again, Brady is #1. He was First from 2005-2015 and second in the 2000s.

2010s Defensive Player of the Decade
J.J. Watt

Watt is an easy choice even with two seasons lost to injury. Three Defensive MVPs in a decade make his peak performance unparalleled by any other defender. If Aaron Donald wins his third Defensive MVP and Watt is out again, then we will revisit. But assuming both are good, Watt has this locked. He was just that much better than the field.

2010s Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Aaron Rodgers

Two MVPs and a ring plus great stats propel Aaron Rogers to the runner-up slot behind Brady. His star has been tarnished a bit in last year or two but he's been money all decade and he's one of the best quarterbacks we've seen, talent wise. He's like a more accurate John Elway in many ways. Big arm, good legs, comebacks, etc.

Rob Gronkowski is an honorable mention, rare production for a tight end. Julio Jones and Antonio Brown are also honorable mentions.

2010s Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Aaron Donald

Donald has won two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards in his five seasons and has been named First-team All-Pro four times. The 2019 season will be his sixth season which is our cutoff for our "decade" awards so he just makes it in terms of minimum qualifications.

Von Miller is the top honorable mention for the 2010s and he is followed by Luke Kuechly, Richard Sherman, and BobbyWagner but only Miller was close. Sherman had good 2018 season and he had great seasons in his prime but not to the level of Watt or Donald. Same with the middle linebacker Keuchly and Wagner.

Miller was, as we said, the closest. And the difference is their peak performance—Donald has the hardware but Miller does have the jewelry. Donald is ascending and Miller is holding steady. Miller has yet to win a Defensive Player of the Year Award but he was a runner-up once. It's very close but as of now, we go with Donald but this is the most volatile spot because Miller could move into it. However, we don't foresee anything that could knock Watt out of the top defensive slot.

Players of the Decade—2005-15

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the 18th in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95, the 1990s, 1995-05 and also the 2000s.

Here are the 2005-2015 picks:

2005-15 Player of the Decade
Tom Brady

In the 2000s we went with Manning. For 2005-2015, we go with Brady and it's not that close.

2005-15 Defensive Player of the Decade
Patrick Willis

This was a hard time frame to pick a top defender. There were several that were worthy. We went with Patrick Willis who was a five-time First-team All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was a tackling machine and was a linebacker who was in the Ray Lewis/Randy Gradishar/Jack Lambert/Joe Schmidt category as a coverage 'backer. He was solid at closing holes and could scrape with the best of them. His career was cut short, but his 2007-14 seasons fit perfectly into this "decade".

2005-15  Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Peyton Manning

Manning is the runner-up for this 2005-15 time frame.

Adrian Peterson is the top honorable mention and Calvin Johnson is next.

2005-15  Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Darrelle Revis

Revis Island was considered for the top spot. He was a four-time First-team All-pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was the best cover corner since Deion Sanders but he did tail off his final couple of seasons.

Troy Polamalu and Patrick Willis are tied as top honorable mentions followed by DeMarcus Ware, Julius Peppers, and Jared Allen.

next up: the 2010s

Players of the Decade—2000s

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the 17th in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95, the 1990s, 1995-05 top players and now we pick the top players of the 2000s.

Here are the 2000s picks:

2000s Player of the Decade
Peyton Manning

Manning has a title in the 2000s and was the stat king and honors king, those things combined make him the top player of the decade. Tom Brady was the 2000s All-Decade QB and we have previously chosen Brady as the G.O.A.T. at his position but for the decade of the 2000s he was not a starter in 2000 and was out in 2008.

That, coupled with the fact that Manning's stats were better, caused use to decide that given the totality of the factors (rings, stats, honors, intangibles) Manning edges Brady for this decade.

We get that some will disagree, and that's okay. But fair is fair, based on the totality of factors, Manning was a 9.5 for the decade and Brady was a 9.2 if you will.

2000s Defensive Player of the Decade
Ed Reed

As with the mid-decade teams sometimes sliding a typical decade (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, etc.,) makes sense. With Reed, 2002-2010 wouldn't change our view but it would certainly seal the deal. Reed is the G.O.A.T. of safeties in our view for a variety of reasons and that also gives him the edge over a lot of fine decades by some great players.

2000s Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Tom Brady

Brady won three titles and lost one Super Bowl, he had the jewelry concession cornered but as mentioned he missed one season due to injury and also was a backup in his rookie year of 2000 so his numbers trail Manning. So, while it's close, very close we are going with Manning first and Brady as the runner-up.

Brett Favre is one of our honorable mentions and LaDainian Tomlinson is the only other one.

2000s  Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Ray Lewis

Lewis, who was our pick for 1995-05 is the runner-up for the 2000s. He has more hardware than Ed Reed in this decade (two Defensive Player of the Year awards and a ring) but film study shows that Reed was slightly better at safety than Lewis was as an inside/middle linebacker.

Part of it is he missed most of two seasons due to injuries but also he did slow down some towards the end of the decade. One example is his run/pass stuffs (tackles for loss). From 1996-05 he averaged 10.5 such plays per 16 games. From 2000-09 he averaged 7. Seven is very good, but 10.5 is great, so it's the little things that show the big plays are not quite as common.

There were several honorable mentions for the 2000s. Here they are—Champ Bailey, Richard Seymour, Charles Woodson, Kevin Williams, and Jason Taylor.

next up: the 2005-15 "decade".

Players of the Decade—1995-05

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the sixteenth in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95, the 1990s and now we choose the 1995-05 top players.

Here are the picks:

1995-05 Player of the Decade
Brett Favre

Favre was a three-time NFL MVP and was an NFC Player of the Year one additional time and from 1995-04 he averaged 3932 yards passing and 31 touchdown passes per season (he led the NFL passing touchdowns four times: 1995–1997, 2003)

1995-05 Defensive Player of the Decade
Ray Lewis

Lewis was twice the Defensive Player of the Year (2000 and 2003) and had seasons that were just as good (1998, 1999, and 2001) and others close to that level. Even with off-field issue that was well publicized he kept it together on the field and was the best player on the best defense of the era.

1995-05 Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Marshall Faulk and Larry Allen

Faulk's "decade" is 1994-03 and in that time he was special. As we've posted it did it all—ran between the tackles and also in the open field (drawing comparisons to Barry Sanders) and also was a great short yardage and goal line runner (drawing a comparison to Earl Campbell). He also was the best receiving back ever and also was a smart player and a fine, fine pass blocker. He was a three-time Offensive Player of the Year, two MVPs (one consensus), and a Super Bowl ring.

Allen was simply amazing. He was a primarily a guard, but if needed he could move to tackle and play All-Pro ball there as well. He'd be on the Mt. Rushmore of guards along with Jim Parker, John Hannah and Bruce Matthews in our view.

Our only honorable mention is Marvin Harrison.

1995-05  Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Michael Strahan

Strahan began his dominance in 1997 and kept it going through 1995, making his mid-decade 1996-05. In that time he won an NFL Defensive Player Year of the Award and also an NFC Defensive Player of the Year Awards. He was a good strong-side defensive end who would play the run and twice led the NFL in sacks.

Strahan beat out honorable mentions Derrick Brooks and Brian Dawkins who were both stellar in the 1995-05 time frame as well.

next up: the 2000s

Players of the Decade—1990s

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the fifteenth in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95 and now the 1990s.

Here are the picks for the decade for the nineties—

1990s Player of the Decade
Emmitt Smith

Once again, like some previous picks, this one is easy.

1990s co-Defensive Players of the Decade
Bruce Smith and Junior Seau

Smith shares the 1990s award with Junior Seau. Even the best experts couldn't separate them.

Smith was the Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 (AP, PFWA, NEA), 1993 (PFWA, NEA)  and 1996 (AP, PFWA). Additionally, he was the NFL Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1990, 1993, 1994, and 1996 and the AFC Defensive Lineman of the Year in 1990, 1993-97. 

Seau, often errantly listed as a Middle/Inside Linebacker, was a WILL 'backer who was usually stacked. He was a big-play machine—from 1990-99 Seau averaged 11.5 tackles for loss a season (if you slide his 'decade' to 1991-00 the average rises to 12.5 a year). He also had 41 sacks in the decade, excellent for a linebacker who was not a "rush backer" or who played defensive end in nickel.

He was the NEA Defensive Player of the Year in 1992. He was voted the NFL/AFC linebacker of the Year from 1992-94 and in 2000. 

The honorable mentions for the 1990s are Reggie White and Rod Woodson.

1990s Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Barry Sanders

Sanders had some competition, but in the end, he had the second-best decade in the 1990s of any player. Sanders was an amazing talent and could take any run to the house. He did have flaws—not much of a blocker, not a great receiver, and was often taken out of the game in short yardage and goal line situations but the positives outweighed those things. He's not a back we'd take if we had a choice of anyone (we prefer Emmitt, Marshall, Walter—guys who did it all) but his 1990s accomplishments were too good to ignore.

We are giving honorable mentions to Brett Favre, (3 MVPs, 1 ring), Steve Young (2 MVPs, 1 ring), Jerry Rice, and Bruce Matthews.

1990s Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Deion Sanders

Sanders barely trails Bruce Smith and Junior Seau. Sanders was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1994 and was First-team All-Pro eight times (six consensus). Sanders was also the NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1993 and 1994 and he won Defensive Back of the Year awards in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, and 1999.

In the metric introduced by Stats, LLC, called the 'individual defensive passer rating' Sanders led the NFL three times (1994, 95, 97) and was second in 1996. Gannett News Service's Joel Buchsbaum, said in the early to mid-1990s, "(W)ill take the opponent's best receiver out of the game" and "is the best athlete and cover cornerback in the league" and later added, "Perhaps the best cover corner ever with great big-play potential".

While there are issues (due to baseball and other issues, a few times a season you had to start your nickel back. He won two rings and it could be argued he was the difference maker in those Super Bowl wins, helping the 49ers going over the hump in 1994 and then going to Dallas and getting them back on top.

He was an excellent kick and punt returner and also played offense and did it well.

In the final analysis, it was the "16/60" (16 games sixty minutes) factor that kept Sanders behind Smith and Seau. He just missed too much time hurt or playing baseball.

next up: 1995-05