1. Tom Brady– Now, let’s be serious here: Did you really think he wouldn’t be the first name I mentioned here? Let’s just look at the resume! The five championships (most by a quarterback), the winningest quarterback in playoff history with 29 wins, the winning regular season quarterback in NFL history with 223 wins, the four Super Bowl MVP’s and the three league MVP’s. He’s the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history and let’s not forget that he wasn’t even selected in the first round of the NFL draft back in 2000. He was selected in the sixth round with the 199th pick. He’s set the standard on how franchise quarterbacks can win even without having the strongest supporting casts. He’s truly made names out of the receivers he’s had around him both past and present. The minute he decides to call it a career, put him in right away, that’s how deserving he is of this honor.
2. Frank Gore– He’s quietly gone about business since he was drafted in 2005 and has quietly put together one of the best careers for a running back in this era of football. I’ve referred to him as the “Tim Duncan” of running backs and my reasoning for that is because he just simply goes about his business, just as the basketball legend did when he was an active player. I’ve always been a fan of the way Frank Gore plays the game. He’s not flashy one bit and he runs violently, he runs downhill and he always helps put his teams in the best position to win. What people don’t realize is he’s actually sitting at fifth all time on the rushing list and enters the season with 14,026 yards rushing. He’s definitely one of the more consistent running backs in NFL history.
3. Larry Fitzgerald– I have always had such a tremendous amount of respect for this guy here. Throughout his career, the rumors have floated around that he’d leave the Arizona Cardinals and go to a contender and play with a much better quarterback. That hasn’t happened and he recently stated that it wouldn’t happen. What a career he’s put together. Larry enters the 2018 season ranked third all-time in receptions (1,234) and receiving yards (15,545) and he’s ranked eighth in receiving touchdowns with 110. It hasn’t seemed to matter who the quarterback has been, he still continues to make plays each and every season. I’ll never forget his 2008 postseason: He piled up 546 receiving yards and scored seven touchdowns catching footballs from the Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner. He’s one of the six best wide receivers I’ve ever seen play the game.
4. Antonio Gates– I remember his 2004 season just as if it were yesterday. He was the perfect target for the then-Chargers quarterback and future Hall of Famer, Drew Brees and he had a breakout year and established himself as one of the elite tight ends in the NFL. He’s helped revolutionize the tight end position. He’s an eight-time pro bowler that never played a single down of college football. He was a standout basketball player at Kent State who earned all-American honors and had his jersey retired by the school. For as good as he was at basketball, he measured in at 6’4 and 225 pounds which isn’t the mold of forward in the NBA, so he decided to try football and that decision has paid off significantly. He’s caught 897 passes, 11,192 yards receiving and 114 touchdowns which are the most all-time for a tight end. The resume is definitely impressive. Let me put it like this: Antonio Gates has opened the door for former basketball players such as Jimmy Graham and Julius Thomas.
5. Julius Peppers– As he’s aged, he’s still remained productive and last season, we saw him record 11 sacks at the age of 37. Throughout his career, he’s been extremely dominant and continues to still have an impact on the Panthers defense although he has a reduced role on the field. Julius is fourth all-time on the sacks list with 154.5 and the three men ahead of him (Reggie White, Bruce Smith and Kevin Greene) are all members of the Hall of Fame and this guy will join them when he decides to retire.
