Who were the true once in a lifetime great players in the NFL that you’ve watched?
Barry
Foxy
Calvin
Sewell has a great chance to enter that category.
It’s within Bates’s potential, but he’s nowhere near there, now.
Coach Dan. - played here and came back to coach. We will likely not see that again.
Hmmmm
Lawrence Taylor
Barry
Reggie White
Clavin
Jerry Rice
Moss
Edgrene James
Ray Lewis
Honestly the list is so long. I am 55 and been pretty plugged into the NFL since the early 80s
Those Steelers and Cowboy teams of the late 70s and 80s had a bunch
So many great players. You say once in a lifetime but the game evolves. And their are players that pop up along the way.
Bo Jackson
Jerry Rice
Barry
Calvin
Randy Moss
LT
Reggie White
Ed Reed
Deion Sanders
Doug “Pound Cake” Heffernan
2 Likes
Haha Clinton Dix on name alone
1 Like
Bo Jackson, easily
Barry Sanders
Calvin Johnson
Reggie White
Lawrence Taylor
Randy Moss
This may be controversial, but I thought Terrell Owens was
Devin Hester on KR/PR
3 Likes
Most impressive I have seen in person:
Josh Allen. Seeing him in person was unreal. Seeing his size, how he can run and just sling the ball all over the field was something I have not seen before. He looked like he was playing on a miniature field because he was making throws that other guys can’t make. He is a specimen.
Jahmyr Gibbs. He has a different gear that other guys don’t have. Pulls away from guys and they have no chance. Incredible acceleration
Chris Johnson (CJ2K). Same as Gibbs. Running away from guys like I had never seen before. So much faster than everyone else on the field.
Megatron. Like Josh Allen he is playing a different sport. So much bigger faster and stronger than everyone else.
Have been to countless NFL games starting in 2001. These are the most impressive players I can remember seeing live where it made my eyes pop out of my head
Lots of great ones so far.
RB: Bo Jackson and Barry
WR: Moss, Calvin
OL: Munoz
TE: Gronk (surprised no one mentioned him)
Defense:
LT
Ray Lewis (good call on that)
Ed Reed
Reggie White
2 Likes
Barry
Lawrence Taylor
Jerry Rice
Jared Goff
Jonathan Ogden
Reggie White
Ronnie Lott
C’mon man this is once in a lifetime players 
I promise I’m not hating. I can’t be the only one laughing. This is so good. 
Jonathan Ogden 
I’ll throw some at ya
Earl Campbell
Lawrence Taylor
Jack Lambert
Larry Allen
Jerry Rice
Ronnie Lott
Reggie White
Orlando Pace
Darrelle Revis
Mel Blount
I’ll just end it there but I could go on for awhile. I would add Bubba Baker and Roy Green but they just didn’t have the sustained careers. Gayle Sayers would be in this group as well and maybe Bo Jackson too. Randy White and Kellen Winslow SR were right on the brink along with Dan Marino, John Hannah, Walter Payton, Alan Page, Anthony Munoz, Brian Urlacher, Barry Sanders, Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, OJ Simpson, Jim Brown, Bruce Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, and I guess I would add Darrell Green as well.
1 Like
3 Likes
This is my whole point.
Jack Lambert anyone???
The problem with this discussion is that there are so many great players.
Charles Woodson anyone. I still say he is a top 10 all time players since 1901. Dude was a freak for damn near 20 years in a league of freaks.
His numbers are not as gaudy since no one threw his way. He was an awesome player in college and NFL.
Love the mention of Marino. That release, man. He put up modern passing stats at a time when neither the quarterback nor the receivers were protected like they are now.
I would also add rookie contact Suh to the list. So much strength and intensity. Loved watching that dude single-handedly wreck offensive game plans.
3 Likes
You listed “2” players that are the same player in a “ONCE in a lifetime” thread.
4 Likes
I’ll post what I want. Yeah… you’re a strange one . What about you? Who have you seen? Probably no one because you’re too broke to go to a game.
Like the lists so far. Currently I think Myles Garret and possibly Sewell are those type of players.
2 Likes
Aaron Donald. He spent his career getting double teamed and was still unstoppable.
3 Likes
Dan Marino
Myles Garrett
Bruce Smith
Calvin Johnson
Larry Allen
Reggie White
Sean Taylor maybe
Deion
I guess by the real definition.. in a lifetime, there really shouldn’t be multiple players from the same position.. since then it wouldn’t be once in a lifetime, it would be like twice or thrice. Ha. So if I had to pick 1 that stands out in my lifetime at the major positions..
QB - Tom Brady
RB - Barry Sanders
Wr - Jerry Rice
TE - Gronk
T - Jonathan Ogden
G - Larry Allen
C - Dermonti Dawson
DE - Reggie White
DT - Warren Sapp
Edge LB - Lawrence Taylor
MLB - Brian Urlacher
CB - Deion Sanders
NB - Charles Woodson
S - Ronnie Lott
Returner - Devin Hester
K - Adam Vinitieri
P - Shane Lechler
2 Likes