Top Ten Tuesday: NFL 100 All-Time Team Snubs

The NFL 100 All-Time Team concluded last month, but we’re revisiting our picks for the biggest snubs from the roster. Everyone that made the cut certainly deserved it, and it’s so hard to pick just 100 people from the game’s history, but these ten guys easily could have received the amazing honor. Old-time players deserved their recognition, but our snubs focus on players from the Super Bowl era.

 

10.Justin Tucker

-Kicker

-Baltimore Ravens (2012-present)

-Super Bowl champion (XLVII)

-Four-time All-Pro (2013, 2016, 2018, 2019)

-Most accurate kicker in history (90.8%)

 

The most accurate kicker of all-time, Justin Tucker is the only player in league history to hit over 90% of his field goal attempts, and he does it emphatically with a massive leg with easy range from 60+ yards. Tucker is a legitimate weapon on special teams, and he’s basically automatic, with his kicks mostly hitting dead center every time. Jan Stenerud and Adam Vinatieri deservingly made the NFL 100 All-Time Team, but Tucker arguably belonged with them.

 

9.Dermontti Dawson

-Center

-Pittsburgh Steelers (1988-2000)

-Six-time All-Pro (1993-1998)

-NFL 1990s All-Decade Team

 

To be named a six-time All-Pro in consecutive seasons in the mid-90s exemplifies to dominance of Dermontti Dawson in the middle of the Steelers’ offensive line. Dawson was named as a starter in the middle of the interior for the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1990s, and he was an all-around center that played in 170 consecutive games in his career.

 

8.Calvin Johnson

-Wide receiver

-Detroit Lions (2007-2015)

-Three-time All-Pro (2011-2013)

-Single-season receiving yardage record (1,964 in 2012)

-Two-time receiving yardage leader (2011, 2012)

 

If Calvin Johnson continued his playing career instead of retiring after nine seasons, he almost certainly would have been named to the NFL 100 team. “Megatron” was an unstoppable weapon on the outside, as a big-play beast that was incredibly difficult to contain in the red zone and in jump-ball situations down the field. Johnson is the closest receiver to a 2,000-yard season in league history, when he set a record with 1,964 in 2012. For a player’s first nine seasons, Johnson ranked behind only Jerry Rice and Torry Holt (another arguably snub, along with other members of “The Greatest Show on Turf”) in terms of receiving yards.

 

7.Derrick Thomas

-Linebacker

-Kansas City Chiefs (1989-1999)

-1993 NFL Man of the Year (now Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year)

-Three-time All-Pro (1990-1992)

-NFL 1990s All-Decade Team

-NFL sacks leader (1990)

-Most sacks in game (seven)

 

Tragically, Derrick Thomas’ career was also shorter than it could have been, as his life was ended in a car accident in 2000. But the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team member had an outstanding career for the Chiefs, recording 126.5 career sacks, including an NFL-record seven-sack game, along with a six-sack game, too. In addition to his 1993 NFL Man of the Year honor and three All-Pro selections, Thomas was also selected to nine consecutive Pro Bowls from 1989 to 1997.

 

6.Adrian Peterson

-Running back

-Minnesota Vikings (2007-2016), New Orleans Saints (2017), Arizona Cardinals (2017), Washington Redskins (2018-present)

-NFL MVP (2012)

-NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2012)

-NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2007)

-Four-time All-Pro (2008, 2009, 2012, 2015)

-Three-time rushing champion (2008, 2012, 2015)

-2,000-yard season (2012)

-Most rushing yards in a game (296)

 

Marshall Faulk and LaDainian Tomlinson were a couple of other running backs that likely received strong NFL 100 All-Time Team consideration, but Adrian Peterson was the most surprising omission at his position. Peterson carried Vikings teams early in his career as the league transitioned to being more focused on passing attacks, and his 2,097 rushing yards (nine short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season record) during his 2012 Most Valuable Player campaign is one of the most legendary stretches in league history. In his prime, “All Day” was a premier home-run hitter that could take over a game at the running back position.

 

5.Brian Dawkins

-Safety

-Philadelphia Eagles (1996-2008), Denver Broncos (2009-2011)

-Four-time All-Pro (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006)

-NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

 

Brian Dawkins was opposite Ed Reed on the imaginary back end of the defense on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2000s, but he was left off the NFL 100 team. The former Eagles and Broncos safety was named a finalist among defensive backs, but the voters probably should have put him on as one of the 100 players to make the cut. Dawkins’s leadership rivaled anyone in the sport during his time, and the hard-hitting defender is the only player in NFL history with 25+ sacks, 25+ interceptions, and 25+ forced fumbles in his career. “Weapon X” was also the first player in history to record a sack, interception, forced fumble, and touchdown reception in a single game.

 

4.Steve Young

-Quarterback

-Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1985-1986), San Francisco 49ers (1987-1999)

-Three-time Super Bowl champion (XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)

-Super Bowl MVP (XXIX)

-Two-time NFL MVP (1992, 1994)

-NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1992)

-Three-time All-Pro (1992-1994)

 

Steve Young was certainly in a good situation taking over for Joe Montana in a progressive offense with Jerry Rice at wideout, but he was exceptional when given the full-time starting quarterback job for the 49ers (and having the pressure of winning a championship after Montana led the franchise to four is not easy, despite the ideal situation around Young). The two-time league MVP led the NFL in passer rating six times, passing touchdowns four times, and completions percentage five times. Young was a legit dual threat but threw the ball precisely from his lefty release, including a Super Bowl record six passing scores in Super Bowl XXIX.

 

3.Drew Brees

-Quarterback

-San Diego Chargers (2001-2005), New Orleans Saints (2006-present)

-Super Bowl champion (XLIV)

-Super Bowl MVP (XLIV)

-2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year)

-Two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2008, 2011)

-All-Pro (2006)

-NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2004)

-Most career passing yards

-Most career passing touchdowns

-Highest career completion percentage

-Highest single-season completion percentage

 

The top three are the clear most shocking players to have been left off the NFL 100 All-Time Team. It was not the case when this was voted on last year, but Brees now holds both the all-time passing yards and passing touchdown titles, along with the highest completion percentage in history. Brees has led league in passing seven times, touchdown passes four times, and completion percentage six times. He also has the record for most passing touchdowns in a game (tied, with seven) and the highest completion percentage in a game. Numbers aren’t everything (especially in today’s NFL), but Brees also holds the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, marking his extraordinary consistency. And Brees simply puts the ball right in the chest of his receiver, making things much easier on his playmakers—he might be the most accurate passer in the history of the game. Oh, and Brees has a Super Bowl, winning it against another all-time great in Peyton Manning. One thing going against Brees is the lack of an individual regular season MVP honor, but he easily could have won that award multiple times throughout his career given the years he’s had. It doesn’t make much sense that he’s not on the NFL 100 team.

 

2.Darrelle Revis

-Cornerback

-New York Jets (2007-2012, 2015-2016), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2013), New England Patriots (2014), Kansas City Chiefs (2017)

-Four-time All-Pro (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014)

 

Darrelle Revis’ recent Twitter spat with fellow All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman is part of what sparked this Top Ten Tuesday, as a reason for Revis calling out Sherman might have been because he feels he doesn’t get enough respect for his career following his snub from the NFL 100 team. Revis earned the nickname “Revis Island”, and he could completely erase top receivers in true one-on-one coverage (hence, the island nickname). As stated earlier, Calvin Johnson was essentially unstoppable at receiver—but the task of facing Megatron was not too tall for Revis, who held him to one reception for 13 yards in a highly anticipated 2010 matchup. Revis won a Super Bowl title with the Patriots after regaining his form another year removed from his torn ACL in 2012, and NFL players seem to have a ton of respect for the shutdown corner judging from past comments and this recent Twitter discussion among some former peers.

 

1.Julio Jones

-Wide receiver

-Atlanta Falcons (2011-present)

-Two-time All-Pro (2015, 2016)

-Two-time receiving yardage leader (2015, 2018)

-Receptions leader (2015)

-Most receiving yards per game in history (96.2)

-Most games with 250+ receiving yards (three)

 

Julio Jones also came up in a funny Twitter talk between Keenan Allen, Darius Slay, and some others, and the star receiver basically doesn’t talk much at all to his opponents and is singularly focused on helping his team win games however necessary. He benefits from playing in today’s pass-happy NFL, but Jones by far averages the most receiving yards per game in NFL history (and also well ahead of players that came into the league after him and have played all of their years in a flag-football-like era), and he never complains about his role or not getting the ball, so he doesn’t just get force-fed things to appease an ego and pad his stats. Julio is the total package in a football player, as he dominates on all three levels of a defense as a route runner, he’s an elite run blocker, and he’s like a running back with the ball in his hands—also, the Falcon great can take over the game almost unlike any non-quarterback, and he has three games of 250+ yards and one game of 300+ yards. The epic sideline catch in Super Bowl LI easily could be one of the most memorable moments in league history if Atlanta was able to hold on against New England, but Jones shows up when his team needs him. Julio is one of four players with two seasons of 1,600+ receiving yards, and he’s the only player in history with five consecutive years of 1,400+ receiving yards. In terms of games played, Jones is the fastest ever to 7,000 receiving yards, 9,000 receiving yards, 10,000 receiving yards, 11,000 receiving yards, and 12,000 receiving yards. There is no question he is going to go down as an all-time great.