All-Time NFL Teams

Chris Liss and Jeff Erickson select their all-time, real-life NFL teams. Chris took Aaron Donald as his starting defensive tackle.
All-Time NFL Teams
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You might think coming up with content when there are no sports going on would be challenging, but not for me. I think of irrelevant and impossible sports and fantasy sports scenarios all the time. I even spent a ton of time on this project that has no application whatsoever. So this part of it is easy. (We also did a similar exercise last week with baseball.) 

In that vein, I persuaded Jeff Erickson to draft a real-life, all-time NFL team with the condition that it would compete in a 2020 environment, e.g., Johnny Unitas and Dick Butkus would be risky choices in the modern game. We allowed some roster flexibility -- you could run a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense, and while you needed a QB, RB, 2-WR and a TE, you could run whoever you wanted at the last skill position. 

Because it was my idea, I generously gave Erickson the first pick, and he rewarded me by taking Lawrence Taylor, my favorite player of all-time and obviously the guy I would have picked. One's true character often comes out in difficult times, and this is but another example. 

In any event, here are our squads, and the order in which they were picked. (Keep in mind in a two-team league, there was no need to pick a player at a position that your opponent had already filled.)

RdEricksonLissPosLissErickson
1Lawrence Taylor Deion SandersQBSteve YoungPat Mahomes
2Anthony MunozAaron DonaldRBMarshall FaulkLaDainian Tomlinson
3Ed ReedRandy MossWRRandy MossJerry Rice
4Jerry RiceRob GronkowskiWRCalvin JohnsonTerrell Owens
5Terrell OwensRay LewisTERob GronkowskiTon Gonzalez
6Ronnie LottReggie WhiteFLXGeorge KittleJulio Jones
7Patrick MahomesJ.J. WattLTJoe ThomasAnthony Munoz
8Brian UrlacherCalvin JohnsonLGWill ShieldsLarry Allen
9Larry AllenMarshall FaulkCAlex MackJeff Saturday
10Joe GreeneDarrelle RevisRGAlan FanecaBruce Matthews
11Julio JonesGeorge KittleRTOrlando PaceJohnathan Ogden
12Jonathan OgdenVon MillerDEReggie WhiteBruce Smith
13Junior SeauLuke KuechlyDTAaron DonaldJoe Greene
14Bruce MatthewsKhalil MackFLXLuke KuechlyJulius Peppers
15Richard ShermanAlex MackDEJ.J. WattPatrick Willis
16Bruce SmithTroy PolamaluOLBVon MillerLawrence Taylor
17Julius PeppersSteve YoungOLBKhalil MackJunior Seau
18Patrick WillisJoe ThomasILBRay LewisBrian Urlacher
19LaDanian TomlinsonOrlando PaceSTroy PolamaluRonnie Lott
20Tony GonzalezWill ShieldsSEarl ThomasEd Reed
21Charles WoodsonAlan FanecaCBDeion SandersRichard Sherman
22Jeff SaturdayEarl ThomasCBDarrelle RevisCharles Woodson

I'm guessing Jeff's team maybe wins nine games and snags a Wild Card, while mine is easily the greatest of all time. What do you think?

And while I'd also have gone with Mahomes as my QB, here are some Steve Young highlights for those of you who don't remember how great he was:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Liss was RotoWire's Managing Editor and Host of RotoWire Fantasy Sports Today on Sirius XM radio from 2001-2022.
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