Players react strongly to Gil Brandt's 'all-time greatest' lists
I got a call from Peter King of The MMQB in May. He wanted to know if I would take part in an all-time draft of the greatest players in NFL history. Among the dignitaries who would draft with me included former championship team builders Ernie Accorsi, Bill Polian and Ron Wolf. I humbly agreed to partake.
I'm not sure about the strategies used by the other 11 drafters, but I compiled lists of the greatest players by position -- similar to what you might do before a fantasy draft -- putting them in order from one to whatever, and crossing their names off as they came off the board.
My editor thought it was a good idea to publish my positional lists for this website. The exercise was going swimmingly ... until the first list was published. Feathers were suddenly ruffled. Several current and former players took to Twitter to let me know where I had erred, including one who claimed to be the "most feared cornerback of all time," and another who thought he was ranked too high.
Here's a sampling of the feedback I received from the players. Links to all of my lists are above; let me know your thoughts.
Much respect, Gil.
— Johnny Hekker (@JHekker) July 7, 2017
Would definitely shuffle my name down, @thomasmorstead, @AndyLee4 and @PatMcAfeeShow up...also gotta add @SamMartin_6 https://t.co/EcFipmbU7I
Ed reed sound be at the top
— VontaLeach44 (@vleach44) July 6, 2017
Ronnie Lott #5. Bruh...
— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray) July 6, 2017
Lol
— Ed Reed (@TwentyER) July 5, 2017
@Gil_Brandt they mad at you! LOL. Rank us again in 2 years, I'll be top 10! Thanks! https://t.co/rseoxUmzT8
— AqibTalib21 (@AqibTalib21) July 3, 2017
— Casey Hayward (@show_case29) July 3, 2017
Now this is really funny. None of you guys don't have any credibility. I broke one guys record on the list. #idiots #mynumbers https://t.co/PdkVXXbpcF
— Asante Samuel (@pick_six22) July 3, 2017
So what are you basing this on numbers? Are these are you favorites. I was the most feared cornerback of all time. Numbers don't lie
— Asante Samuel (@pick_six22) July 3, 2017
That's wild. Your numbers speak for themselves. I can't believe i even read this list lol
— Casey Hayward (@show_case29) July 3, 2017
Can I at least get an honorable mention? Lol!!!
— Chad Brown (@chadbrown94) June 30, 2017
Lists are hard. All are HOFs. Depends on your metrics but by #s alone he's gotta be top 10
— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) June 28, 2017
Obviously there's a bit of bias consider Gil is a former VP of Player Pro in Dallas. There r 15 guys on that list that I was better than.
— Fred Taylor (@FredTaylorMade) June 21, 2017
He can't be above Ezekiel Elliot? I don't hear anyone saying they fear Zeke. Although good player. CD was feared without a QB
— Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) June 21, 2017
Follow Gil Brandt on Twitter @Gil_Brandt.