NFL Network: Most Versatile Players of All Time

[Rain Man]

As usual, it's way tilted toward modern players, which is always a flaw with these lists.

Vrabel is listed at #7 - OF ALL TIME.

They list Troy Brown at #5 and Bednarik at #4. I just turned it on, so I don't know who else they have.

If this list is valid, Baugh, Thorpe, and Hutson should be at or near the top, and probably some other old-timers whose names are lost to history.

[RealSNR]

Where would Bobby Bell rank on that list? Maybe not top 10 but he's gotta be close

[Stewie]

George Blanda has to be in there.

[The Bad Guy]

Well he was pretty versitile in his prime.

He lined up at rush end in the 3-4, lined up at DE in the 4-3, played tight end on the goalline and played ILB some too.

[Rain Man]

They're listing Deion Sanders as #3. He's a versatile athlete, but not sure how's he's a versatile football player. He was a cornerback and returner, and maybe a little bit of a receiver. I'm a Deion fan, but I don't get this. Let me check to be sure it's "football player" and not "athlete".

[Rain Man]

They were going through the list when I turned it on, and they had Kordell Stewart and Brian Mitchell somewhere on the list. Trying to remember others.

[Sully]

I'd put Baugh at 1.
Bednarik top 3 or 4.
Hell, didn't Kleinsasser line up at guard a little early in his career?

[Tribal Warfare]

Don Hutson, John Taylor

[Rain Man]

They gave a teaser that a halfback is going to be at #2, and showed clips of Marshall Faulk and Paul Hornung as candidates.


Oh, yeah. I think they had Tom Matte on the list somewhere if I remember right.

[Sully]

I remember when Brian Mitchell had to play a little QB years ago.

[Fritz88]

They're listing Deion Sanders as #3. He's a versatile athlete, but not sure how's he's a versatile football player. He was a cornerback and returner, and maybe a little bit of a receiver. I'm a Deion fan, but I don't get this. Let me check to be sure it's "football player" and not "athlete".

Dion could be 2 or 1 on that list.

[Rain Man]

Okay, here we go. They're mentioning Tomlinson, Payton, Marcus Allen, and Faulk as strong contenders, but #2 is ... Paul Hornung.

I guess he kicked in addition to playing halfback, and apparently he won the Heisman as a quarterback. I didn't remember that. He started out with the Packers on the depth chart at QB, HB, and FB. (Apparently he was "left halfback", which I find interesting. I didn't know they had left and right halfbacks back then.)

[Sully]

Sam Huff?

[Rain Man]

They're about to get to #1, so they're review the list. I'll see how fast I can type.

#1 is going to be an old-timer. I'm almost sure it's Baugh, but it's hard to tell in black and white.

[Deberg_1990]

They're listing Deion Sanders as #3. He's a versatile athlete, but not sure how's he's a versatile football player. He was a cornerback and returner, and maybe a little bit of a receiver. I'm a Deion fan, but I don't get this. Let me check to be sure it's "football player" and not "athlete".

Well if thats the case, Bo Jackson should be near the top then....

[Rain Man]

Oh, I think they had Roy Green somewhere on their list, too. That's a good choice.

[Rain Man]

Okay, top 10 in reverse order:

Tom Matte
George Blanda the dirty cheater
Brian Mitchell
Mike Vrabel
Kordell Stewart
Troy Brown
Chuck Bednarik the whiner
Deion Sanders
Paul Hornung
#1 is Sammy Baugh, which is proper.

[Rain Man]

I would've thought Don Hutson, Jim Thorpe, and maybe George Halas would be on the list. In the modern era I'd think about Reggie White or Bruce Matthews, who both played every line position. We know about Bobby Bell, Johnny Robinson, Jerrel Wilson, and other versatile Chiefs players, but I didn't expect them to make the list.

[Sully]

Sammy Baugh had one of the best seasons ever.
In the same year he led the league in TDs thrown, passes intercepted as a DB, andpunting yardage.

That's amazing.

[KCChiefsMan]

Marshall Faulk should be there, 1,000 yds rushing/1,000 yds receiving in one season.

[Rain Man]

Yeah, that's pretty amazing. Baugh and Hutson were my immediate thought as the #1 guy.

Hutson was astounding. I think he had a season receiving that was kind of the equivalent of Babe Ruth's season where he had 50 home runs and no one else had more than 20 (or whatever that was). I'm pretty sure that Hutson was a top defensive back, too.

[Stewie]

I look at versatility as doing things that are completely unrelated very well. Being a DB and a receiver, not much of a difference... run, cut, catch/intercept. Being a QB and also kicking field goals are the traits of versatility.

[Stewie]

Marshall Faulk should be there, 1,000 yds rushing/1,000 yds receiving in one season.

I'm pretty sure there are 100s of RBs that can run the ball and catch the ball.

[Rain Man]

As much as I despised him, I must admit that I thought about Karl Mecklenburg as well. It's not as if he switched positions, and you could argue that he only did one thing well, but the Broncos lined him up all over the place and he gave us fits everywhere.

[Rain Man]

When Payton was in his prime, I remember reading an interview with some other Bears saying that he could play any position on the field and do well, but maybe he'd need to put on some weight to play the line. When you looked at his blocking and receiving and running, and I think he could pass too, it's not unbelievable. Plus, he had such a solid body that I could envision him packing on some weight and being a linebacker.

[Stewie]

As much as I despised him, I must admit that I thought about Karl Mecklenburg as well. It's not as if he switched positions, and you could argue that he only did one thing well, but the Broncos lined him up all over the place and he gave us fits everywhere.

But he did the same thing where ever he lined up. Being dominant is different than being versatile.

[Rain Man]

But he did the same thing where ever he lined up. Being dominant is different than being versatile.


Yeah, I would agree. He popped into mind because he was lined up all over the place, but you're right - it was more geographic diversity than versatility.

It's kind of hard to separate potential from performance, too. The old-timers proved they were versatile, but that was because they had the opportunity to be versatile. You look at guys like Baugh and Hornung and Groza, and they kicked because there weren't enough roster spots to have a kicker. For all we know, Doug Flutie could've done the same thing. So compared to the guys in the 20s and 30s who routinely played both ways, is it more impressive when a guy like Roy Green or Troy Brown does double duty, since the systems today discourage it? I'm not sure.