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3 Chicago Bears who were snubbed from the All-PFF team of the past 25 years

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated May 19, 2025 11:58 AM ET

Over the past twenty-five years, the Chicago Bears have featured some of the greatest players of all time who never won a Super Bowl. At multiple points throughout the last quarter century, Chicago has been good enough to be considered a title contender, but they just haven't been able to go all the way.

But the lack of championships shouldn't take away from the incredible talent that has been seen in Chicago. Pro Football Focus recently released their list of the best players of the last 25 years, and somehow this list did not feature a single Bear.

Other teams and players deserve their spots on this list and I don't want to diminish them. But without at least one of these three all-time great Chicago Bears, including one of the team's most recent Hall of Fame entrants, PFF's list feels incomplete.

1. Brian Urlacher

Urlacher's exclusion from PFF's list is truly baffling. When you say 'Chicago Bears,' most people born after 1985 think of No. 54 in the middle of the defense, and not without reason. He stands tall even among Chicago's storied linebacker lineage.

PFF's list had room for two linebackers. One spot went to Ray Lewis, which I won't argue. But the other went to Patrick Willis, who only played 7 years. Urlacher dominated the sport for 12 years and racked up more Pro Bowl awards while also winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2005, an award Willis never had.

Adding insult to injury, Urlacher wasn't even listed as an Honorable Mention. His omission from the list is simply inexcusable.

2. Charles 'Peanut' Tillman

A player's impact on the NFL becomes undeniable when his name is invoked in every game of every season after his retirement. Tillman developed a technique for forcing fumbles that was so successful it became synonymous with his nickname: the Peanut Punch.

By the time he retired after 12 seasons in the NFL, Tillman had forced an astonishing 44 fumbles, tied for the 6th-most, and he did this as a cornerback. In fact, on the Top 10 list of most forced fumbles in an NFL career, Tillman stands alone as the sole defensive back among a who's who of the game's greatest linebackers and D-linemen.

If Tillman belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and he most certainly does, then he belongs on PFF's list.

3. Devin Hester

The greatest return specialist of all time needs no introduction. Every football fan knows who Devin Hester is,and his recent enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame cements his status as an NFL legend. Every fan who witnessed Super Bowl XLI can tell you exactly where they were and what they felt when they watched Hester become the first and only player to take the Super Bowl's opening kickoff for a touchdown. Yet, his name is shockingly absent from PFF's list of the best players of the past 25 years.

One could make the same argument that kept Hester out of the Hall of Fame until his third ballot: that, as a return specialist, he didn't make as great an impact on the game as a receiver or a defensive back. But PFF made room for a punter on their list, and punters have even less impact on a game than the returner.

I'd be willing to overlook the snubs of Tillman and Urlacher if at least Hester had made the cut. I disagree strongly, but I can see the arguments for other linebackers and cornerbacks. But without Hester, the list stands woefully incomplete.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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