NFL All Quarter Century Team: Offense

The last 25 years have been a golden age in the NFL. Larger than life super stars grace out televisions on a weekly basis as we can only watch in awe of these modern day gladiators. It truly has been incredible to grow up in this age of football.

So when I sat down to create an all quarter century team, it felt like nearly an impossible task. Legends of the game and Hall of Fame players left on the chopping block to narrow down the best of the best team to take the field in the 2000s. Difficult decisions at essentially every position, but I was finally able to make my 50 man roster (not bothering to list the greatest kicker, punter and long snapper).

Keep in mind that this is the quarter century team. So if a player played part of their career before the year 2000 then that section of the career was not counted. This was a factor in leaving several great players not making the cut.

So without further ado, here is my quarter century team. Starting with just the offensive players in this article and following up with the defensive players in the future. The greatest offensive roster of the 21st century. 

Honorable Mentions

*Drew Brees

*Aaron Rodgers

*Edgerrin James

*Shaun Alexander

*Frank Gore

*Marshawn Lynch

*Julio Jones

*Antionio Brown

*Steve Smith Sr.

*Isaac Bruce

*Torry Holt

*Tyreek Hill

*Davonte Adams

*Antonio Gates

*Tyron Smith

*Trent Williams

*Jason Peters

*Tristian Wirfs

*Larry Allen

*Jahri Evans

*Alex Mack

*Nick Mangold

*Olin Kreutz

Quarterback 

Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning

It truly has been a revolution of the NFL quarterback position in the last 25 years. With more emphasis on the passing game than ever before, there is more responsibility on the quarterback than there ever has been. And these three have managed that better than anybody.

Twelve combined Super Bowl wins between these three. With the incredible mental prowess of Peyton Manning and the massive arm talent of Patrick Mahomes, it’s easy to see why both made the cut. And then there is Tom Brady; the greatest football player of all time with both elite intelligence and arm strength. Even with other great quarterbacks as options, this was one of the easier groups for me.

Running Back 

LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Derrick Henry

Perhaps the age of the great NFL running backs has passed; so much so that it might be coming back into style. However, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been truly great running backs over the last 25 seasons. Each of these guys have etched their place into history as one of the best to ever play the game.

I’m not sure if I have ever seen a better, more complete running back than Tomlinson. He led the league in rushing twice, rushing touchdowns three times and then had another separate season when he led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage. An incredibly dominant player as a ball carrier and pass catcher.

Peterson and Henry were more true rushers than pass catchers, but both were unbelievably good. They are at 4th and 6th all time respectively in rushing touchdowns and with Henry coming off his best career season it’s safe to bet that he winds up in the top five on that list sooner or later.

Wide Receiver 

Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Mike Evans

Between Moss, Johnson, Owens and Harrison I believe these are four of the best five wide receivers in NFL history. The ability to change the game in one play, their dominance in their career and their physical gifts set these four apart.

In the case of Fitzgerald and Evans, they were both consistently great. Fitzgerald is second all time in receiving yards and sixth all time in receiving touchdowns and Evans will very likely be in the top five of both categories in the next two years. Very few plays have the career production that these two bring to the table. 

It’s worth noting that guys like Julio Jones, Antonio Brown and Torry Holt had stretches of dominance over a six year span. During those times you could have called them the best wide receiver in the NFL and no one would have batted an eye. Those guys in particular were truly hard to leave off this team.

Tight End 

Tony Gonzalez, Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski

Order them however you want to, but these are the three best tight ends that I have ever seen play the game. They are on a separate level from the rest of the competition, although it hurt a little to not include Antonio Gates on this team. 

Gonzales ranks 6th in receiving yards and 8th in receiving touchdowns all time and is the clear winner in terms of overall stats. However, Gronkowski and Kelce have both been outstanding. Both were number one options on Super Bowl winning teams and dominated the game over the last decade. 

Offensive Line

Joe Thomas, Alan Faneca, Jason Kelce, Zack Martin, Jonathan Ogden, Walter Jones, Steve Hutchinson, Kevin Mawae, Marshall Yanda, Orlando Pace

For me, this was the hardest group to trim down. So many incredible players to choose from with only nine or ten spots to give. At positions that get the least amount of attention with the fewest stats to quantify greatness, it was also the biggest pool of talent to choose from which made it that much more difficult.

At tackle I feel reasonably good about my choices. Thomas was maybe the greatest pass protector I’ve ever seen play the game, with Jones and Pace in that conversation as well. And Ogden was such a dominating force at his size, he could really do it all at an incredibly high level. I threw positional rules to the wind and put all four of these left tackles on my team as the greatest of the last 25 years.

On the interior, there were so many good options. However, this group stood above the rest when push came to shove (which it often does in the trenches). From the mauling power of Steve Hutchinson to the precision of Zack Martin, this group stood out every time they were on the field. Impressive for a group of players that never touch the ball.