Breaking Down the NFL's Greatest Players of All Time

This is the beginning of a series in which I will be breaking down some of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. This will be a very in-depth process in which I look at players' stats and film to determine who the best players are.

Throughout this series, I'll make player profiles for each individual player I analyze. Once I'm done with each position, I'll release my final rankings of the top players of all time sorted by position and separated into tiers. This is going to take a very long time (most likely over a year), but it'll be a fun excercise, and I can't wait to get started.

Here are three things I'll at when breaking down each player:

1. Production, Film, and Impact

Production matters in my opinion because good players usually have very good production. Stats can be very misleading, though, especially in football, so I'll also watch some film to try to get a sense of each player's playstyle as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Another thing I'll look at is impact. There aren't any stats to measure this in football, but I'll try to see if a players' production leads to their team being succesful. For example, Tom Brady's single season peak is probably 2007. That season, he threw for 50 touchdowns and won the MVP award as the Patriots led the league in scoring with around 37 points per game. The Patriots also had the best passing offense, leading in key statistical categories like passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Tom Brady was elite in 2007 and his play made the Patriots' offense historically good. As a result, I would say Brady was a pretty impactful player that season.

2. Regular Season and Playoff Performance

Regular season performance definitely matters, but playoff performance matters even more. Regular season dominance is great, but I love seeing players get better in the playoffs or at least not worse because the best of the best shine when the lights are the brightest.

3. Peak and Longevity

I personally value peak over longevity, but both are somewhat important in my opinion.

I value players who peaked at an extremely high level and to determine how good players were at their best; I’ll look at their best three-year stretch in both the regular season and the playoffs. Just know that I will view players with high peaks very favorably.

4. Championship Equity

In my opinion, the best players in sports raise the ceiling of their team and improve its chances of winning a championship. This doesn't necessarily mean that a player has to have a ring to be great, but it certainly helps. At the end of the day, I'm looking for a player who has the talent and skill set to help a team reach the promised land.

Those are the four things I'll look at when breaking down each individual player. I think this project will be a lot of fun, and I can't wait for the process to begin. Let's see who the true GOATs are.