How many NFL players lining up in 2023 have a shot at being the best at their positions in league history?
It's a complicated question. Even picking the greatest player in league history at a given position is hard enough. The players with the best chance of chasing down the best at their positions typically are young and productive, which means we have to project a decade or even two into the future to estimate whether they have any realistic hope of making history.
Obviously, this is all subjective, so my feelings won't necessarily be in line with yours or anyone else's. I've leaned on cumulative production and measures of how players were seen in their time, such as first-team All-Pro appearances, with added bonuses for what they did in the postseason. Some observers might want to lean on the numbers and others might focus more heavily on playoff success. There's no right answer here.
After taking a closer look, I found quite a few positions where there just wasn't anybody with a credible case to challenge the greatest player or players of all time. As good as Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey are, there's no realistic path for them having a chance at supplanting Jim Brown, Walter Payton or Emmitt Smith to stand as the best running back in league history.
Likewise, I didn't think there was a credible case for any current players at offensive tackle, center, off-ball linebacker, cornerback, safety, punter or punt returner. That isn't to say that players such as Sauce Gardner or Rashawn Slater couldn't get there eventually, but they would need to string together a few dominant seasons to even have a viable path toward challenging the greats, let alone toppling them.
In the end, I found seven active players who have a plausible chance of becoming the greatest of all time at their positions and two who, in my eyes, have already earned that nod. The seven who are on their way have varying amounts of work to do: One needs to make a couple of more All-Pro teams, while others must play at a superstar level for more than a decade to have any chance.
I'll run through the players position-by-position and include projected chances for each to end their career as the best at their role. Let's start with the quarterback everyone expects: Can the reigning MVP eventually become the greatest football player who has ever lived?
Jump to a position:
Quarterback | Wide receiver
Tight end | Guard | Edge rusher
Defensive tackle | Kicker | Kick returner
Quarterback
Current GOAT: Tom Brady, Patriots/Bucs (NFL career leader in passing yards and passing TDs, three-time NFL MVP, first NFL player to win seven Super Bowls during his on-field career)