Top 30 players in the 57 seasons of Atlanta Falcons football
Many players walk through each NFL team's building each year, but few make their names known, and even fewer become legends. When it comes to the Atlanta Falcons, who are those legends?
Trying to rank the 30 best players to play for the Falcons—a team that played their inaugural season in 1966—was not easy. Numerous players that were left off have a legit argument for being ranked.
It all comes down to opinion—at least to a point. Everyone is going to have different lists, especially when you get outside of the top ten.
Comparing different positions isn't easy, comparing longer-tenured players who had steady stats to players who played for a shorter amount of time but put up monster numbers is head-spinning, and deciding how much stock to put into positional value is debatable.
Anyways, let's start counting down the 30 best players to ever take the field for the Atlanta Falcons, with honorable mentions at the end.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 30 & 29
Alex Mack needs to be on this list. While he played a rather forgotten position, he was a huge addition to the Falcons in free agency. He stabilized a position that was a disaster the year prior and was a key factor in the Falcons reaching their second Super Bowl.
Steve Bartkowski is a player who could be much higher on this list. He was the first good quarterback in the history of the Atlanta Falcons and a two-time Pro Bowler. The former first-overall pick led the league once in passing touchdowns, passer rating, and completion percentage—all in different seasons.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 28 & 27
This guy was a playmaker for the Atlanta Falcons. William Andrews had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns in 1981. He only had one season where he didn't have over 1,000 yards rushing when he played the entire season.
Alge Crumpler will forever be tied to Michael Vick. The two of them came into the league together and they had great chemistry. Crumpler enjoyed a stretch of four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and was obviously one of the best in the league.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 26 & 25
What gets Andre 'Bad Moon' Rison on this list? Touchdowns. The dude was a touchdown machine for the Falcons. He scored six points 56 times over his five seasons in Atlanta. We also cannot skip over his four 1,000-yard seasons.
You probably know the name already; Morten Andersen is considered to be the greatest kicker of all time—although Justin Tucker has been pleading his case. The fact that Andersen made the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a kicker says it all.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 24 & 23
Rolland Lawrence could get his hands on the football. The cornerback had five-straight seasons with at least six interceptions! That is just incredible consistency with a stat that can be extremely volatile. He also had 658 interception return yards and 13 fumble recoveries. His 39 career interceptions is the most in franchise history.
Gerald Riggs was a workhorse for his team. He had three seasons with over 300 carries and one season with nearly 400. The big running back also had some excellent numbers which helped him make three Pro Bowls.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 22 & 21
The U.S.S. Babineaux might not have been the most eye-popping player but he sure was consistent. Babs played in 185 games for the Falcons, He had 27 sacks, nearly 400 tackles (as an interior defender), and 91 tackles for loss.
There are a few running backs on here. Michael 'The Burner' Turner knew how to deliver blows with his bowling ball body. He racked up touchdowns and yards in every game he played—just go look at his yards per game with the Falcons.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 20 & 19
The Falcons had a consistent right guard in the late 80s and early 90s. Bill Fralic played in 116 games while making four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams.
The former fifth-round pick has proven to be one of the biggest draft steals in recent history. Grady Jarrett has been a consistent force on a Falcons defense that has been anything but—or maybe they have been consistent, just consistently bad. He just continues to go out on the field and play. His rank will only go up in the years to come.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 18 & 17
I know he was a kicker but he was a darn good kicker. Matt Bryant has the argument for being the most clutch kicker in the history of the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons won a lot of games because of him and he should be elected to the 'Ring of Honor.'
Jake Matthews simply does not get enough credit for his unmatched consistency. All he does is go out there and play one of the most important positions in the NFL (I wrote about it in-depth, link below). When was the last time you worried about the left tackle position for the Falcons? 2014?
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 16 & 15
The Falcons have had some pretty good tackles in their history and there is certainly another one that will make an appearance. Bob Whitefield, much like Jake Matthews, was a consistent player who never got much recognition even though he deserved it. One Pro Bowl is a travesty—again, just like Matthews.
If you haven't heard the name Scott Case, then you better learn it. Case was a very versatile defensive back for a long time. He played in 162 games for Atlanta and had 30 interceptions—10 of which came in one season (1988)—seven fumble recoveries, seven-and-a-half sacks, and 959 tackles. He even had a 170-tackle season in 1990.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 14 & 13
The Atlanta Falcons got themselves a pass rusher when they traded for John Abraham. Abraham had some dominant seasons for the Falcons' defense and had 68.5 sacks in his seven seasons. He was also a tackle for loss and a forced fumble machine. The Falcons did end up letting him walk a bit too early.
Keith Brooking could simply find the ball carrier. He was able to fly around the field, make plays, and do just about everything you would ask from a linebacker. His solo tackle stats are crazy and he had eight-straight 100-plus tackle seasons (nine if you want to count his first year in Dallas).
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 12 & 11
Todd McClure was a trooper with his 198 games played in. He set a franchise record with 144 consecutive starts, which, barring disaster, is going to be broken in week one of 2023 by Jake Matthews. That doesn't take away from what the 'Mud Duck' did and the Falcons rewarded him by inducting him into their Ring of Honor last year.
Tony Gonzalez is the greatest tight end of all time and there is no argument. His consistency in everything he did is something we will never see again. He played for the Atlanta Falcons late in his career, yet still managed to be one of the best tight ends every year.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 10 & 9
Michael Vick captured the hearts of the city with his electricity at a position that had never seen a player like him. He could make any throw and make any run. While his tenure with the Atlanta Falcons ended very disappointingly, he has changed his life around and is worthy of being in the top ten.
Deion Sanders is a difficult player to rank. On one hand you have the greatest cornerback in NFL history, one of the greatest return men ever, one of the greatest all-around athletes ever, and an interesting personality, but on the other hand you have a player who played just five seasons in Atlanta and voluntarily left.
He was such a special player and it is rare to find a player who is unanimously considered the greatest player at their position—Primetime is just that.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 8 & 7
The greatest pass rusher in Atlanta Falcons history. Claude Humphrey, unofficially, had 99.5 sacks in his ten seasons with the Falcons. He is also a six-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro but his biggest achievement was making the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, which was long overdue.
Roddy White has been underappreciated. The franchise wide receiver played 11 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons recording 808 receptions for 10,863 yards and a franchise-record 63 receiving touchdowns. He had six-straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2007-2012.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 6 & 5
There is nothing better than clicking on a player's career summary by year and seeing "ATL, ATL, ATL, ATL, ×14." Jeff Van Note played a jaw-dropping 18 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and only the Atlanta Falcons. That equated to 246 games which is the second most in franchise history. Van Note also made six Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams—not bad for an 11th-round pick.
Jessie "The Hammer" Tuggle defied all odds as an undrafted free agent out of Valdosta State and became one of the best players in Falcons history. The linebacker lead the league in tackles four times, broke the 100 tackle mark in nine-straight seasons (!!!), had six 150+ tackle seasons, and two-straight 200+ tackle seasons. Altogether, he had 1,805 combined tackles, 532 solo tackles, 21 sacks, and ten forced fumbles.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 4 & 3
Consistency was Mike Kenn's specialty. The Atlanta Falcons did not have to worry about the left tackle position for 17 seasons, which is such a luxury. Kenn has the most games played in franchise history with 251. The six-foot-seven monster made five Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams.
The first draft pick in Atlanta Falcons history, Tommy Nobis did not disappoint. 'Mr. Falcon' played 133 games and really set a high bar for future Falcons' linebackers. There is zero reason he should not be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he is certainly one of the greatest players in NFL history.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 2
Julio Jones was a spectacle. In his prime, there was and never will be anyone like him. He had a rare combination of size, speed, smarts, and route running (among other things). He always kept his head down and worked harder than anyone.
Julio was feared by defensive coordinators as we saw him constantly get double-teamed and even saw him triple-teamed!
He had seven 1,000-yard seasons, five-straight (six yards short of six) 1,400-yard seasons, and a 1,871-yard season. And, of course, he had that ridiculous 300-yard game against the Carolina Panthers.
During his ten seasons with the Falcons, he totaled 903 catches for 12,896 yards and 60 touchdowns. Jet Jones also averaged 95.5 yards per game and moved the chains 621 times with the Falcons.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: No. 1
Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will forever be entwined. There are some who think Julio Jones is the greatest player but most will agree that they are the two greatest players in the history of the Atlanta Falcons.
Matt Ryan gets the edge because he played longer and played the more important position. He really set a new standard for Falcons quarterbacks and became their first sustained, truly great franchise quarterback.
He won OROY in the 2008 season, MVP and OPOY in the 2016 season, led the Falcons to their second Super Bowl, consistently led them to the playoffs without much help by way of defense or offensive line, and owns every franchise record when it comes to quarterback stats.
Matty Ice deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Just look at where he ranks on the all-time leaderboards in different QB stats:
- Passing yards: 7th (62,792)
- Completions: 5th (5,551)
- Passing TDs: 9th (381)
- Passer rating: 18th (93.5)
- Passing yards per game: 8th (268.3)
There are more stats that could be included but you get the idea; Matt Ryan is one of the greatest to ever play the position and one of the most underappreciated players ever.
Greatest Atlanta Falcons of all-time: Honorable mentions
Honorable mentions:
- Jamal Anderson, RB
- Warrick Dunn, RB
- Terance Mathis, WR
- George Kunz, RT
- R.C. Thielemann, OG
- Chuck Smith, DE
- Patrick Kerney, DE
More and more names could have seriously been added to the honorable mentions. Even though the Atlanta Falcons have never been world champs, they have still had some great players walk through their doors.
These seven guys are names that were all considered for the last few spots on the top 30.
Jamal Anderson had some phenomenal years but his career was cut short due to injury. Warrick Dunn was a fantastic player and an even better person. Terance Mathis put up some impressive numbers. The two offensive linemen were as consistent as they come and the two defensive linemen each had a few double-digit sack seasons—a rarity for the franchise.