Best NFL Players of All Time: Deion Sanders. Ranking the Top Players in History. Place a bet on an NFL football game now.
Best NFL Players of All Time: Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders was a ten-time All-Pro player in the National Football League, but he could have been much better if he had made football his full-time career. Rather, Sanders went on to play baseball, and he was skilled enough to play in the major leagues for nine seasons.
Sanders was without a doubt one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. Many NFL scouts, coaches, and general managers thought Sanders was the best ever at the specific task of covering receivers. The phrase did not originate with Sanders, but following his 1989 draft selection by the Atlanta Falcons, head coach Jerry Glanville (appointed the following season) stated that the team would just “leave him on the island” while facing the top receiver on the outside. Since then, the NFL has used the expression to describe a cornerback who can cover a receiver on his own.
Sanders entered the league calling himself “Prime Time” and exuding a great sense of confidence in his skills. When his time at Florida State ended and the Falcons selected him with the top choice in the draft, he didn’t believe he would have any sort of transition period. Sanders remarked, “I’ve watched the NFL, and they have talented receivers.” What, though, am I supposed to be terrified of? Can they outpace me in speed? Do they have greater talent than I do? Not in my opinion. They appear to have far more reason for worry than I have. Feel free to label me as haughty or conceited. But I’m telling the truth. I fail to understand why it should be difficult for me to cover NFL receivers.
Jerry Rice of San Francisco, the greatest wide receiver in NFL history, was one of them. Although Sanders did not always prevail over Rice, Rice understood that facing Sanders would put his skills to the test. Although Rice prepared for Sanders differently than he did other defensive backs, he never lost confidence when facing him.
Rice remembered, “You couldn’t just go out and run against him because he was so fast and so talented.” “I tried to understand his inclinations by studying him. Although I am aware that defensive backs typically do that, I studied Deion and Darrell Green when I had to face them. You have to find a way to acquire an advantage, and that’s what I would do.
Sanders produced impressive results that demonstrated his extraordinary ability to change the course of a game. Throughout his career, he returned nine of his 53 regular-season interceptions for touchdowns, which tied for the second-highest total ever. The notable thing about his career high of seven interceptions in a single season (1993) is that it’s not higher. The fact that Sanders was so good at covering that many teams refused to put him to the test is one reason it isn’t. They would not even glance at Sanders’ side of the ball, instead trying their luck with one of the other Falcons defensive backs (do you recall the unfortunate Charles Dimry?). They understood he was too skilled to take on.
Sanders has always claimed that this is one of the things that drew him to baseball. “I was bored at times,” Sanders admitted. They refused to approach my side of the field or throw to me. Boredom results from that.
However, Sanders found a great deal of joy in returning kickoffs and punts. In order to give Sanders as many touches as possible, Glanville had Sanders return kicks, particularly in close games. For the majority of his career, he was regarded as the most dangerous return player in the league, with six punt returns and three kickoff returns for touchdowns. His league-high total of 19 non-offensive touchdowns is still in place.
There was, however, one grave flaw in Sanders’s strategy. Throughout his professional career with the Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Baltimore Ravens, as well as his time as a Florida State university standout, he never hesitated to dive in headfirst and make a major tackle. His inclination to avoid physical touch got more and more evident as the years passed. Sanders expressed his distaste for that aspect of the game when asked to rate his tackling, calling it “lousy.”
A lot of his coaches became sick from that aspect of his game. However, it also illustrates his skill at covering. A single move would never be enough to dislodge Sanders, while double moves would simply give the impression that a receiver was open. Sanders clarified, “They might be able to get a half-step, but that was a good thing.” “I wanted to create the illusion that the receiver was open so that when the quarterback threw to him, I could intercept it by running in.” Someone like Jerry Rice or someone who ran the best route of their life would have to defeat me in person. I refused to allow anyone to claim they had the finest of Prime Time.
Sanders had an obsession with making news and promoting himself. His actions did not elevate him to the status of one of the game’s most well-liked players. Sanders claimed, “There were fans who hated me and there were fans who loved me.” Some players had the same sentiments. That was something I knew. But throughout, I was just going to be me. I executed the play as I saw fit, planning to dance following a major play or interception. All someone needed to do to get rid of me was tackle me.
In 1994 and 1995, Sanders won consecutive Super Bowls while playing for the 49ers and Cowboys. He referred to those experiences as his career high points, and they confirmed his value as a team member. But the one who most impressed the fans was Sanders. His specialty was running with an interception; in 1994, while he was a member of the Niners, he recorded 303 interception return yards. With the cameras focused on him and his opponents furious, Sanders’s trademark maneuver was to place his hand on his helmet before high-stepping into the goal zone.
Best NFL Players of All Time: Deion Sanders Stats
Regular Season
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | AV |
| 1989 | 22 | ATL | RCB/LCB | 21 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 52 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 5 | ||||||
| 1990 | 23 | ATL | RCB | 21 | 16 | 16 | 3 | 153 | 2 | 82 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 8 | |||||||
| 1991 | 24 | ATL | RCB | 21 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 119 | 1 | 55 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 14 | ||||||
| 1992 | 25 | ATL | RCB | 21 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 105 | 0 | 55 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 13 | ||||||
| 1993 | 26 | ATL | RCB | 21 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 91 | 0 | 41 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 13 | ||||||
| 1994 | 27 | SFO | RCB | 21 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 303 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 18 | ||||
| 1995 | 28 | DAL | LCB | 21 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 1996 | 29 | DAL | RCB/WR | 21 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 23 | ||||
| 1997 | 30 | DAL | RCB | 21 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 81 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 30 | 3 | 17 | ||||
| 1998 | 31 | DAL | RCB | 21 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 153 | 1 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 18 | ||||
| 1999 | 32 | DAL | RCB | 21 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2000 | 33 | WAS | RCB | 21 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 91 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2001 | Missed season – Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Missed season – Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Missed season – Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | 37 | BAL | DB | 37 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 87 | 1 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2005 | 38 | BAL | DB | 37 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 0 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Career | 188 | 157 | 53 | 1331 | 9 | 93 | 25 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 512 | 254 | 20 | 4 | 163 | ||||||
| 5 yrs | ATL | 70 | 63 | 24 | 520 | 3 | 82 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 238 | 0 | 53 | ||||||||
| 5 yrs | DAL | 63 | 61 | 14 | 273 | 2 | 71 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 159 | 148 | 11 | 3 | 78 | |||||
| 2 yrs | BAL | 25 | 6 | 5 | 144 | 1 | 48 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 6 | |||||
| 1 yr | SFO | 14 | 12 | 6 | 303 | 3 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 34 | 2 | 18 | |||||||
| 1 yr | WAS | 16 | 15 | 4 | 91 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 8 | |||||
Playoffs
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL |
| 1991 | 24 | ATL | RCB | 2 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1994 | 27 | SFO | RCB | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1995 | 28 | DAL | LCB | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 29 | DAL | RCB | 2 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 31 | DAL | RCB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 1999 | 32 | DAL | RCB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 12 | 12 | 5 | 80 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 4 yrs | DAL | 7 | 7 | 2 | 34 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1 yr | ATL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1 yr | SFO | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||||||
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