Best NFL Players of All Time: Kellen Winslow. Ranking the Top Players in History. Place a bet on an NFL football game now.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Kellen Winslow

There is a huge demand from coaches for a tight end who can make a big play down field, go up the seam, and blast past the defensive back. It’s safe to assume that prior to Kellen Winslow’s arrival in 1979, this concept was pure fiction. Don Coryell, who picked Winslow in San Diego and turned him into the focal point of the Chargers’ attack, was one of the first truly exceptional athletes to play the tight end position.

Winslow’s career progressed because he had the talented Dan Fouts throwing to him. However, Coryell was the one who first noticed Winslow’s brilliance as a tight end at Missouri while he was a college student, and he also witnessed Winslow’s incredible athleticism during his first training camp.

Calling Winslow a tremendous athlete, however, does not diminish his accomplishments as a player who practiced his craft every day. He knew how to get the ball at its highest point and could make the challenging catch in a tight space. Whenever Fouts needed to sustain a drive, he made his life considerably easier. Fouts stated, “Kellen knew how to get open and make plays when it mattered.” “He could make a fast move and get open, which allowed him to sustain drives.” He would fight for the ball and win the battle if he didn’t get open. He performed admirably when it counted most, and naturally, his best work came in the biggest games.

In a playoff game between the Chargers and the Miami Dolphins in 1981, Winslow gave one of his most inspirational performances. The Chargers prevailed 41–38 in overtime in South Florida because of Winslow’s near-unstoppable play. With four seconds left, he stopped a Dolphins field goal attempt, forcing the game into overtime. He grabbed 13 catches for 166 yards. Because of the intense humidity in Miami, Winslow began to cramp during the game. His teammates had to help him out of the Orange Bowl, but not before he led the Chargers to victory.

“I’ll always remember that game, and I’m incredibly proud of what transpired on the field that day,” Winslow remarked. Everyone on the field was going to try all in their power to save our season, and I gave it everything I had. Despite the difficult conditions and our excellent teamwork, we managed to prevail.

As you were playing the game, you could tell that it was truly unique. The Chargers went out to a 24–0 advantage, which shocked them with our start. It was shocking to us how they returned. Then there was the great drama, the Orange Bowl crowd, and the back-and-forth of the game. You were aware that it was among the best games ever created, and it was unquestionably the best I had ever played.

Football fans who attended the rickety Orange Bowl or watched it on television will never forget Winslow’s performance, even though Hall of Fame coach Don Shula singled him out after the game under extremely difficult circumstances for the Dolphins. “Superman was him,” Shula declared. Winslow was catching the ball every time they needed a play. It was an amazing performance, and we had no responses for him.

The first tight end to compile season-long wide receiver-caliber stats was Winslow. As a rookie, injuries prevented him from catching more than 25 passes. However, he startled the NFL in the 1980 season by collecting 89 receptions for 1,290 yards and nine touchdowns. Opponents were using game plans to try to stop Winslow by the halfway mark of that season, but they were unsuccessful. With receivers, the Chargers had a dynamic offense.

They couldn’t devote all of their attention to Winslow since they also had to attend to Charlie Joiner and John Jefferson. Before that season, opponents could never have imagined covering a tight end with a player other than a safety or linebacker; however, Winslow’s versatility made it impossible. He was simply too large and strong for most of the cover players, so opponents began to cover him with their cornerbacks, but it was hardly the solution either.

With Winslow, Jefferson, and Joiner as the three top receivers in the AFC and Fouts throwing for 4,715 yards (a total he would shatter himself only one year later) and 30 touchdowns, the 1980 season was exceptional for the potent “Air Coryell” offense. Fouts declared, “I don’t think you’ll ever see a team like that again.” It’s one thing to have a single receiver who can control a game, but having two is incredible. But having three players who can change the course of a game offers an offense a lot of alternatives.

I believe the largest difference was probably that Kellen was such an original at his job. Before Kellen arrived and defenses were unsure of how to handle him, tight ends were unable to perform to the same level as him. Furthermore, we had other excellent receivers who could step in even if they had figured it out.

Winslow changed the game in a variety of ways as a player. Before Winslow arrived on the scene, no tight end had ever caught more than 75 passes in a season. Starting in 1980, Winslow caught 88 passes or more in three of his four seasons. Thanks to Winslow’s ability to catch passes, Coryell and an ingenious assistant coach called Joe Gibbs were able to reinvent the tight end position.

Because Winslow was so important as a receiver, the Chargers did not use him for blocking duties as a tight end. Consequently, Gibbs and Coryell developed the two-tight end system, which he would bring with him to the Redskins in 1981 as head coach.

In the 1960s, Mike Ditka and John Mackey were the tight end position standard bearers for their style of play. Tight ends were mostly blocks who would occasionally receive a ball as a safety valve from the quarterback until those two started to play a huge role in every game. The two of them redefined the role. Winslow then arrived and took things to a new level. They are still following Winslow’s lead, even with excellent replacement tight ends like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Shannon Sharpe.

Best NFL Players of All Time: Kellen Winslow Stats

Regular Season

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb	AV
1979	22	SDG	TE	80	7	1	25	255	10.2	2	30	3.6	36.4	25	10.2	255	2	1	3
1980	23	SDG	TE	80	16	11	89	1290	14.5	9	65	5.6	80.6	89	14.5	1290	9	2	13
1981	24	SDG	TE	80	16	16	88	1075	12.2	10	67	5.5	67.2	88	12.2	1075	10	2	12
1982	25	SDG	TE	80	9	9	54	721	13.4	6	40	6	80.1	54	13.4	721	6	1	15
1983	26	SDG	TE	80	16	16	88	1172	13.3	8	46	5.5	73.3	88	13.3	1172	8	3	10
1984	27	SDG	TE	80	7	7	55	663	12.1	2	33	7.9	94.7	55	12.1	663	2	1	6
1985	28	SDG	TE	80	10	6	25	318	12.7	0	26	2.5	31.8	25	12.7	318	0	0	3
1986	29	SDG	TE	80	16	16	64	728	11.4	5	28	4	45.5	64	11.4	728	5	0	7
1987	30	SDG	TE	80	12	12	53	519	9.8	3	30	4.4	43.3	53	9.8	519	3	1	3
Career					109	94	541	6741	12.5	45	67	5	61.8	541	12.5	6741	45	11	72

Playoffs

Year	Age	Tm	Pos	G	GS	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	Touch	Y/Tch	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
1980	23	SDG	TE	2	2	4	47	11.8	0	21	2	23.5	4	11.8	47	0	0
1981	24	SDG	TE	2	2	16	213	13.3	2	33	8	106.5	16	13.3	213	2	0
1982	25	SDG	TE	2	2	8	120	15	2	30	4	60	8	15	120	2	1
Career				6	6	28	380	13.6	4	33	4.7	63.3	28	13.6	380	4

 

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