Teams: San Francisco 49ers (1985-2000), Las Vegas Raiders (2001-2004), Seattle Seahawks (2004), Denver Broncos (2005)

Accolades: All-time career receiving yards leader, all-time career receptions leader, all-time career touchdowns leader, all-time career yards from scrimmage leader, 3-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl 23 MVP, 2-time Offensive Player of the Year, 13-time Pro Bowler, 10-time First-Team All-Pro, 6-time receiving yards leader, 6-time receiving touchdowns leader, 2-time receptions leader, scoring leader (1987)

At this point, Rice shouldn’t need an introduction. He’s Jerry Rice, after all. But I’m going to give it a spin anyway.

Rice was not a tremendous physical specimen. He had an average build of your bog-standard fit American man. Yet, what he lacked in transcendent physical ability, Rice made up for it with good old-fashioned tenacity and hard work. It’s a cliche, and it’s built into the job of a professional athlete, but Rice really might have outworked the competition. That’s why he holds every all-time receiving record, with no one close to him. That’s why he has the most touchdowns ever, with also no one close to him. That’s why he had 14 seasons of at least 1,000 yards (!), many of those campaigns coming in his late 30s. Rice was unstoppable because he never let himself slow down.

In my eyes, Rice is not only the best receiver ever but the greatest football player of all time.