
Time travel isn’t possible, so we can only wonder how some of the NFL’s all-time greats from the previous decades would perform in the modern football game.
Here are 25 NFL icons who would be even bigger superstars if they played in today’s league.
Could these NFL legends truly compete in today’s game?
Joe Montana

Before Tom Brady won four rings in the back half of his career, Montana was the consensus GOAT of quarterbacks.
Montana won four Super Bowl championships and retired with 40,551 passing yards and 273 touchdowns. In today’s NFL, he would have given Brady a real run for the “GOAT” status. Until Tommy Terrific arrived, no other QB could match Montana’s calmness and poise in big-game situations.
Jerry Rice

The NFL didn’t start becoming a more pass-happy league until the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
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And yet, Jerry Rice retired as the NFL’s all-time leader in every meaningful receiving category: 1,549 catches, 22,895 receiving yards, and 197 touchdowns. Nobody has come close to challenging Rice’s records, either.
Jerry Rice in his prime would surely push for 2,000 receiving yards in today’s NFL.
Dan Marino

“Dan The Man” was the quarterback who made 5K passing yards cool before guys started doing it regularly in the 21st century. He became the first QB to hit that mark in the 1984 season, and nobody would do it again for 27 years.
Marino led the NFL in passing yards five times during his career, playing in an era with Joe Montana, Dan Fouts, Brett Favre, John Elway, Troy Aikman, and Jim Kelly, by the way! He retired in 2000 as the career leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
Deion Sanders

Regarded as the greatest cornerback ever, “Prime Time” was a larger-than-life personality who excelled on the gridiron and the baseball diamond.
Sanders’ dedication to his craft, world-class athleticism, and game-breaking speed would have made him an even greater shutdown corner in today’s NFL. Just think about all the access he would have had on game film with today’s technology and analytics.
Brett Favre

Favre won three straight MVP awards from 1995 to ‘97 and retired in 2011 as the all-time passing yards and touchdowns leader.
“The Gunslinger” was fearless with his decision-making, rocket arm, and deadly accuracy. He didn’t compile a lot of rushing yards, but Favre had great mobility to dance around and extend plays.
Yep, Favre would have had at least a couple of 5,000-yard seasons in today’s NFL.
Michael Irvin

Irvin’s career numbers are especially impressive when you consider two things: 1) he played second-fiddle to all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith in the Dallas Cowboys’ offense, and 2) he had to retire early after suffering a career-ending neck injury at age 33.
Smith was the focal point, but Irvin was Troy Aikman’s go-to guy in the passing game. Irvin hit the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each of his seven healthy NFL seasons. Consider that he averaged more receiving yards per game than Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, and Reggie Wayne!
With his imposing 6-foot-2 and 207-pound frame, Irvin’s physicality and contested catch abilities would have made him an even bigger shining star in today’s NFL…especially if he didn’t have to be the secondary weapon behind Smith.
Charles Woodson

The Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers icon was renowned for his high football IQ, ball-hawking skills, and smart instincts. The nine-time Pro Bowler retired with 65 career interceptions, 183 pass breakups, 18 fumble recoveries, and 20 sacks.
Woodson wasn’t just an elite shutdown defensive back and INT specialist, but he really brought the heat as an occasional pass-rusher. You know how Kyle Hamilton does all of that for the Baltimore Ravens? Yeah, Woodson would be doing even more in today’s NFL.
Tony Gonzalez

Regarded by some as the greatest tight end of all time, the 14-time Pro Bowler spent much of his prime in a time when the NFL was only gradually transitioning toward a more pass-happy league. In his early years with the Kansas City Chiefs, it was still very much a run-heavy game.
Consider that Gonzalez only had four 1,000-yard seasons…because tight ends were rarely the focal point in the offense compared to guys like Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce.
Gonzalez also didn’t get to play with an elite quarterback until he joined Matt Ryan’s Atlanta Falcons for his final five seasons.. If he started out in today’s NFL and had an above-average signal-caller, Gonzalez’s production would be off-the-charts ridiculous.
Marshall Faulk

Sometimes, it feels like people don’t appreciate how great Faulk really was. We suppose that’s life when you played on a historically good St. Louis Rams team featuring Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt?
Not only was the three-time Offensive Player of the Year and 2000 league MVP dangerous in the backfield, but he was equally as explosive as a pass-catcher like Christian McCaffrey.
Faulk finished with over 400 receiving yards in nine of his 12 NFL seasons. In 1999, he became the second running back to record 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Not impressed? How about four seasons of 2,000 yards of offense?!
Faulk’s numbers in the modern NFL would be even better than McCaffrey’s. Just saying!
Ronnie Lott

By far the best safety in NFL history, Lott struck fear into the hearts of opposing receivers with his bone-crunching hits. But that was only a fraction of Lott’s special talents.
The 10-time Pro Bowler was a certified ball-hawking specialist with 63 career interceptions, five pick-sixes, and 16 fumble recoveries. Lott was regularly assigned to cornerback, where he’d use his toughness and physicality to take away the opposition’s top receivers.
With his physicality and football smarts, we have no doubt Lott’s talents would have translated over smoothly to today’s NFL. So if you’re an active NFL wide receiver and you spot a DeLorean time machine in public, destroy it ASAP before prime Ronnie Lott travels to the 21st century!!!
Terrell Davis

How special was Davis? How about the fact that he’s in the Hall of Fame despite only four healthy NFL seasons?
The two-time Super Bowl champion and Broncos icon rushed for 2,008 yards and 21 TDs in 1998, his last healthy season. Health sciences, data, medication, and therapy have come along so much since Davis retired that he’d be more durable and explosive in today’s NFL.
Kurt Warner

The two-time league MVP and Super Bowl 34 champion would make easy work of opposing defenses in today’s league, which is dominated by the aerial assault.
Hard to believe that Warner only had three seasons of 30-plus touchdowns, but he’d easily throw for 40-plus in today’s NFL, considering that opposing defenses are hardly allowed to touch QBs or receivers anymore.
Anthony Muñoz

Munoz was the NFL’s best offensive lineman of the ‘80s, and he played in an era where it was much easier to get after the quarterback than it is today.
Imagine if this rock of a pass-blocker got to protect elusive QBs like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, or Patrick Mahomes?
Adrian Peterson

Easily the best running back of his decade, Peterson put up all-world numbers despite being the opposing defense’s priority every game. Think about it. In 2009, Brett Favre was the only season of his career when Peterson played with an elite QB.
In today’s NFL, prime A.P. would hopefully be paired with an elite quarterback, meaning there’d be far more room for him to exploit opposing defenses.
“Mean” Joe Greene

An architect of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty that won four Super Bowls in the “Steel Curtain” era, the 10-time Pro Bowler played in an era where it was rush-heavy and difficult to get after the QB.
Over 40 years after his final playing season, we haven’t seen anyone like Greene since his retirement. A 6-4 and 275 pounds, he was ultra-scrappy, tough as nails, and impossible to block one-on-one., And we can’t help but wonder what his sack totals would be like in today’s NFL.
Randall Cunningham

Long before Michael Vick, Lamar Jackson, and Cam Newton…there was Randall Cunningham.
The journeyman quarterback was effective from the pocket, yes, but he mostly got by with his potent rushing abilities. The four-time Pro Bowler had 4,928 career rushing yards and 35 touchdowns on the ground, which is especially impressive when you consider that he only spent half of his career as a full-time starting quarterback.
Oh, how fun it would be for Cunningham to play in today’s NFL and challenge Jackson for the crown as the GOAT of dual-threat QBs.
Terrell Owens

Impressive that Owens sits third all-time in receiving yards, considering multiple factors…such as playing second-fiddle to Jerry Rice for most of his tenure with the 49ers.
Owens made every quarterback around him that much better. How did Jeff Garcia do once he and TO split up? Did Donovan McNabb ever reach a Super Bowl without Owens? Didn’t the presence of Owens help Tony Romo become a star, too?
Playing in today’s NFL with a top-tier QB would have made Owens even scarier.
Randy Moss

Moss was on his way to the Hall of Fame before he joined Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in 2007. So what did Moss do in his first year with the GOAT?
Oh, you know, just 98 catches for 1,493 yards and 23 receiving TDs — the most in a single season. The point is that Moss would have put up historically good numbers in today’s NFL if he had been assigned an elite quarterback, something he only had for a few of his NFL seasons. Too bad he and Brady only had two full seasons together, huh?
At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, to go along with his lightning-quick speed, Moss just couldn’t be handled one-on-one. If he had someone like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, or Josh Allen throwing the ball to him today? Woof, Multiple 2,000-yard seasons. EASILY.
Reggie White

Only Bruce Smith’s 200 career sacks top Reggie White’s total of 198. But here’s the catch: Smith played 47 more games, so make of that as you will.
“The Ministry of Defense” was truly a freak of nature: 6-foot-5, 291 pounds. Pure strength, speed, and athleticism. All the tools that made him unblockable and nightmare fuel for opposing offensive linemen and QBs.
White was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. 198 QB takedowns in 232 games is the most impressive sack rate you’ll ever see. Do some of you think that today’s offensive linemen could block the late Reggie White in today’s NFL? HA! Maybe with a triple-team.
“Maybe.”
Peyton Manning

Manning wasn’t super athletic and could hardly run, but it was his football smarts and ability to read the defenses that set him apart from other QBs. He didn’t have the best arm, but he just knew where to place the ball for his receiver to make a play.
The five-time MVP makes this list because the NFL is even more pass-heavy today than it was during his career, which spanned from 1998 to 2015. Today’s NFL rules are all offense-friendly. You can barely touch a QB or breathe on a receiver.
He wouldn’t be as flashy as today’s top QBs, but The Sheriff would use the NFL’s modern rules to his advantage and rip opposing defenses to shreds.
Eric Dickerson

Dickerson set the record for rushing yards in a single season with 2,105 back in 1984. Over four decades later, the record still stands.
In seven of his 11 NFL seasons, Dickerson rushed for over 1,200 yards. His 90.8 rushing yards per game are the fourth-best mark ever, too.
Dickerson would be much better in today’s NFL, considering how much opposing defenses would have to respect the passing game and leave holes open for him to exploit.
Lawrence Taylor

A popular pick as the greatest defensive player of all time, LT led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl championships in his Hall of Fame career.
Just how far was he ahead of his time? Folks, Taylor was telling Bill Belichick, of all guys, what the Giants should be doing on defense during the latter’s tenure as their defensive coordinator.
The 6-foot-3, 237-pound menace was virtually unblockable off the edge, racking up 142 sacks in 184 NFL games. If a time machine could bring him into the NFL today, he’d easily hit 200 career sacks.
John Elway

A pinpoint accurate passer, Elway was especially imposing because of his legs and ability to bull over defenders.
Elway racked up 3,407 rushing yards and 33 TDs in his career, to say nothing of his deadly delivery from the pocket. As most of today’s starting QBs boast good mobility and speed to extend plays, there’s no question that Elway would easily pick apart opposing defenses in today’s NFL.
Barry Sanders

Sanders rushed for over 1,100 yards in each of his 10 NFL seasons. Before Emmitt Smith broke the record, the Detroit Lions icon would have retired as the NFL’s career rushing leader if he hadn’t unexpectedly retired after his age-30 season.
Sanders’s unique build, at 5-foot-8 and 203 pounds, made him remarkably shifty and elusive. His blazing speed allowed him to rip off a big run at any point. He’d be the league’s best running back in today’s game and would have delivered a Super Bowl to Dan Campbell’s squad by now.
Steve Young

From 1991 to ‘97, the 49ers great won two MVP awards, a Super Bowl title, led the league in passing TDs four times, in passer rating six times, and boasted the best completion percentage five times.
Oh, and he retired with 4,239 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns.
Again, the NFL was hardly a pass-happy league at the time. In today’s NFL, he’d be a combination of Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen all in one.