[Hat tip to Sarasota]
With the NFL Draft starting next week, I thought it would be interesting to get everyone's thoughts on who were the best former Cornhuskers at their positions in the NFL? Below are my choices:
QB Vince Ferragamo -- Only former Husker to quarterback to start a Super Bowl game is an easy choice.
RB Roger Craig -- His three Super Bowls rings give him the edge over all-time Packer leading rusher Ahman Green.
FB Tom Rathman -- A complete fullback who was equally adept at running, blocking and receiving. He gets the nod over Andra Franklin who was one of the best in the League when his career was cut short due to a horrible injury and Cory Schlesinger.
WR Irving Fryar & Tim Smith -- Fryar is the only Husker to have been selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft and was the first player to record a touchdown reception in 17 consecutive NFL seasons. Smith had 1,000 yards receiving in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons for the Houston Oilers.
TE Jamie Williams -- He played 12 seasons in the NFL.
C Mick Tingelhoff -- Tingelhoff was just elected to the pro football hall of fame which gives them the edge over Dominic Raiola.
OG Will Shields & Carl Nicks -- Shields was also just selected to the pro football hall of fame and Nicks was the best in his position when he was playing. Brendan Stai and Dean Steinkuhler were also considered.
OT Bob Brown -- Brown is also an NFL Hall of Famer.
DT John Dutton & Ndamukong Suh -- Dutton was a fixture in the Dallas Cowboys defensive front and Suh has redefined the position of defensive tackle. John Parrella receives honorable mention here.
DE Neil Smith & Ron McDole -- Smith was a slam dunk choice and I gave McDole the edge over Kyle Vanden Bosch, Mike Rucker, Jim Skow & Grant Wistrom due to him playing 17 years in the NFL. McDole has the most interceptions ever by am NFL lineman, with 12. He is also ranked #44 on the all-time list of games played in the NFL.
LB Lavonte David & Willie Harper & Jimmy Williams -- You could win a lot of football games with these three linebackers on your defense. Barrett Ruud was also considered.
CB Pat Fischer & Tyrone Williams -- Fischer should be in the NFL Hall of Fame. He finished his 17-year career with 56 interception. Williams had a very good career with Green Bay.
S Mike Brown & Mike Minter -- I like the Mikes here over Brian Washington & Russell Gary.
K Tie Kris Brown & Josh Brown -- Nebraska has had a lot of kickers and punters in the NFL and I couldn't pick between these two.
P Sam Koch -- This season will be his 10th with the Baltimore Ravens and he's still going strong.
KR Ahman Green -- I was stumped on this one so I went with him. He averaged 23 yards on 72 kickoff returns in the NFL.
PR Tyrone Hughes -- He had 8,410 return yards and five touchdowns during his NFL career.
Nebraska has three NFL hall of famers on the offensive line which isn't too shabby, but the pickings are pretty slim at offensive tackle. I could only come up with Brown at the position. Does anyone have another candidate for offensive tackle? Quarterback is another position where there isn't much to choose from except for Ferragamo.
Other positions are pretty well represented with choices who arguably could be the top of their position. Where did I get anything wrong?
With the NFL Draft starting next week, I thought it would be interesting to get everyone's thoughts on who were the best former Cornhuskers at their positions in the NFL? Below are my choices:
QB Vince Ferragamo -- Only former Husker to quarterback to start a Super Bowl game is an easy choice.
RB Roger Craig -- His three Super Bowls rings give him the edge over all-time Packer leading rusher Ahman Green.
FB Tom Rathman -- A complete fullback who was equally adept at running, blocking and receiving. He gets the nod over Andra Franklin who was one of the best in the League when his career was cut short due to a horrible injury and Cory Schlesinger.
WR Irving Fryar & Tim Smith -- Fryar is the only Husker to have been selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft and was the first player to record a touchdown reception in 17 consecutive NFL seasons. Smith had 1,000 yards receiving in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons for the Houston Oilers.
TE Jamie Williams -- He played 12 seasons in the NFL.
C Mick Tingelhoff -- Tingelhoff was just elected to the pro football hall of fame which gives them the edge over Dominic Raiola.
OG Will Shields & Carl Nicks -- Shields was also just selected to the pro football hall of fame and Nicks was the best in his position when he was playing. Brendan Stai and Dean Steinkuhler were also considered.
OT Bob Brown -- Brown is also an NFL Hall of Famer.
DT John Dutton & Ndamukong Suh -- Dutton was a fixture in the Dallas Cowboys defensive front and Suh has redefined the position of defensive tackle. John Parrella receives honorable mention here.
DE Neil Smith & Ron McDole -- Smith was a slam dunk choice and I gave McDole the edge over Kyle Vanden Bosch, Mike Rucker, Jim Skow & Grant Wistrom due to him playing 17 years in the NFL. McDole has the most interceptions ever by am NFL lineman, with 12. He is also ranked #44 on the all-time list of games played in the NFL.
LB Lavonte David & Willie Harper & Jimmy Williams -- You could win a lot of football games with these three linebackers on your defense. Barrett Ruud was also considered.
CB Pat Fischer & Tyrone Williams -- Fischer should be in the NFL Hall of Fame. He finished his 17-year career with 56 interception. Williams had a very good career with Green Bay.
S Mike Brown & Mike Minter -- I like the Mikes here over Brian Washington & Russell Gary.
K Tie Kris Brown & Josh Brown -- Nebraska has had a lot of kickers and punters in the NFL and I couldn't pick between these two.
P Sam Koch -- This season will be his 10th with the Baltimore Ravens and he's still going strong.
KR Ahman Green -- I was stumped on this one so I went with him. He averaged 23 yards on 72 kickoff returns in the NFL.
PR Tyrone Hughes -- He had 8,410 return yards and five touchdowns during his NFL career.
Nebraska has three NFL hall of famers on the offensive line which isn't too shabby, but the pickings are pretty slim at offensive tackle. I could only come up with Brown at the position. Does anyone have another candidate for offensive tackle? Quarterback is another position where there isn't much to choose from except for Ferragamo.
Other positions are pretty well represented with choices who arguably could be the top of their position. Where did I get anything wrong?
