All-Time Player I Would Start a Franchise With

Throw a rock and you'll hit a list of "Best Football Players Ever," "Best Quarterbacks Ever," etc. I'm always fascinated by the criteria (championships rings, or their effect on the game, or their ability to raise a team's performance). I decided to give another question a go: "Which player would I take in an All-Time Draft?" I could have Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Jerry Rice, or Dick Butkus, but I would take the player Vince Lombardi called "the finest player I've ever coached:" Forrest Gregg.

Gregg played left tackle for Lombardi's Packers from 1956 to 1971, before finishing his career with a Super Bowl VI-winning Dallas Cowboys team. With the Packers, he won five other championships, leading the way for Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung and creating a pocket for Bart Starr. He played 188 consecutive games, a record. He was powerful enough to handle Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones, when they played in one of the great individual match-ups, and athletic enough to seal the edge on those famous sweeps. The Jones-Gregg battles encompassed a great contrast in player styles, with Jones's bluster and passion and Gregg's dispassionate consistency.

Granted, he played left tackle in an era before the era of dominant pass-rushers. But I've seen enough to think he could have adapted his game in any ear or any scheme. I particularly like the idea of building a franchise from the offensive line. Maybe I should have taken Anthony Munoz, but I would be skeptical of his ability to stay healthy for ten years. Remember Munoz failed a physical before the 1980 draft. (As it turned out, Munoz missed three games in his first twelve seasons, but I'm still skeptical as a theoretical GM.)