Inside The Panthers

Four Former Pitt Players Named NFL GOATs

The Pitt Panthers have an impressive array of top-tier NFL talent.

Stephen Thompson

Dec 4, 2021; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers former player Dan Marino is honored before the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2021; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers former player Dan Marino is honored before the ACC championship game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' wealth of legendary NFL talent was on display this week as FanDuel tried to identifiy the best players in each franchise's history.

A reflection of the caliber of player Pitt has sent to the NFL, four former Panthers landed on the list of each NFL team's GOAT - Larry Fitzgerald for the Arizona Cardinals, Aaron Donald for the Los Angeles Rams, Dan Marino for the Miami Dolphins and Darrelle Revis for the New York Jets.

Donald, the 2014 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, has also won three overall Defensive Player of the Year awards and First-Team All-Pro selections in eight of his nine seasons. He earned a Super Bowl ring in 2022 with the Los Angeles Rams.

He dominated his senior season at Pitt in 2013, finishing the year having taken home ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, in addition to the Nagurski, Lombardi and Bednarik Awards and the Outland Trophy and consensus first-team All-American honors. Donald's 66 career tackles for loss rank fourth all-time in NCAA history.

Fitzgerald excelled for the program for just two seasons, accounting for 161 catches for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns. He earned a number of honors and won numerous awards for his performance during the 2003 season, including First Team All-Big East, Big East Offensive Player of the Year, unanimous All-American, and both the Walter Camp and Biletnikoff Awards, identifying him as one of the best players in the country and the top wide receiver in the FBS, respectively.

He entered the 2004 NFL Draft, where the Arizona Cardinals drafted him with the No. 3 overall pick. Fitzgerald would go on to have a stellar career, spending all 17 seasons through 2020 with the franchise. Fitzgerald finished his NFL career with 1,432 catches for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns. His receptions and receiving yards rank second best all-time, behind Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, while his receiving touchdowns ranks sixth best.

Revis was a star immediately for Pitt, making 11 starts in his first 12 games and earning freshman All-American honors. Revis broke out on a national stage in his junior season, when he was a first-team All-Big East player again, a third-team All-American and a candidate for the Jim Thorpe and Bronko Nagurski Awards. 

Revis was drafted 14th overall by the New York Jets in 2007 and enjoyed six wildly successful seasons with them, starting right away and earning top corner duties. He spent time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. He won a Super Bowl with New England in 2014 and finished his career with seven Pro Bowl selections and four first-team All-Pro team selections and in 2020 he was named to the NFL's all-decade team for the 2010's. 

Marino is considered one of the most talented passers of all time and his numbers at Pitt back it up. He ended his time as a Panther as the school's all-time leading passer with 8,597 yards and 79 touchdowns. He finished 4th in Heisman Trophy voting in 1981 and 10th in 1982 before being taken with the 27th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 1983 draft.

Marino was ahead of his time as a passer but the Dolphins made great use of his talents and his Hall of Fame NFL career includes nine Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro team selections, a 1984 MVP award, five seasons leading the league in yards, three seasons leading the league in touchdown passes and a 147-93 record (.613) as a starter.

Pitt's production of NFL talent surprises some but their top-tier of players can stack up with, if not overtake any other school's in college football.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

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