The Best Players All 50 States Have Produced Includes Three Former Eagles

The NFL Network produced an interesting topic by researching the best NFL players to come ot all 50 states, and here they are.

Oct 30, 2005; Denver, CO, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens smiles in response to taunts from the crowd in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High. Photo By Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) 2005 Byron Hetzler / Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Network recently did a look at the best players from all 50 states. To qualify the player had to grow up and spend the majority of his life in that state.

It felt like an interesting topic to share, especially with what feels like an eternity remaining before the Eagles begin reporting to training camp on July 23. It’s actually less than two weeks now until that date, but here’s a little something to help hold everyone over.

On the list of the 50 best players from all 50 states were three former Eagles:

Alabama: Terrell Owens

North Dakota: Pete Retzlaff

Tennessee: Reggie White

Across the state, in Pittsburgh, the Steelers were well-represented:

Georgia: Mel Blount, though the narrator of the NFL Network video said that was a state where it was very difficult to pick only one.

Kentucky: Dermontti Dawson

New Jersey: Franco Harris

Ohio: Jack Lambert

Oregon: Troy Polamalu

Texas: Joe Green, another state the NFL Network said was tough to pick one, giving a shoutout to Bob Lilly, Drew Brees, and LaDainian Tomlinson.

As for the state of Pennsylvania:

Joe Montana

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers former quarterback Joe Montana cheers in the first quarter in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

From the tri-state Philly area:

Delaware: Randy White, who had one of my all-time favorite nicknames – “Manster,” for half man, half monster. Doesn’t get any better than that.

New Jersey: Franco Harris

From the tri-state Pitttsburgh area:

Ohio: Jack Lambert

West Virginia: Randy Moss

There was one kicker on the list:

South Dakota: Adam Vinatieri

Here are the remaining states and the best players they produced via the NFL Network’s research:

Alaska: Mark Schlereth

Arkansas: Don Hutson

Arizona: Randall McDaniel

California: Tom Brady

Connecticut: Dwight Freeney

Colorado: Christian McCaffrey

Hawaii: Olin Kreutz

Florida: Deacon Jones, another state the NFL Network said it had difficulty picking oonly one, shouting out Deion Sanders and Ray Lewis.

Idaho: Larry Wilson

Illinois: Dick Butkus

Indiana: Charles Woodson

Iowa: Kurt Warner

Kansas: Barry Sanders

Louisiana: Peyton Manning

Colts QB Peyton Manning scores ahead of Bills cornerback Antoine Winfield after a naked bootleg for a 33 yard TD, Sunday Nov. 4, 2001. The Colts crushed the Bills 30-14. / Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Massachusetts: Nick Buoniconti

Maryland: Stefon Diggs

Maine: Chet Bulger (for those who never heard of him, like me, he was an offensive lineman who helped the Cardinals win an NFL title in 1947).

Michigan: Antonio Gates

Minnesota: Larry Fitzgerald

Mississippi: Jerry Rice

Missouri: Roger Wehrli

Montana: Pat Donovan

Nebraska: Gale Sayers

Nevada: Steven Jackson

New Hampshire: Greg Landry

New Mexico: Brian Urlacher

New York: Jim Brown

North Carolina: Bobby Bell

Oklahoma: Steve Largent

Rhode Island: Gerry Philbin

South Carolina: Art Shell

Utah: Merlon Olson

Vermont: Steve Wisniewski

Virginia: Lawrence Taylor

Washington: John Elway

Washington, DC: Jonathan Ogden

Wisconsin: J.J. Watt

Wyoming: Boyd Dowler (another one who made me scratch my head; he was a receiver on Green Bay’s Super Bowl II team).

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