1. Jason Witten
Tight End (2003-2017, 2019)
Teams played for:
- Dallas Cowboys (2010-2017, 2019)
Accolades:
- First-team All-Pro (2010)
- Second-team All-Pro (2012)
- Five Pro Bowls
Yes, in terms of production, Jason Witten tops this list. He joins Peyton Manning and Reggie White as three Tennessee football guys who could be the greatest players of all time at their respective positions, and he proved it over two decades.
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Witten fell to the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft, taken by the Dallas Cowboys. He turned into a star by 2004, so lots of his success was during that decade. However, he carried that into the 2010s as a key leader for the elite offense that involved Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray and Dez Bryant. This guy was always the most reliable producer.
During the run with Romo, Witten went over 1,000 yards in a season twice, and he had at least five touchdowns four different times. He was never the best receiving tight end, but he is top five all time and was always top three in this decade. What makes him the greatest is the fact that he’s the best combination of receiving and blocking, which is a tight end’s job.
After Romo was replaced by Dak Precott, Witten was the guy who helped bring him along. He then retired at the end of 2017 but decided to return after one year in the booth in 2019 and played like he had not missed a beat.
Now, Witten is heading to Las Vegas, as he joined the Raiders. He should thrive in that system as well. But regardless of what he does, even with missing a year, he’s Tennessee football’s top NFL producer for the 2010s.