Many NFL players will gladly tell you how great they are, but true respect comes from opponents and how they scheme to work around you.
Great receivers are regularly double-teamed and bumped off the line but still manage to make back-breaking plays.
Longtime Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson immediately comes to mind.
Then there are the behemoths who terrorize offenses along the defensive front, and these linemen regularly face double and triple-teams as they charge the opposing quarterback.
Aaron Donald, anyone?
Warren Sharp named them two of the “most feared” players in NFL history, and who can argue with either Johnson or Donald?
two of the most feared players in NFL history pic.twitter.com/TTjqnphUAu
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 8, 2024
Johnson played on some horrendous Detroit teams in his nine-year NFL career, and defenses were able to wrap their game plans almost entirely around containing the receiver and not letting him single-handedly beat them.
Even so, he hauled in 731 passes for 11,639 yards and 83 touchdowns.
As for Donald, all he did was record the most sacks (111) by a defensive tackle and most tackles for a loss by any player in their first ten seasons in NFL history.
His quarterback hits, 260, are second-highest in league annals, and he will undoubtedly be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
There is no question that Johnson and Donald are two of the most feared and respected players ever to don an NFL uniform, and both will be remembered as long as the game is played.
Interestingly, both left the gridiron with what most felt to be considerable gas left in the tank, choosing to ride off into the sunset on top rather than fade away.
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