The upshot: Normally, our first "Mount Rushmore" would be the broadest logical tribute for a category. For example, we'll choose the Mount Rushmore of basketball players before we break it down by position.
But quarterbacks are different.
Before we even name the Mount Rushmore of football players (which will surely include at least a QB or two), we're skipping ahead to quarterbacks.
There's plenty of room for debate here -- and you can vote in our poll below to suggest changes -- but here are the our first 4 QB's:
- Joe Montana: Four Super Bowl wins, MVP in 3 of them, with a combined 127.8 passer rating. Drop the mic.
- Tom Brady: Another 3-time Super Bowl MVP. Led Patriots to 10 conference championships. Career marked by a scandal or two. Not universally loved, but his greatness is undeniable.
- John Elway: Five Super Bowl appearances, including three wins. Perhaps no one has ever been more "clutch" than Elway. We may be a little out of the conventional wisdom here: He's only No. 8 on the NFL's all-time ranking. (See below.)
- Peyton Manning: We're putting him here despite those "Papa John's" commercials. All-time leader in passing yards, touchdowns and MVP's with five.
Our Mount Rushmore only differs slightly than the NFL's own ranking -- click here to see the league's own ranking of the Top 10 quarterbacks of all time. In a nutshell, we went Elway instead of Unitas. Disagree? Vote in our poll below to suggest change!