By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I’m from Atlanta so of course I’m a Falcons fan. The franchise has had some pretty consistent success over the past decade being a perennial playoff team.

They aren’t as prestigious as San Francisco, Dallas or Pittsburgh but they have had some great talent. Who are the best Falcons of all time?

The most talented player might have been cornerback Deion Sanders. He had blazing speed running a 4.27 40-yard dash at the 1989 NFL Combine. He’s considered the best cover corner in league history and he was a threat as a punt/kick returner. He only played for Atlanta for five years (1989-1993) and had 25 interceptions, returning three for touchdowns. He scored 10 touchdowns as a Falcon.

Linebacker Tommy Nobis was the first player drafted by the expansion Atlanta Falcons in November 1965. He won Rookie of the Year in 1966, was voted to the Pro Bowl and had 294 combined tackles which is unofficially the most tackles ever credited to one player, in a season, in NFL history. In his eleven seasons with Atlanta he led the team in tackles nine times, went to five Pro Bowls, was named All-Pro twice and was named to the NFL “All Decade Team” for the 1960’s.

Defensive end Claude Humphrey was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. He played in Atlanta from 1968-78, missing the entire 1975 season due to injury. He was named First-team All-Pro five times, Second-team All-Pro three times and went to the Pro Bowl six times. In 1976 Humphrey unofficially recorded a career high 15 quarterback sacks.

I’m going to move to the offensive side of the ball and talk about center Jeff Van Note. He was drafted in the 11^th round in 1969 and was undersized for the position. Van Note played 18 years with Atlanta which is the second longest tenure with the same team. He made five Pro Bowls and played in 246 games, starting 225 of them. He only missed four games in his career.

Left tackle Mike Kenn also had a long career, playing all 17 seasons in Atlanta. He was the 13^th overall pick in the 1978 draft. He started in all 251 games that he played and he holds the Falcons’ franchise record for games started and games played. He was selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls (1980-84) and named first-team All-NFL three times.

Running back Gerald Riggs played in Atlanta from 1982- 1988. He was a versatile back that also had the ability to catch passes out of the backfield. He made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 1985 to 1987. His best season was in 1985, when he rushed for 1,719 yards and ten touchdowns, while also catching 33 passes for 267 yards. In his seven years with the Falcons, he rushed for 6,631 yards, making him the franchise all-time leading rusher.

There are some honorable mention players I want to acknowledge before I reveal my pick for Best Falcon Ever. Wide receiver Andre Rison was one of the best receivers in the league while in Atlanta (1990-94). He went to four Pro Bowls during that stretch and led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 1993 with 15.

QB Steve Bartkowski still holds almost every Falcons passing record.

Michael Vick holds the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season (1,039).

Jessie ‘The Hammer’ Tuggle is my pick as the best player in franchise history. He played his entire career (1987- 2000) in Atlanta. He appeared in five Pro Bowls and he’s from Griffin, Ga so being a local guy also helps.