Texas has produced its fair share of great pro football players. So I compiled a list of the best NFL players born in Texas. With the Texas obsession with high school football it only makes sense that they should produce some fine pro football players. Read on to see my list of the best NFL players from Texas. Feel free to leave a comment below if you think I missed somebody on my list of the best pro football players from the Lone Star State. All stats and birthplace information come from Profootballreference.com. I don’t want to load this up with links to each player’s stats so go to the above mentioned site to get their numbers.
One thing to note is all the great defensive players born in Texas, in particular the defensive backs. But a defensive line of Dexter Manley, Bob Lilly, “Mean” Joe Greene backed up by Mike Singletary and Tommy Nobis at linebacker could be pretty nice to have.
1 Sammy Baugh-Temple Texas
I believe Sammy Baugh was the best football player ever born in Texas. Baugh changed the way the game was played for quarterbacks. Baugh also was a great punter and defensive player.
2 Dick “Night Train” Lane- Austin Texas
Night Train Lane was one of the early and best ever ball hawking defensive backs in the NFL. Night Train had 68 career interceptions for 1,207 yards and 5 scores.
3 Gene Upshaw- Robstown Texas
Upshaw anchored a great Raiders offensive line with Art Shell. Upshaw was best known in his later years for heading up the players union, but he was a Hall of Fame player from Texas.
4 “Mean” Joe Greene- Temple Texas
“Mean” Joe Greene was a beast of a defensive tackle, born in Temple Texas. Ironic that he became a nemesis of the Dallas Cowboys by winning two Super Bowls against them
5 Bob Lilly-Olney Texas
“Mr. Cowboy” Bob Lilly toiled with some bad Dallas teams before finally getting to be on a championship team. Bob Lilly was a 11 time pro bowler and is a member of the Hall of Fame.
6 Y.A. Tittle- Marshall Texas
Y.A. Tittle put up huge passing numbers back when the NFL was a running league and allowed receivers to be hit at anytime until the ball was in the air. Tittle threw for over 33,000 yards and had 242 touchdown passes.
7 Forrest Gregg-Birthright Texas
Gregg was a huge part of the Green Bay Packers dynasty as a Hall of Fame Tackle under Vince Lombardi. Gregg turned to coaching and even got the Bengals to the Super Bowl in a losing effort.
8 Mike Singletary-Houston Texas
Mike Singletary could almost make a tackle just by glaring at a player. Singletary was on the Bears Super Bowl team and led perhaps the best defense to ever play in the NFL.
9 Earl Campbell- Tyler Texas
“The Tyler Rose” Earl Campbell was a devastating power runner who also had sprinter speed. I have Campbell ranked 5th on my top ten running backs of all time article that you can read here.
10 Eric Dickerson-Sealy Texas
Eric Dickerson was one of the most fluid running backs to ever play the game. He played on better teams than Campbell and wasn’t run to death early in his career.
11 Thurman Thomas-Houston Texas
I may not be giving Thomas his just due here. But he certainly belongs on any list of the best NFL players born in Texas.
12 Raymond Berry-Corpus Christi Texas
Raymond Berry was the consummate professional wide receiver who practiced so much that he ran perfect routes and dropped very few passes. In 1960 Berry averaged over 100 yards receiving per game in that 12 game season.
13 Michael Strahan- Houston Texas
Strahan was a dominating defensive end for the New York Giants who had 141.5 sacks in his career. Strahan also had 4 interceptions and returned them for 124 yards and two scores.
14 Everson Walls-Dallas Texas
It was very fitting than an undrafted defensive back from Dallas Texas became one of the best Dallas Cowboys of all time. Walls ended up with 57 career interceptions, and this was after the NFL started handcuffing pass defenders with the rules.
15 Mel Renfro-Houston Texas
Renfro could have been a Hall of Fame wide receiver but played DB instead. Spectacular ball handler and kick returner.
16 Tim Brown-Dallas Texas
Hesiman Trophy winner at Notre Dame then a Hall of Fame receiver for the Raiders, and one season in Tampa.
17 Bulldog Turner-Plains Texas
Turner was a two way player at offensive line and linebacker for the Bears and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966.
18 Tommy Nobis-San Antonio Texas
Nobis was the first Atlanta Falcon ever drafted and toiled on some terrible teams. If Nobis had played on a good team he would be in the Hall of Fame by now.
19 Don Maynard-Crosbyton Texas
Maynard was one of the most steady route runners in pro football history. He put up huge numbers back in the days of hitting receivers anywhere on the field until the ball was thrown.
20 Bobby Boyd-Garland Texas
Boyd was a great defensive back for the Baltimore Colts. In nine seasons Boyd intercepted 57 passes for 994 yards and 4 touchdowns.
This concludes my list of the best pro football players born in Texas. Be gentle in the comments as I know I missed some great ones.
Sources
Profootballreference.com list of Texas players
