Most Famous Atlanta Falcons Players

A deck by Florian Petrov · 20 cards

The most renowned players ever to play for the Atlanta Falcons, ranked by Wikipedia reach.

Jason Elam

Jason Douglas Elam is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Denver Broncos. He was selected by Denver in the third round of the 1993 NFL draft and played 15 seasons with the Broncos and two with the Atlanta Falcons.

Bill Goldberg

William Scott Goldberg, often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

David Akers

David Roy Akers is an American former professional football player who was a kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Washington Redskins. The following year, he signed with the Eagles, where he spent 12 seasons. Akers was also a member of the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions before retiring in 2013.

Eric Dickerson

Eric Demetric Dickerson is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1982. Dickerson was selected second overall in the 1983 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and later played for the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons. During his NFL career, he rushed for over 13,000 yards. He holds the NFL's single-season rushing record with 2,105 yards, set in 1984. Dickerson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999 and, in 2019, was named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. He wore prescription goggles throughout his career due to myopia.

Gerald Tinker

Gerald Alexander Tinker is an American former track athlete and football player. He won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Matt Willig

Matthew Joseph Willig is an American actor and former professional football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL).

Taylor Heinicke

Taylor Heinicke is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Old Dominion Monarchs and joined the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2015, having played with Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Washington Football Team / Commanders, Atlanta Falcons, and Los Angeles Chargers.

Jim Duggan

James Edward Duggan Jr., better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with the WWE under a Legends contract. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation, where he won the first Royal Rumble match in 1988. In 2011 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Brett Favre

Brett Lorenzo Favre is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 2010, including 297 regular season games, the most in league history. He was also the first NFL quarterback to obtain 70,000 yards, 10,000 passes, 6,000 completions, 500 touchdowns, and victories over all 32 teams.

Mark Rypien

Mark Robert Rypien is a Canadian-born former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL draft. He was named Super Bowl MVP, doing so in Super Bowl XXVI with the Redskins. He also played for several other NFL teams. His nephew Brett plays in the NFL as a quarterback.

Julio Jones

Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones Jr. is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide where he won a national championship in 2009, and was selected by the Falcons in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. He is regarded as one of the greatest receivers of the 2010s.

Brian Banks

Brian Keith Banks is an American former professional football player. He signed with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) on April 3, 2013. Banks signed as an undrafted free agent with the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League (UFL) in 2012.

Michael Vick

Michael Dwayne Vick is an American college football coach and former professional football player who is the head coach for the Norfolk State Spartans. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons and was the all-time leader in quarterback rushing yards at the time of his retirement. Vick played college football at Virginia Tech, winning the Archie Griffin Award as a freshman, and was selected first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL draft. During his six years with the Falcons, he was named to three Pro Bowls and led the team to two playoff runs, one division title, and an NFC Championship Game appearance.

Morten Andersen

Morten Andersen, nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Following a career from 1982 to 2007, Andersen holds the NFL record for regular season games played at 382. He also ranks second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544). In addition to his league accomplishments, he is the Saints all-time leading scorer at 1,318 points. Andersen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Along with Jan Stenerud and Adam Vinatieri, he is one of only three exclusive kickers to receive the honor.

Moose

Quinn Ojinnaka, better known by his ring name Moose, is an American professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is the former leader of The System stable.

Tony Gonzalez

Anthony David Gonzalez is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Gonzalez spent his first 12 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected him in the first round of the 1997 NFL draft. During his last five seasons, he was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Since retiring in 2013, Gonzalez has served as a football analyst for NFL on Prime Video and was previously at CBS Sports and Fox Sports.

Matt Schaub

Matthew Rutledge Schaub is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft.

Devin Hester

Devin Devorris Hester Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). As the only primary return specialist to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Hester is widely considered to be the greatest return specialist in NFL history.

Deion Sanders

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr., commonly known as Deion Sanders, is an American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Coach Prime", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Baltimore Ravens. Sanders was also a baseball outfielder for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants. He won two Super Bowl titles and made one World Series appearance in 1992, making him the only athlete to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.

Matt Ryan

Matthew Thomas Ryan is an American professional football executive and former player who is the president of football for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for 15 seasons, primarily with the Falcons. Nicknamed "Matty Ice", he ranks among the league's all-time top 10 in pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. Ryan played college football for the Boston College Eagles, winning the Manning and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards in 2007. He was selected third overall by the Falcons in the 2008 NFL draft.