The 10 Greatest NFL Players From the State of Kansas

Dec 24, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson (87) spikes the ball in celebration after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Matthews/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin via USA TODAY Sports /

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#1: Barry Sanders

It’s amazing to this day thinking that Barry Sanders is still widely considered one of the three or four best running backs in NFL history and he didn’t really play a full career. The man played 10 seasons of pro football. He went to the Pro Bowl each of those seasons and never finished with fewer than 1,100 yards rushing. He’s one of a very select few to ever averaged 5.0 yards per carry for his career and scored 109 touchdowns. All this while playing for some pretty mediocre-to-bad teams in Detroit.

The guy was just 1,500 yards away from breaking the all-time rushing record. Everybody on the planet knew he would’ve had he kept playing. He was 31-years old, still blazing fast and hadn’t missed a game for five-straight seasons. However, the poor state of his team made that venture seem pointless, so he decided to walk away. It speaks to just how great the man was that he did that and still can’t be argued as belong atop this list.

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