Who's the greatest player of all time? NFL Films attempts to answer the question Friday, with an assist from the Cold, Hard Football Facts.

 

NFL Films launches its new 10-part series that counts down the 100 greatest players in pro football history. The show premiers Friday at 10 p.m. on NFL Network.

 

The Cold, Hard Football Facts were invited earlier this year to be a part of Steve Sabol's "blue ribbon" panel that selected the list. Anytime there's free Pabst in the deal, you can count us in, Steve!

 

Here's how it worked: panelists were given a list of 250 all-time greats, and asked to rank them from 1 through 10. Sabol's instructions said "10s are the chosen few you'd put on a Mount Rushmore of players ... a 1 is a player you don't think belongs in the top 100." We were also allowed to write in players not on the list, too.

 

We have no idea what the final list looks like. We'll see it unfold just like you, 10 players at a time between today and November 4. But we thought we'd offer a little insight into our selections.

 

We gave 21 players a perfect 10. Here are our 10s below – the players on our personal Mount Rushmore of pro football greats, with a quick note on each. Sure, looking back out our list, there are a few players we might rate differently. But we are fairly confident that all our 10s deserve to have their faces carved into that Mount Rushmore of the gridiron. We made copies of our ballot. If we can scan it, we'll post the PDF here so you can see how we ranked every player on the list.

 

Our pick for greatest players of all time? We'd put Sammy Baugh and Jim Brown as 1 and 1A, or 1A and 1, whatever order you want.

 

Sammy Baugh (pictured) – The Pigskin Messiah, the greatest all-purpose football player who ever lived and quarterback of the CHFF All-Time 11. 

 

Sid Luckman – The first modern quarterback, with numbers that stand the test of time.

 

Bronko Nagurski – An All-Pro at running back, offensive line and defensive line. He also threw two touchdown passes in the first NFL championship game. Member of the CHFF All-Time 11.

 

Jim Thorpe – Considered by many the greatest athlete in American history. Think Deion Sanders, if Prime Time dominated the Olympics, too.

 

 

Don Hutson – A CHFF favorite; still the most dominant receiver in pro football history. Member of the CHFF All-Time 11. 

 

 

Cal Hubbard – A versatile and dominant two-way player, arguably the best lineman of the one-platoon era, and member of the CHFF All Time 11.

 

 

Chuck Bednarik – A CHFF favorite; war hero, dominant NFL force, the last 60-minute man, the greatest Eagle ever, and captain of the CHFF All-Time 11.

 

Loe Creekmur – Dominant, rugged force and seven-time All Pro during Detroit's glory days of the 1950s.

 

Forrest Gregg – The lynchpin of the great Green Bay offensive lines of the 1960s.

 

John Hannah – Once dubbed the "the best offensive lineman of all time." The Patriots dominated on the ground when he was on the team.

 

Anthony Munoz – The greatest offensive tackle of the last 30 years.

 

Modern Era Tights

No 10s. (The 9s: Mike Ditka, Ozzie Newsome)

 

Joe Greene – Another member of the CHFF All-Time 11 and the best player on arguably the best defenses ever.

 

Deacon Jones – The father of the sack. Jones pillaged so many quarterbacks that he invented a new term to describe it.

 

Reggie White – The Minister of Defense earned 13 straight Pro Bowl bids and is a member of the both the 1980s and 1990s All Decade teams.

 

 

Bobby Bell – Super-versatile all-purpose defender during Kansas City's glory days. Member of the CHFF All-Time 11.

 

Lawrence Taylor – Before he became an overlord of the seedy New Jersey underground, Taylor reinvented modern defense and snapped legs like chicken bones. Member of the CHFF All-Time 11.

 

 

Ronnie Lott – It was Lott's arrival in San Francisco, not Joe Montana's, that launched the 49ers dynasty.

 

 

Jerry Rice – The Cold, Hard Football Facts say it all: Rice is the leader, by a wide margin, in every major receiving category in history.

 

 

Otto Graham – Ten pro football championship games in 10 years, including seven victories, say it all. Still the most effective passer in history, with a record 8.62 YPA in the NFL (and better than 9.0 YPA in the AAFC).

 

Bart Starr – CHFF's pick as the greatest quarterback of all time. A deadly big-game quarterback with record 104.5 postseason passer rating and still one of the most effective passers in history (7.85 YPA).

 

 

For the record, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were included on the ballot among players not currently in the Hall of Fame. We gave both 8s.

 

Jim Brown – Easily the best running back in history, as evidenced by record 5.22 YPA in his career. If Brown played in the 16-game era, he would have had two  2,000-yard seasons (1958 and 1963).