The Greatest New York Giants Players of All Time
If the New York Giants could put even the NFL's first retired number back in use in 2024, no spot among their greatest players stays safe from a vote. Every player here is named on at least 5 of the 13 Giants honor rolls and all-time rankings counted for this list: the team's own Ring of Honor, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the team's 2024 Top 100, and ten press rankings. Players left off no more than three of the sources that could have named them start in the top group; everyone else who clears the door starts below them, and your votes set the order from there.
Michael Strahan is #1 on “The Greatest New York Giants Players of All Time”.
- 1
Michael Strahan
On January 6, 2002, he sacked Brett Favre, who slid to the turf with him landing on top, and that lifted his 2001 total to 22.5, half a sack beyond Mark Gastineau's NFL record for a season. Defensive end was his job with the Giants for 15 seasons, 1993 through 2007. Some suspected Favre went down on purpose, while Packers tackle Mark Tauscher called it a bad play. Pro Bowl trips came 7 times in his 15 years, and in Super Bowl XLII, at the end of the last of those 15 seasons, he sacked Tom Brady in a 17-14 upset of New England. His career ended at 141.5 sacks, and 2014 brought his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. All 13 sources counted for this list include him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Strahan - 2
Eli Manning
Super Bowl XLVI's last Giants drive started on their own 12, down 17-15 with 3:46 left, and his first throw went 38 yards down the left sideline to Mario Manningham, a catch that stood when Bill Belichick challenged it. He quarterbacked the Giants from 2004 through 2019 and started 210 consecutive games between 2004 and 2017. The drive covered 88 yards in 9 plays; Ahmad Bradshaw ran in from 6 yards with 57 seconds left, and that 21-17 lead held. He finished 30 of 40 for 296 yards and was named the game's MVP for the 2nd time, after Super Bowl XLII. San Diego picked him 1st overall in 2004 and dealt him to New York, and his number 10 joined the Giants' retired numbers in September 2021. He appears on 12 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Manning - 3
Lawrence Taylor
In 1986 his 20.5 sacks led every NFL player and the MVP vote for him was unanimous, the 2nd defender to win it after Alan Page in 1971; the year closed with a Super Bowl XXI title. He'd come to New York with 1981's 2nd overall choice and stayed 13 seasons at linebacker, through 1993. The AP named him its top defender in 1981, 1982 and 1986, he made the Pro Bowl in every season from 1981 through 1990, and he won again in Super Bowl XXV. Late in 1988 he faced New Orleans with a torn pectoral muscle and a harness holding his shoulder in place, and still finished with 7 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. His name is on all 13 of the sources behind this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Taylor - 4
Rosey Brown
The Giants waited until the 27th round of the 1953 draft to pick him out of Morgan State, and he held down their offensive line from 1953 to 1965. In 1956 they won the NFL Championship Game with him blocking for Frank Gifford, Alex Webster and Mel Triplett. 9 Pro Bowl selections came his way, and in one All-NFL ballot every one of the 28 AP voters chose him. The day his playing retirement was announced, August 23, 1966, the Giants hired him as an assistant coach; in 1975 he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Gifford said he himself wouldn't be there without him. He's on 10 of the 12 sources that could have named him: Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking stuck to the Super Bowl era and none of his Giants seasons fall in it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosey_Brown - 5
Harry Carson
With 1:42 left against Kansas City on October 21, 1979, the Giants down 17-14, he scooped up a fumble and carried it 22 yards into the end zone for a 21-17 win, on a day he also intercepted a pass. A 4th-round pick from South Carolina State in 1976, he played linebacker for New York through 1988 and was captain for 10 of those seasons. In 2004 he asked off the Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot, and voters elected him anyway in 2006. He was a Pro Bowl pick 9 times, Bill Parcells sent him out by himself ("Just you") for the coin toss before Super Bowl XXI, and he was among the first players to douse a winning coach with Gatorade, a habit Jim Burt started in 1985. Not one of the 13 sources leaves him out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Carson - 6
Mel Hein
He signed with the Giants in 1931 and drove from Pullman to New York in a 1929 Ford, then played center for the club for 15 seasons, through 1945. In that last season, at 36, he still played all 60 minutes of every game, and in his career he called one timeout, in 1941, to patch a broken nose. The league gave him the Joe F. Carr Trophy as its MVP for 1938, when the Giants beat Green Bay 23-17 for the title, and 8 straight seasons, 1933 to 1940, ended with him at center on All-Pro first teams. In 1963 the Pro Football Hall of Fame's charter class included him. Of the 12 sources able to name him, 10 do, because Sportsnaut's 2022 list ranked Giants of the Super Bowl era and his playing days ended in 1945.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Hein - 7
Frank Gifford
In 1956 he ran for 819 yards, caught passes for 603 more and won the UPI's MVP award, and the Giants beat the Bears for the league title. Taken 11th overall out of USC in 1952, he played for New York from 1952 to 1960 and again from 1962 to 1964, at halfback, flanker and safety. The gap came after Chuck Bednarik knocked him out on a passing play in a 1960 game against Philadelphia; the severe concussion led him to retire in 1961 before a 1962 comeback at flanker. His 8 Pro Bowls came at 3 different positions, and he threw 14 touchdown passes without ever being a quarterback. He's named by 11 of the 12 sources open to him; Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking was limited to the Super Bowl era, after his last game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gifford - 8
Emlen Tunnell
Undrafted in 1948, he hitchhiked to New York to ask Jack Mara for a tryout, and that July he became the first Black player the Giants signed. He played defensive back for them from 1948 through 1958 and intercepted 74 passes in those years. In 1952 he gained 924 yards returning interceptions, punts and kickoffs, more than Dan Towler, the league's rushing leader that year, and he was called the Giants' offense on defense. He won the 1956 title with New York, and in 1967 he became the first African American inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He coached the Giants' defensive backs from 1965 through 1974. Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking covered a Super Bowl era in which he no longer played, so 12 sources could have named him and 10 do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emlen_Tunnell - 9
Andy Robustelli
The 1962 Giants won the East with him at defensive end and, from that season, running the defense as its coordinator, and he won the Bert Bell Award as the NFL's top player. The Rams found him in the 19th round of the 1951 draft, and a 1956 trade sent him to New York, where he played defensive end through 1964. That first Giants season ended with the NFL title. His Giants years held 5 Pro Bowl nods, with All-Pro first-team honors in 1956 and from 1958 to 1960, and in 1971 the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him. In 1973 he returned to run the club's football operations. Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking was confined to the Super Bowl era that followed his last Giants season, so 9 of the 12 sources that could name him do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Robustelli - 10
Phil Simms
Giants fans at the 1979 draft booed loudly when the club took him 7th overall out of Morehead State, and he took their snaps under center from 1979 through 1993. In Super Bowl XXI he completed 22 of 25 passes, 88 percent, a Super Bowl record, threw 3 touchdowns and was named MVP as the Giants beat Denver 39-20. On October 13, 1985, he threw for 513 yards against Cincinnati. A broken foot against Buffalo in week 15 of 1990 ended his season, and Jeff Hostetler took the team the rest of the way to the Super Bowl XXV title. When he retired, the club's records for completions, attempts and touchdown passes were his, and number 11 was retired for him in 1995. 9 of the 13 sources carry his name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Simms - 11
Sam Huff
Tom Landry's 4-3 moved him to middle linebacker, where he debuted in October 1956; that season he became the first rookie middle linebacker to start an NFL Championship Game, and the Giants won it. West Virginia produced him, the Giants spent the 30th pick of 1956 on him, and he stayed with them through 1963. His clashes with Cleveland's Jim Brown gave the NFL its first famous defensive player: Time put him on its cover in 1959, and CBS aired The Violent World of Sam Huff in 1960. In 1958 and 1959 he made the first team on the All-Pro ballots, and in 1964 he went to Washington in a trade Allie Sherman made. Of the 12 sources open to him he's on 8; Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking was restricted to a Super Bowl era that opened after his Giants years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Huff - 12
Tiki Barber
At Washington on December 30, 2006, in his last regular-season game, he set the Giants' single-game rushing record with 234 yards and scored 4 touchdowns in a 34-28 win. He was a New York running back for each of his 10 NFL seasons, 1997 through 2006, after college at Virginia. After his fumbling troubles of 2002 and 2003, Tom Coughlin had him carry the ball vertically instead of horizontally, and the fumbles fell off. His 2005 brought 1,860 rushing yards and a franchise season mark of 2,390 from scrimmage, in the middle of 3 straight Pro Bowl years, and he walked away with the club's career rushing record, 10,449 yards. Count him on 7 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki_Barber - 13
Jessie Armstead
In 1997 he made 132 tackles and 3.5 sacks and returned 1 of his 2 interceptions 57 yards to score, and he was named AP first-team All-Pro. The Giants had waited until pick 207, an 8th-round choice in 1993, to take him out of Miami, and he gave them 9 seasons at linebacker, through 2001, before 2 more in Washington. That 1997 season began a run of 5 Pro Bowl years in a row for him, all as a Giant. In June 2007 a 1-day contract let him retire with the club, in September 2008 it hired him back as a special assistant and consultant, and in 2010 he went into the Giants Ring of Honor. He shows up on 7 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessie_Armstead - 14
Carl Banks
His 14 tackles against Denver in Super Bowl XXI, 10 of them solo, came in the Giants' first Super Bowl title. A Michigan State product picked 3rd overall in 1984, he was a Giant through 1992, with Washington and Cleveland after that. 1987 brought his Pro Bowl selection, and 4 seasons after XXI he won a 2nd title in Super Bowl XXV. When the NFL picked its team of the 1980s, he was on it, and from 2007 he worked as an analyst on the Giants' radio broadcasts. He's named on 6 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Banks - 15
Amani Toomer
In the 2007 playoffs he started all 4 Giants games and caught 21 passes for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 of them, including a 52-yarder, in the 21-17 divisional win over Dallas. He spent 13 seasons, 1996 through 2008, catching passes and returning punts for the Giants. He then led the Giants with 6 receptions for 84 yards in Super Bowl XLII. In 2002 he set single-season team records, both since broken, with 82 catches and 1,343 receiving yards, and he left the club holding its career marks for catches (668), receiving yards (9,497), touchdown catches (54) and 1,000-yard seasons (5). His tally is 6 of 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amani_Toomer - 16
Y. A. Tittle
Washington gave up 7 touchdown passes to him on October 28, 1962, in a 49-34 Giants win that tied the NFL record. The 49ers had traded him to New York in mid-August 1961, at 34, for guard Lou Cordileone, and he quarterbacked the Giants through 1964. He threw 33 touchdown passes in 1962, a league record, broke it with 36 in 1963 and was named MVP by the AP. Each of his first 3 Giants years ended in a championship game loss, twice to Green Bay and then to the Bears. On September 20, 1964, at Pitt Stadium, a photographer caught him kneeling, helmetless and bleeding, after the Steelers' John Baker knocked him down. His count is 5 of 12 sources, since Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking kept to the Super Bowl era and his last game came before it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y._A._Tittle - 17
Justin Tuck
On New England's first offensive play of Super Bowl XLVI, on February 5, 2012, his rush forced Tom Brady to throw deep with no receiver near, and the intentional grounding call in the end zone gave the Giants a safety and a 2-0 lead. The Giants picked him 74th in 2005 from Notre Dame; he rushed from defensive end for them through 2013, then spent 2 years with the Raiders. He sacked Brady twice that night, the 2nd on 3rd down of the Patriots' last drive, which set up 4th-and-16, and the Giants won 21-17. He was picked for Pro Bowls after the 2008 and 2010 seasons, and his 2013 included a 4-sack game against Washington. He's on 5 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Tuck - 18
Osi Umenyiora
His 6 sacks against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th game of 2007 set a Giants franchise record, and by February the team had won Super Bowl XLII. He rushed the passer for the Giants from 2003 through 2012, a London-born son of Nigerian parents; as a boy he moved to Nigeria, and he played college football at Troy. In 2010 he forced 10 fumbles, the league's high that year, and was second-team All-Pro, 5 seasons after a first-team nod in 2005. He went to 2 Pro Bowls, won a 2nd ring in Super Bowl XLVI, and later talked football on BBC Sport. Put him at 5 of 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osi_Umenyiora - 19
Leonard Marshall
In the final quarter of the NFC Championship Game at Candlestick Park on January 20, 1991, he came from Joe Montana's blind side as Montana stepped away from Lawrence Taylor, and his hit forced a fumble and left Montana with cracked ribs, a broken hand and a bruised sternum. He spent 10 seasons on the Giants' defensive line, 1983 through 1992, after playing at LSU. Montana didn't play another regular-season game until December 1992, and Matt Bahr's 5th field goal won it 15-13 as time ran out. His 15.5 sacks in 1985 and 12 in 1986 came with Pro Bowl trips both years, and his rings came from Super Bowls XXI and XXV. Of the 13 sources, 5 name him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Marshall - 20
Brad Van Pelt
During 1978 he intercepted 3 passes for 32 yards and made his 3rd straight Pro Bowl, part of a run that covered every season from 1976 to 1980. New York spent the 40th pick of 1973 on the Michigan State safety, who became its linebacker through 1983. He wore number 10, his college number, and kept it because he was the backup kicker as a rookie; none of the Giants teams he played on in those 5 Pro Bowl seasons had a winning record, and he intercepted 18 passes as a Giant. With Brian Kelley, Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor he made up the Crunch Bunch. In 2011 the Giants added him to the Ring of Honor; he had died in 2009, at 57. Make it 5 of 13 sources for him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Van_Pelt - 21
George Martin
The 11th round of the 1975 draft, pick 262, brought him from Oregon, and he held a defensive end spot for the Giants for 14 seasons, through 1988. Late in 1986, against Denver, he intercepted a pass and took it 78 yards for a touchdown, a play Bill Parcells called the greatest he had ever seen, and in Super Bowl XXI, against the same Broncos, he sacked John Elway in his own end zone, which counted as a safety. His 6 touchdowns as a defensive lineman were the NFL record for the position until Jason Taylor broke it in November 2006. In 2007 and 2008 he walked more than 3,000 miles to raise money for the medical care of 9/11 responders. He makes 5 of the 13 sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Martin_(American_football) - 22
Tuffy Leemans
While he played at George Washington he caught the eye of Wellington Mara, then a Fordham junior clipping out-of-town sports pages, and the Giants took him 18th overall in the NFL's first draft, in 1936. He played fullback and halfback on both sides of the ball for them through 1943, and in that 1936 rookie season his 830 rushing yards, 69.2 a game, topped the league. His All-Pro first-team years were 1936 and 1939, and he helped win the 1938 championship. On Tuffy Leemans Day at the Polo Grounds, December 7, 1941, the radio broadcast was interrupted with news of Pearl Harbor, though most of the crowd learned of the attack after the game. He's on 5 of the 12 sources open to him, because Sportsnaut's 2022 ranking began with the Super Bowl era.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuffy_Leemans
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