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Ranking the top football players of the 1970s, by position.

Quarterbacks

Roger Staubach

These are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-quarterbacks-in-the-nfl-right-now?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best NFL quarterbacks</a> of the 1970s. From Johnny U to Terry Bradshaw, this list has all of the best QBs of the '70s! Quarterbacks are the heart of any football team. The best NFL quarterbacks are part captain, part coach, and all player. So when talking about the best 70s quarterbacks, you know these guys are some the greatest players to ever play the game. Take a look at this list of 70s QBs and vote up your favorites! Who do you think are the best quarterbacks of the 70s?So vote up your favorite QBs of the 70s! Who are your favorite 70s NFL quarterbacks?

Running Backs

Chuck Muncie

Running backs are the workhorses of a football team. No one is going to argue that. Well, maybe linemen will. But, they set the pace and take the biggest hits play after play. So, when talking about 70s running backs, you have to realize that you're talking about some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-football-players-ever?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest football players</a> in the history of the NFL! Take a look at this list of RBs of the 70s and vote up your favorites! Who do you think are the best running backs of the 70s?These are the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-nfl-running-backs-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest running backs</a> on the 70s. Which means these players are in a pretty elite class. From Larry Brown to OJ Simpson, the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-current-nfl-running-back/ranker-sports?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">top Running Backs</a> of the 70s are some of the strongest players to ever take the field, players like Earl Campbell come to mind! Tony Dorsett and Walter Payton, obviously, are on this list of the best 1970s Running Backs&nbsp;So take a look at this list of the greatest RBs of the 70s and vote up your favorites! Who are the top running backs of the 1970s?

Football

Harold Jackson

Wide receivers have hisorically been some of the most dazzling players in all of the NFL. They can very quickly turn the tide of a game with one great catch. When talking about 70s wide receivers, there are plenty of great players that one can easily remember and love! So, here is a list of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-current-nfl-wide-receiver/ranker-sports?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best wide receivers</a> of the 70s! Take a look and be sure to vote up your favorite 70s WRs!When looking at 1970s wide receivers, is Ahmad Rashad your favorite? Or is it Steve Largent? Or is it somebody else? There are tons of great players on this list. Take a look at the top wide receivers of the 1970s and vote up the players you believe are some of the best wide receivers to ever play the game.Who are the greatest WRs of the 70s? The best wide receivers of the 1970s?&nbsp;

1970s

Charlie Sanders

Tight ends are a versatile bunch, and are some of the most respected players in the NFL. Some are more on the receiving end, some on the blocking, but not matter what, the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/top-25-greatest-tight-ends-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best tight ends</a> have to be able to do both. They are the toughest of the tough, and this is a list of great 70s tight ends that full of hard-nosed, gritty, tremendous athletes. Take a look at this list of tight ends from the 70s and vote up your favorites! Who are the greatest TE's of the 70s?From the legend himself, Mike Ditka, to Ozzie Newsome, and beyond, all of the best 1970s tight ends are represented here! And if you think a great tight end from the 1970s isn't on this list, feel free to add them! The top tight ends of the 1970s are all listed here for you to vote up your favorites! Who do you think are the absolute best 70s <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-tight-ends-in-the-nfl?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">NFL tight ends</a>?So, who are the greatest tight ends of the 70s?

The Best of the 1970s NFL

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The Best NFL Quarterbacks of the 1970s

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Fran Tarkenton

Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940) is an American former football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. After retiring from football, he became a television personality and computer software executive.
Tarkenton's tenure with the Vikings spanned thirteen non-consecutive seasons, playing with the team for six seasons from 1961 to 1966, then for seven seasons from 1972 to 1978. In between his years in Minnesota, Tarkenton was a member of the New York Giants for five seasons. At the time of his retirement, Tarkenton owned every major quarterback record. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
In addition to his football career, Tarkenton served as a commentator on Monday Night Football and a co-host of That's Incredible!. He also founded Tarkenton Software, a computer-program generator company, and he toured the U.S. promoting CASE (computer-aided software engineering) with Albert F. Case Jr. of Nastec Corporation. Tarkenton Software later merged with KnowledgeWare (with Tarkenton as president), until selling the company to Sterling Software in 1994.

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Dan Fouts

Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers, from 1973 through 1987. He was one of the most prolific passing quarterbacks during the 1970s and 1980s, but the Chargers were unable to make it to the Super Bowl during his fifteen-year career. He led the NFL in passing yards four straight years from 1979 to 1982 and became the first player in history to throw for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He lives in Sisters, Oregon and is currently a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio. Dan is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.

Ken Stabler

Kenneth Michael Stabler (December 25, 1945 – July 8, 2015), nicknamed "the Snake", was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Oakland Raiders (1970–1979), Houston Oilers (1980–1981) and New Orleans Saints (1982–1984). He played college football for the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Stabler quarterbacked the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XI, was the 1974 NFL Most Valuable Player and was selected as a quarterback for the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team. Stabler was posthumously elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Roger Thomas Staubach (born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America" and "Captain Comeback", is an American former football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL).
He attended the U.S. Naval Academy where he won the 1963 Heisman Trophy, and after graduation he served in the U.S. Navy, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. Staubach joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1969 and played with the club during all 11 seasons of his career. He led the team to the Super Bowl five times, four as the starting quarterback. He led the Cowboys to victories in Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII. Staubach was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl VI, becoming the first of four players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP, along with Jim Plunkett, Marcus Allen and Desmond Howard. He was named to the Pro Bowl six times during his 11-year NFL career. He is currently executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Ken Anderson

Kenneth Allan Anderson (born February 15, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who spent his entire professional career playing for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) and later returned as a position coach.
After playing college football for Augustana College, Anderson was selected in the 3rd round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Cinicinnati Bengals. Over the course of his 16 season NFL career, Anderson led the league in passer rating four times, completion percentage three times and passing yards twice. In 1981, he was awarded AP NFL Most Valuable Player, a season in which he led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance. In 1982, Anderson set an NFL record for completion percentage of 70.6%—a record he held for nearly 30 years until it was broken by Drew Brees in 2009.As of the end of the 2018 NFL season, Anderson owns many of the Cinicinnati Bengals franchise passing records, including completions, attempts, yards, touchdowns and interceptions.After his professional playing career, Anderson served as a radio broadcaster for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1987—1993. From 1993—2002 he served as the Bengals' quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. Anderson would later become the quarterbacks coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003—2006) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2007—2009), before retiring from football in 2010.
Anderson has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame twice, and is often regarded as one of the best players not in the Hall of Fame.

Bert Jones

Bertram Hays Jones (born September 7, 1951) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams. At Ruston High School in Ruston, Louisiana, he was given the nickname, "The Ruston Rifle." Jones played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU). He is the son of former NFL running back Dub Jones of the Cleveland Browns. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player in 1976 with the Colts. In 2016, Jones was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Terry Bradshaw

Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday. Bradshaw is also an actor, having participated in many television shows and films, most notably starring in the movie Failure to Launch. He played for 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period (1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979), becoming the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls, and led the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility. Bradshaw was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
A tough competitor, Bradshaw is known for having one of the most powerful arms in NFL history. He also called his own plays throughout his football career. His physical skills and on-the-field leadership played a major role in the Pittsburgh Steelers' history. During his career, he passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times, but three of those performances came in the postseason, and two of those in Super Bowls. He played very well in the Super Bowl, and in four career Super Bowl appearances, he passed for 932 yards and 9 touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time of his retirement. In 19 post-season games, he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards.

Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002), nicknamed "Johnny U" and "The Golden Arm", was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career playing for the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the NFL's most valuable player in 1959, 1964, and 1967.
For 52 years, he held the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (set between 1956 and 1960), until broken in 2012 by Drew Brees. Unitas was the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback, with a strong passing game, media fanfare, and widespread popularity. He has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

Bob Griese

Robert Allen Griese (born February 3, 1945) is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football League's Miami Dolphins. Griese led the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories in VII and VIII (a feat since matched by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowls LI, LII, and LIII). Griese was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He later worked as a television commentator, calling NFL games for NBC Sports and college football for ESPN and ABC Sports.  Griese is one of three quarterbacks from Purdue to win the Super Bowl (along with Len Dawson and Drew Brees).

Craig Morton

Larry Craig Morton (born February 5, 1943) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos. He played college football at the University of California.

Steve Bartkowski

Steven Joseph Bartkowski (born November 12, 1952) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985) and the Los Angeles Rams (1986).

Jim Plunkett

James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final nine seasons with the Raiders franchise, whom he helped to two Super Bowl victories.
A Heisman Trophy winner during his collegiate career at Stanford, Plunkett was selected by the New England Patriots as the first overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. His tenure with the Patriots was mostly unsuccessful and led to him being signed by the San Francisco 49ers, where he played in 1976 and 1977, and then by the Oakland Raiders for 1978. Initially serving as a backup, he became the team's starting quarterback during the 1980 season and helped Raiders win Super Bowl XV, where he was named the game's MVP. In 1983, Plunkett again ascended from backup to starting quarterback to assist the Raiders in winning Super Bowl XVIII before retiring three years later. He is the only eligible quarterback with two Super Bowl wins as a starter not to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Plunkett is the only NFL Quarterback to win two Super Bowls with the same franchise in different cities: Oakland (1981) and Los Angeles (1984).

Joe Namath

Joseph William Namath (; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed Broadway Joe, is an American former football quarterback and actor. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant from 1962 to 1964, and professional football in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. Namath was an AFL icon and played for that league's New York Jets for most of his professional football career. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Rams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He retired after playing 143 games over 13 years in the AFL and NFL, including playoffs. His teams had an overall record of 68 wins, 71 losses, and four ties, 64–64–4 in 132 starts, and 4–7 in relief. He completed 1,886 passes for 27,663 yards, threw 173 touchdowns, and had 220 interceptions, for a career passer rating of 65.5. He played for three division champions (the 1968 and 1969 AFL East Champion Jets and the 1977 NFC West Champion Rams), earned one league championship (1968 AFL Championship), and one Super Bowl victory (Super Bowl III).
In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, the only player on the list to have spent a majority of his career with the Jets.  In his 1975 autobiography, Bryant called Namath the most natural athlete he had ever coached.Namath is known for boldly guaranteeing a Jets' victory over Don Shula's NFL Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III (1969), then making good on his prediction with a 16–7 upset (the win remains the Jets' only Super Bowl appearance).  Already a celebrity, he was now established not only as a sports icon but a pop culture icon. He subsequently parlayed his notoriety into success with endorsement deals and as a nightclub owner, talk show host, pioneering advertising spokesman, theater, motion picture, and television actor, and sports broadcaster. He remained a highly recognizable figure in the media and sports worlds half a century after his brashness cemented his identity in the public mind.

Roman Gabriel

Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football player. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback and is considered by many fans to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seasons, then five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is notable for being the first NFL quarterback of Filipino-American descent.

Brian Sipe

Brian Winfield Sipe (born August 8, 1949) is a former professional American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1983. He then played in the United States Football League for two seasons.
Although mostly sidelined for the first several years of his NFL career, Sipe was eventually recognized as one of the better quarterbacks in Browns history, winning the league's MVP Award in 1980. He was a college football star under head coach Don Coryell at San Diego State University, where he studied architecture and became the team's quarterbacks coach in 2009, remaining in that role for five years, through 2014. He also competed in the 1961 Little League World Series for El Cajon, California, and prepped at Grossmont High School.

Jim Hart

James Warren Hart (born April 29, 1944) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966 through 1983 and the Washington Redskins in 1984.

Len Dawson

Leonard Ray Dawson (born June 20, 1935) is a former American football quarterback and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played 19 seasons for three professional teams, the last 14 seasons with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, and played college football at Purdue University.
Dawson led the Texans/Chiefs to three American Football League Championships (1962, 1966, 1969), and a victory in Super Bowl IV over the Minnesota Vikings, for which he won the game's MVP award.  Dawson retired from professional football after the 1975 season, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.  He is former sports director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City and former color analyst for the Chiefs Radio Network. Dawson owned the Chiefs single season passing touchdown record which he set in 1964 with 30 touchdowns. The record stood until November 11, 2018 when Patrick Mahomes threw his 31st touchdown of the 2018 season.

Archie Manning

Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982, and for short stints with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings. In college, he played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team at the University of Mississippi, and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Manning is the father of Cooper Manning, former quarterback Peyton Manning, and current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Peyton and Eli have each won two Super Bowls.

John Brodie

John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is a former American football player, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) for seventeen seasons. He had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer, and was a television broadcaster for both sports.During various years of his NFL career, Brodie led the League in passing yardage, passing touchdowns, least sacks, and lowest percentage of passes intercepted.  He retired as the third most prolific career passer in NFL history, and was the league MVP in 1970 and a two-time Pro Bowler.

Earl Morrall

Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twenty-one seasons. Morrall, who also occasionally punted, played 21 seasons in the National Football League as both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he became known as one of the greatest backup quarterbacks in NFL history. During the 1968 Baltimore Colts season, he filled in for an injured Johnny Unitas leading to an NFL championship shutout victory and Super Bowl III, which they lost to the New York Jets.  For the 1972 Miami Dolphins season (both under coach Don Shula) he filled in for an injured Bob Griese leading to Super Bowl VII and the only perfect season in NFL history. Morrall made Pro Bowl appearances following the 1957 and 1968 seasons.

Warren Moon

Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is a former American and Canadian football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Moon also played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL.
Moon began his professional career with the Eskimos in 1978, after going unselected in the NFL Draft. His success during his six seasons in the CFL led him to the NFL in 1984 with the Oilers. Over his 17 NFL seasons, Moon was named to nine Pro Bowls and made seven playoff appearances. Following ten seasons with the Oilers, he had brief multiple-year stints with the Vikings, Seahawks, and Chiefs before retiring at age 44.
At the time of his retirement, Moon held several all-time professional gridiron football passing records. He was less successful in the NFL postseason, never advancing beyond the division round of the playoffs, although he won five Grey Cups in the CFL. Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, becoming the first African-American quarterback and the first undrafted quarterback to receive the honor.

Billy Kilmer

William Orland Kilmer, Jr. (born September 5, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, and  Washington Redskins.  He played college football at UCLA.

Sonny Jurgensen

Christian Adolph Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934), known better as Sonny Jurgensen, is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dan Pastorini

Dante Anthony "Dan" Pastorini (born May 26, 1949) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and the Philadelphia Eagles. He is also a winning NHRA Top Fuel Dragster driver.

Daryle Lamonica

Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (born July 17, 1941) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He was nicknamed "The Mad Bomber" due to his affinity for throwing the long pass in virtually any situation.

These are the best NFL quarterbacks of the 1970s. From Johnny U to Terry Bradshaw, this list has all of the best QBs of the '70s! Quarterbacks are the heart ...