Best of Jersey 8

Number 8 in the NFL might seem like an ordinary jersey number, but beneath its surface lies a rich history filled with impactful players who defied expectations. From elusive running backs to lockdown cornerbacks and even a legendary quarterback returning to his roots, number 8 has been a haven for some of the most electrifying players the game has ever seen.

This list dives deep into the careers of the greatest NFL stars who donned the number 8 with distinction. Get ready to discover a diverse group of gridiron greats, from the shifty moves of Steve Young to the laser passing of Troy Aikman.

Our ongoing series to find the top NFL players to have worn each jersey number continues in the Pigskin Dispatch’s Football by Numbers series. Today’s search comes in the number 8 and the best that ever wore it on their backs in the NFL’s 100 year plus history.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame gives us the starting point in the greatest 8’s of all time in the League as they share that there have been 6 such wearers of the “snowman” numeral that are enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

• Troy Aikman - Born November 21,1966 - Troy Aikman started out his college career at Oklahoma University but transferred to UCLA. As a Bruin he soon became the starter and earned the honor of being named a Consensus All-American. Aikman finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1988 and led UCLA to a No. 1 ranking during the season per the NFF.  His 228 completions in a season is still a record and his completion percentage of 64.8% is off the charts. Troy Aikman was ushered into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.  After school Aikman was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1989 NFL Draft as the number one pick. In his 12 year pro career with the Boys he made 6 Pro Bowl rosters and was at the helm of 3 Super Bowl victories. The Pro Football Hall of Fame selected Troy Aikman to join the Gold Jacket club in 2006. Since his playing days he has been one of top NFL color analysts for Fox Broadcasting. 
• Morten Andersen - WE have seen his name pop up multiple times already on other numbers. When you have a career that long and play for the number of teams that Morten did and to be that good, it is no wonder we find this NFL great here once again.
• Ray  Guy was born December 22, 1949 in Swainsboro, Georgia. The pride of Southern Mississippi football, Punter Ray Guy was born.  Ray set numerous collegiate records and became the first All-America punter per the NFF. The National Football Foundation selected Ray Guy to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Guy was the first punter ever selected in the first round of the NFL draft when the Oakland Raiders chose him as the 23rd player overall in the 1973 NFL Draft. In his 14 seasons with the Black and Silver he only had one year where he averaged under 40 yards per punt and only a mere 3 of his 1049 boots were blocked. Ray was an All-Pro in six straight seasons and for his career he averaged 42.4 yards per punt. Ray Guy, at the 2014 enshrinement ceremonies officially entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=2140  / https://www.profootballhof.com/players/ray-guy/
• Tommy McDonald was born July 26, 1934- Tommy McDonald was a halfback/flanker that made it into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. His college ball was played at Oklahoma while he played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, LA Rams, Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns. As a Sooner in the 1955 college season, Mr. McDonald became the first Oklahoma player to ever score a touchdown in each game played in a season. He followed that up in 1956 by winning the coveted Maxwell Award and ranking third in the Heisman voting. In the Pros he may be most remembered scoring on a 35 yard pass from Norm Van Brocklin as he and the Eagles defeated Vince Lombardi's Packers in the 1960 NFL Championship game.
• Larry Wilson was born March 24, 1938 in  Rigby, Idaho. The two-way star at the University of Utah excelled at all assignments he was given. In the NFL he played free safety for the St Louis Cardinals where he was picked in the 1960 NFL Draft. Wilson made the Safety Blitz a viable play in football as he used his instincts and flat out athletic talent to get into the offensive backfields, causing havoc. He was an All-NFL player 6 times, played in 8 Pro Bowls and recorded 52 career interceptions. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Larry Wilson in 1978. https://www.profootballhof.com/players/larry-wilson/  
• Steve Young arrived on this earth on October 11, 1961 - Steve was a former Brigham Young quarterback. Steve was a very good quarterback for BYU too as he set the school and NCAA records en route to being runner-up for the 1983 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. The College Football Hall of Fame placed him in their museum in 2001. Young was drafted by the LA Express of the USFL in the first round of the 1984 draft. After the fledgling league folded , Steve joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a first round pick of a special draft for displaced USFL players. In 1987 the Bucs traded Young to the San Francisco 49ers. He did not play much for the Niners for the next four seasons, as they had a guy by the name of Montana that had a pretty good career. In 1991 he got his break when Joe Montana suffered an injury and Young ended up with his first of six League passing titles. Profootballhof.com tells us how Steve Young had an incredible performance in San Francisco 's 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.  Young passed for 325 yards and threw a Super Bowl record six touchdowns.  He also was the game's leading rusher with 49 yards on five carries.  For his efforts, he was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Steve Youngin 2005.  

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The candidates for the top NFL number 8’s have many that are not in the Hall Of Fame, at least for now. Here are whom we have under consideration:

• Archie Manning QB 
• Mark Brunell QB
• Matt Hasselbeck
• Kirk Cousins
• Nick Lowery Kicker
• Matt Schaub QB
• Lamar Jackson QB - Baltimore Ravens. NFL MVP of the 2019 season. 
• Sam Bradford QB 
• Ryan Longwell Kicker
• Trent Dilfer QB 

Do you want to know who we picked as the top 10 players that wore the number? Click here: Top Ten list of NFL players weraing Jersey 8

Darin goes solo to discuss the greatest players to wear the number 8 in NFL history. We had a great list of candidates that really spanned the entire 101 plus years of history of the League and came up with these ten player as being the most substantial:  

1. Morten Andersen
2. Steve Young
3. Larry Wilson
4. Troy Aikman
5. Ray Guy
6. Tommy McDonald
7. Lamar Jackson
8. Trent Dilfer
9. Mark Brunell
10. Archie Manning

Honorable mention was :

1. Kirk Cousins
2. Matt Hasselbeck
3. Sam Bradford

A speical thanks to the Pro Football Reference website for information they share on these great players. Check them out at Pro-Football-Reference.com

The Image used above is courtesy of Google Gemini and others from Wikimedia Commons. It is pleasing to see such vivid images of the jerseys that point out the uniform number and help us identify the legends that wore it.