Selecting the Colts All-Time 53-Man Roster: Offensive Skill Players Continued

John Farley at Field Gulls, the Seattle Seahawks SB Nation blog, had a fantastic idea for an interactive story during the slowest time of the NFL off-season. He put together a list of the franchise’s all-time 53-man roster that culminated into this story.

The Colts have had their own rich history of players who should not be forgotten and who deserve the kind of recognition that Hall of Fame voters and fans of other franchise’s might never see. This is the chance for the Stampede Blue Colts fan community to look back at some of the Colts great and vote for who they believe belongs on the all-time team.

We will start with the offensive side of the football at the skill positions of quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. There will be only two spots for quarterback, three for running back, five for wide receiver and three for tight end as this is the most common roster arrangement.

At the end of the project, we’ll include a 10 player practice squad designation for those who don’t make the cut but who received a high number of votes and should be recognized.

Quarterback

Photo By Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Enough votes have been cast and there is enough separation to declare the two quarterback spots for Peyton Manning and Johnny Unitas. There is nothing surprising about this result and Andrew Luck has a long way to go if he intends to catch up to these greats.

When we finish this series we will put together a more inclusive discussion of each quarterback’s accomplishments.

Running Back

There were two clear leaders in the all-time 53 voting who have solidified their spots — Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk. I have included a new poll with three remaining running backs for the final spot on the all-time roster as they were the highest vote earners remaining and because I didn’t have Lydell Mitchell on the initial list — this gives him a more fair shake in the voting.

As with the quarterbacks, we will go into greater detail about all winning members from this group in the final story.

Wide Receiver

As with the running backs, three wide receivers have created enough separation to include them in the all-time 53. Those are Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Raymond Berry. This leaves two additional spots up for grabs and three legitimate options to fill those spots. We will vote again to see which two of the following three receive the highest number of votes.

Tight End

Photo by Larry French/Getty Images

Two of the tight ends initially listed for the all-time 53 list separated themselves considerably from all other contenders. Both Dallas Clark and John Mackey will be included on the historical team. This leaves one final spot and two players who were dead even in initial voting.

Which of these two will join Clark and Mackey as representatives of the Colts all-time team?

Once we have finished voting on the offensive skill players, we will prepare to take a look at the defensive back-end including the linebackers, corners, and safeties.