NEWSLETTER
This article is part of a series of top North Carolina athletes and teams. As North Carolina sports betting gets set to launch in March, take a look at the top athletes across North Carolina college and professional sports.
The NFL has seen successful players come from all 50 states but how many NFL greats were born and raised in North Carolina? Let’s take a look at the top players who call North Carolina home from birth until high school. Here are the 10 best NFL players of all time born and raised in North Carolina.
10. Mario Williams – DE
Born: Richlands, NC
High School: Richlands
NFL Career: 2006-16
Mario Williams was the number 1 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft before recording 14 sacks in year two to make the All-Pro Second Team. Williams had 12 sacks in 2008 to reach the Pro Bowl.
His best stretch came from 2012-14 when Williams had 38 sacks and 46 tackles for loss while making Second Team All-Pro in 2013 before making the First Team in 2014. Williams finished his career with 97.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, and 121 tackles for loss.
Williams was selected to 4 Pro Bowls while spending his career with the Houston Texans, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins. Check out Williams’ stats.
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9. Mike Quick – WR
Born: Hamlet, NC
High School: Richmond
NFL Career: 1982-90
Mike Quick played his entire career for the Philadelphia Eagles and earned 2 All-Pro selections along with 5 trips to the Pro Bowl. His best season came in year 2 as he had 69 receptions for 1,409 yards and 13 touchdowns. Quick also caught double-digit TDs in 1985 and 1987 with 11 each season.
From 1984-86, quick averaged 67 receptions for 1,236 yards and 11 touchdowns. He made plays down the field as he averaged 18.3 yards per reception during that stretch. In his career, Quick ended up with 6,464 yards and 61 touchdown catches. Check out Quick’s stats.
8. Roman Gabriel – QB
Born: Wilmington, NC
High School: New Hanover
NFL Career: 1962-77
Roman Gabriel was the 1969 MVP and earned a First Team All-Pro selection that season after throwing 24 touchdown passes and running for 5 more. Gabriel also made 4 Pro Bowls and threw 201 career touchdown passes.
His career was spent with the Rams and Eagles where he had an 86-64-7 career record with 29,444 yards passing. He led the league in passing yards in 1973 with 3,219 and also threw 23 touchdowns to top the league that year. Gabriel made Second Team All-Pro twice and won the Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1973.
Check out Gabriel’s stats.
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7. Jimmy Graham – TE
Born: Goldsboro, NC
High School: Charis Prep
NFL Career: 2010-Present
Jimmy Graham spent the better part of his career with the New Orleans Saints and was one of Drew Brees’ top targets. Graham caught a league-leading 16 touchdowns in 2013 when he was named First Team All-Pro. He made the All-Pro Second Team in 2011 after he had 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Graham caught 89 touchdowns and has over 8,500 receiving yards in his career which is 8th all-time. He is a 5-time Pro Bowl selection and has had 800+ receiving yards in 5 seasons. From 2011-17, Graham averaged 75 receptions for 920 yards and 9 touchdowns. Check out Graham’s stats.
6. Marvin Powell – OT
Born: Fort Bragg, NC
High School: Seventy-First
NFL Career: 1977-87
We have to give some love to the offensive line on this list as Marvin Powell was a standout tackle in the 80s for the New York Jets before finishing his career with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Powell was All-Pro for 4 straight years while making the First Team 3 times.
Powell was also selected to 5 Pro Bowls and started 123 games for the Jets where he was voted as the team’s most valuable player in the 1979 season. He earned a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. Check out Powell’s stats.
5. Keenan Allen – WR
Born: Greensboro, NC
High School: Northern Guilford
NFL Career: 2013-Present
While Keenan Allen hasn’t played on the best Charger teams in his career, he has been one of the league’s top wideouts for the past decade. Allen has 6 seasons of 1,000+ yards receiving and has racked up 10,530 yards in 139 career games.
Allen has caught 59 touchdowns, was the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2017, and has been selected to 6 Pro Bowls. In 2023, Allen had 108 receptions for 1,243 yards showing he still has a lot left in the tank despite entering his early 30s.
Allen’s per 17 game average is 111 receptions, 1288 yards, and 7 TDs. Check out Allen’s stats.
4. Sonny Jurgensen – QB
Born: Wilmington, NC
High School: New Hanover
NFL Career: 1957-74
Sonny Jurgensen enjoyed a long career with the Eagles and Redskins while throwing 255 touchdown passes. He made the Pro Bowl 5 times and earned an All-Pro selection in 1961 when he threw 32 touchdown passes.
Jurgensen was an NFL Champion in 1960 as a backup before taking over as a starter in 1961. He threw 20+ touchdowns 7 times in his career and led the league in passing yards 5 times with a career-high of 3,747 yards in 1967. Also, he was named to the All-Pro 2nd team 3 times while making the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team.
His play earned him a spot in the Hall of Fame along with the Washington Ring of Fame and Eagles Hall of Fame. Take a look at Jurgensen’s stats.
3. Bobby Bell – LB
Born: Shelby, NC
High School: Cleveland
NFL Career: 1963-74
Bobby Bell was a 9-time Pro Bowler, made All-Pro 6 times, and was a Super Bowl Champion in his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Bell also won 2 AFL Championships as a member of the Chiefs while having his most dominant run come from 1965-70 where he was named to the All-Pro team each season.
Bell was a versatile player who had the ability to rush the passer, stop the run, and drop back in coverage. Those skills helped Bell reach the Hall of Fame with 40 career sacks and 26 interceptions. He returned 6 of those interceptions for touchdowns and had 2 fumble recoveries for TDs in his excellent career.
Bell also earned a spot on the 1970s Hall of Fame Team. Take a look at Bell’s numbers.
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2. Carl Eller – DE
Born: Winston-Salem, NC
High School: Atkins
NFL Career: 1964-79
Carl Eller was a monster for the Minnesota Vikings and had a run of earning 5 selections to the All-Pro First Team in 6 years from 1968-73. During that span, Eller recorded 58.5 sacks and finished in the top-5 of MVP voting twice.
Eller was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and played 225 games in his career while starting 209. The defensive end spent 15 years in Minnesota before playing his final season with the Seattle Seahawks.
Eller’s best season was in 1969 when he went for 15 sacks and helped the Vikings reach the Super Bowl. The Vikings won the NFL Championship game 27-7 vs the Browns before losing to the AFL Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV. Take a look at Eller’s career stats.
1. Julius Peppers – DE
Born: Wilson, NC
High School: Southern Nash
NFL Career: 2002-18
A 2024 NFL Hall of Fame selection, Julius Peppers was voted onto the All-2000s and 2010s Hall of Fame Teams while making the All-Pro team 3 times in his career. Peppers had a great run at defensive end as he spent 10 years with the Panthers, 4 with the Bears, and 3 with the Packers in a career that saw him earn 9 Pro Bowl selections.
Peppers was a force to be reckoned with as he had 159.5 career sacks, 52 forced fumbles, and 175 tackles for loss in his career. He reached 10+ sacks in a season 10 times and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Peppers also was named to the All-Pro 2nd Team 3 times.
As a freak athlete, Peppers played football and basketball at the University of North Carolina before the Carolina Panthers selected him no. 2 overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. Take a look at Peppers’ career numbers.
Read More: Best Athletes from North Carolina and best Carolina Panthers
