The top 25 Chicago Bears of all time

All right, so a center from the ‘80s/early ‘90s is perhaps not the most exciting place to start. However, Hilgenberg has earned his spot on this list. He played 11 of his 12 career seasons with the Bears, making a whopping seven Pro Bowls and being named an All-Pro twice. Centers don’t get a lot of love, but no team with an elite center has ever complained.

Hester had an odd career. He was drafted as a defensive back before transitioning into being a wide receiver. And he was a decent one, finishing with 255 receptions for 3,311 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career. However, you know why Hester is here. He’s the best kick returner of all time. Hester returned 19 kicks for touchdowns, which is crazy. In fact, his career 20 “non-offensive touchdowns” is tops ever.

The early days of the NFL were weird. Jones spent his first nine seasons as an offensive lineman with the Bears and then spent his final three years with the team as a DEFENSIVE tackle. His best years were definitely on the offensive line, where he made seven Pro Bowls. But he was a force on either side of the ball.

Nagurski is one of the most-famous names among the old-timey days of football. Maybe that’s because he was known as “Bronco.” He played fullback in a time when that was a position that mattered, from 1930 through 1937, and then returned as a 35-year-old in 1943. Nagurski is a Hall of Famer, but he played so long ago, and in such a different day of football, that it’s hard to put him much higher on this list.

Perry’s numbers aren’t incredible. He was a good player for a Bears defense that led them to their one Super Bowl. However, the "Fridge" was absolutely beloved. He was a hefty defensive tackle who got the occasional touch as a short-yardage running back, much to the delight of everybody. Is the "Fridge" getting bonus points for his fun nickname and a couple of iconic plays? Sure, but who doesn’t want Perry on this top 25?

McMahon spent seven seasons with the Bears, often on the sidelines due to injuries and concussions. However, he’s still fourth all time in passing yards for Chicago, and he threw 67 touchdowns in 61 starts. Most importantly, he was the starting quarterback for the ’85 Bears that won the Super Bowl. You lead a team to its only Super Bowl? You get in the top 20.

Some Bears fans are surely recoiling in horror at seeing Cutler rank above McMahon on this list. That being said, Cutler is the leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns in franchise history by a wide margin. If you believe in quarterback rating, he leads in that too. You can’t argue with the facts. On a statistical basis, Cutler is a better quarterback than McMahon and one of the top quarterbacks in Bears history.

Ditka’s number has been retired by the Bears, although that is partially due to his time as head coach. All Chicago coaches are still compared to Ditka. As a tight end, though, he was quite the player. Though he spent only six years playing for the Bears, he made five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. Weirdly, he wasn’t an All-Pro in his best season, also his rookie season, when he had 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Tillman spent 12 years patrolling the secondary for the Bears, but though he had 36 interceptions with them, that’s not what he was known for. Everybody remembers "Peanut" for his ability to punch the ball out of opponents’ hands. The man was a fumble-forcing machine. His 44 career forced fumbles is sixth all time.

Turner played so long ago that two-way players were still a thing. That’s how a guy who is listed as primarily a center on Pro Football Reference also once had eight interceptions in a season. In addition to playing on the offensive line, he played linebacker and clearly had a nose for the ball. He was a seven-time All-Pro and a Hall of Famer, but his career was over by 1952, which is why his ranking isn’t a little higher.

Red Grange, the Galloping Ghost, was vital to the NFL. When he was signed by the Bears out of college, it literally help legitimate the team — and the league. Remember that once upon a time Jay Berwanger was drafted first overall in the inaugural NFL Draft but didn’t play because it wasn’t a financially viable option. Some, many with an old-school mindset, consider Grange to be one of the best college players ever. In the NFL, he played only 83 games with the Bears, and he was retired by 1934.

It’s kind of sad that Luckman is still the best quarterback in Bears history. Back when quarterbacks didn’t throw the ball nearly as much, he once led the NFL with 14 touchdown passes; Luckman was a different kind of guy. In the end, he finished with 137 career touchdown passes against 132 interceptions, but, again, this was a different era. Luckman was an innovator at the position (and won four rings as well).

Another center! What is it about the Bears that has led them to find so many good centers? Kreutz was with the Monsters of the Midway from 1998 until 2010 and made six-straight Pro Bowls at the peak of his career. It’s hard to get too excited about a center; there aren’t a lot of highlights to point to. He was just a great offensive lineman in Chicago for over a decade.

These days, you almost can’t be an NFL running back if you aren’t a weapon in the passing game. When Forte was drafted out of Tulane in the second round, that wasn’t quite the case yet. He ran for over 1,000 yards five times in his Bears career, but he also caught 487 passes for over 4,100 yards in Chicago. Forte once caught over 100 balls in a season! Not many running backs can say that.

Fencik played safety for the Bears for over a decade, including in their Super Bowl year. He made only two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team, but he was unfairly overlooked. Pro Football Reference put him on its All-1980s second team, which shows that history has been kind to Fencik. You would think a defensive player from the ’85 Bears couldn’t be underrated. You’d be wrong.

George may have a generic name, but he was far from a generic player. He played both guard and linebacker in his career, but no matter where he was he was great. George has more All-Pro appearances than any other Bear, with eight, and he also made eight Pro Bowls. Unsurprisingly, he’s in the Hall of Fame.

Hampton was a force as a pass rusher. Though his career started before sacks were a tracked stat, he finished with 57 in his career and once racked up 11.5 sacks in a season. The Pro Football Hall of Fame put him on its All-1980s Team, and he spent the entirety of the ‘80s in Chicago.

People who remember McMichael from his days in WCW may not remember him fondly, but he was better as a football player than a wrestler (or wrestling commentator). Though he was a defensive tackle, he was also a ferocious pass rusher. Mongo finished his career with 95 sacks, and 92.5 of them came with the Bears. As a bonus, he was an All-Pro in 1985.

Shockingly, a lot of ’85 Bears are on this list. They’ve all earned it, though. Dent was a great pass rusher and twice notched at least 17 sacks in a season. He also forced 34 fumbles as a Bear, leading the league in that category twice. Dent is still ninth in career sacks, and he spent 12 of his 15 seasons, and all of his best seasons, with Chicago.

Snicker at his name if you want, but Butkus is one of the best linebackers of all time. The only thing going against him is longevity. He played nine seasons, all with the Bears, and his last season was shortened to nine games. In those first eight years, though, he made the Pro Bowl every time. He was also an All-Pro five times and made the Hall of Fame’s All-1960s AND All-1970s teams.

Would you believe that it’s Briggs who is fourth in Bears history in Approximate Value, Pro Football Reference’s equivalent to baseball’s WAR? Perhaps that’s because he played 11 years and 170 games with Chicago. He didn’t put up garish stats, but he racked up the tackles and is 37th in career tackles. Not too shabby, although he was largely overshadowed by a teammate who hasn’t come up just yet.

Sayers is perhaps the quintessential “what could have been?” running back. He played only five full seasons before injuries effectively ended his career — but he was an All-Pro in every one of those seasons. Sayers led the league in rushing twice and in rushing yards per game three times. In his career, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry, eighth best in NFL history. He burned bright and burned out quickly, but his incredibly play has made him a Bears legend nevertheless.

When Urlacher was drafted, he was an athletic linebacker out of New Mexico. It’s kind of amazing that he didn’t end up at a bigger college, because he went on to become one of the best linebackers, and defensive players, of his era. For 13 seasons he patrolled the middle of the defense for the Bears. In addition to being a tackling machine, Urlacher would pick up a few sacks and the occasional interception. He was twice named Defensive Player of the Year. The Hall of Fame awaits.

In the history of the Bears, Singletary is the best defensive player of all time. Given Chicago’s defensive legacy, that’s immensely impressive. Like Urlacher, Singletary was named Defensive Player of the Year twice, but he was also an All-Pro seven times and made 10 Pro Bowls. Also, Singletary played on a Super Bowl team, and Urlacher didn’t. That’s another point in Singletary’s favor. Let’s just forget about his time as a head coach, though.

Payton led the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns only once, but he rushed for over 1,000 yards 10 times. Plus, he’s second all time in career rushing yards and was the leading rusher in NFL history for many years. His 110 rushing touchdowns are fourth in NFL history as well. Payton spent his entire career with the Bears and is their franchise leader in Approximate Value. On top of that, the NFL’s Man of the Year Award is named after him. As a player, and a person, he’s a great choice to lead this list.