Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

The forgotten position in football is the fullback, but how can anyone forget the legendary Mike Alstott and how great he was in Tampa Bay?

Fullbacks, by nature of the position, have to be dual-threats. They need to be able to block for the running back, but they also need to be capable of running/catching the ball, especially when the offense is close to the goal line. Frankly, there was seemingly nothing that Alstott couldn’t do, he was a jack of all trades.

At 6-foot-1 and nearly 250 pounds, Alstott was a tank and loved laying defenders out. Although, Alstott was used primarily as a rushing threat during his career. Shown by his second-place rank on the Buccaneers all-time rushing leaders, Alstott was more than capable of running with the ball in his hands. His 5,088 yards is only shadowed by his ridiculous mark of 58 touchdowns.

Actually, Alstott is fourth all-time in scoring for the Buccaneers, totaling 732 points. He is also the only non-kicker in the top-six of that category. In an incredible 11 seasons, Alstott tore opposing defenses apart with his unmatched tenacity and ability to always fall forward, earning the extra yard or two.

If you need more reason to believe Alstott is the seventh best player in team history, chew on this. Alstott earned Pro-Bowl nominations in six of his 11 seasons. In addition, he was a First Team All-Pro nominee in three seasons, and a Second Team All-Pro in one.

A career-ending neck injury forced him to retire a bit early, but not before Alstott cemented himself as one of the best to ever jog on to the field wearing a Buccaneers jersey. How sure are we that he won’t get his due in Canton some day either? He was the best offensive player on the best period in franchise history.