From the City of Brotherly Love (ahem), we travel up to the Big Apple today: NFL Thursday takes on the New York Jets! This list is kind of funny in its lack of players from the twenty-first century; almost everyone below is from a seemingly different era of professional football in North America. Perhaps it’s a commentary on how unsuccessful the Jets organization has been in the Super Bowl era. Weird history, truly.

No. 10: Curtis Martin, RB—95 AV (1998-2005)

It’s hard to remember now that Martin began his career with the New England Patriots before finishing it with the Jets. But he was a 3-time Pro Bowl selection with New York, and Martin led the NFL in rushing (2004) before just running out of gas the following season. He ran for 10,302 yards in his 8 seasons with the Jets, which is pretty incredible—however, the team reached the playoffs just 4 times in his tenure in N.Y.

No. 9: Dan Alexander, G/T—95 AV (1977-1989)

Admit it: you’ve never heard of this guy. He never made a Pro Bowl, and he posted just one season (1982) of double-digit AV (10). He’s on this list because of longevity, basically. Alexander played in 192 games for the Jets, starting 183 of those—mostly at right guard, with a brief stint at right tackle in 1987. How many times did New York make the playoffs during his career? Four times, for a 3-4 record overall. At least he had that.

No. 8: Mark Gastineau, DE—97 AV (1979-1988)

He made 5 consecutive Pro Bowls (1981-1985) while leading the league in sacks 2 seasons in a row (1983, 1984) as well. His AV peaked in 1982 (20) as the Jets made a playoff run to the AFC Championship Game before losing to the Miami Dolphins. Gastineau’s career was interesting, as those 5 peak seasons were amazing—but the 2 before that stretch and the 3 afterward were mediocre at best. Definitely a comet!

No. 7: Randy Rasmussen, G—99 AV (1967-1981)

Another guy you’ve probably never heard of, Rasmussen spent his entire career with the Jets without ever making a Pro Bowl. His career-best AV season (9) came in 1972, and it’s rare on these lists to find a guy who never even cracked double digits in his best season. He played in only 4 playoff contests in his entire career, although that did include winning Super Bowl III. Otherwise, his 207 career games with the Jets were boring.

No. 6: Joe Fields, C/G—102 AV (1975-1987)

At least he made two Pro Bowls (1981, 1982) in his career with the Jets; otherwise, this is another guy on the list with a very nondescript career. He did reach double-digit AV three times, though, with a peak of 18 in 1982. That was a banner year for many Jets players, of course, even though it was a strike-shortened season of just 9 regular-season games. Fields played his first 12 seasons at center before switching to guard in 1987.

No. 5: Winston Hill, T—105 AV (1963-1976)

An old AFL warhorse, Hill made 8 Pro Bowls—including 7 consecutive nods from 1967-1973. That run of dominance helped get him into the Hall of Fame, although we’re betting all non-Jets fans reading this have never heard of him. Despite being enshrined in Canton, he only had 3 seasons of double-digit AV, and Hill participated in just 3 postseason contests: all in 1968 and 1969. His career is pretty standard for this list.

No. 4: Joe Namath, QB—112 AV (1965-1976)

Probably one of the most overrated players ever, Namath helped the Jets win Super Bowl III, and he also made it to the Pro Bowl 5 times—although we’re not sure why. In those 5 seasons, he threw more picks than touchdowns 3 times. In fact, for his career as a whole in New York, Namath tossed 45 more INTs than TDs. That’s not good, even for the pre-1978 era of QB production. Four times, he led the league in INTs, actually.

No. 3: Mo Lewis, LB—117 AV (1991-2003)

Just a 3-time Pro Bowler (1998-2000), Lewis played 200 games for the Jets—including 199 starts. He also started 6 postseason games for the franchise. He posted 52.5 sacks, 26 forced fumbles, 14 INTs, and 5 defensive TDs over his regular-season career with the organization. In the playoffs, he added 3 sacks and 1 FF. His best seasons were 1998 (17 AV) and 2000 (16 AV)—he only had one other double-digit AV season (1999).

No. 2: Larry Grantham, LB—125 AV (1960-1972)

The last of our relatively anonymous guys on the list, Grantham was an original AFL player for the New York Titans—the rarity here from the Titans era (1960-1962). He was rewarded for his loyalty with that SB III title experience, of course, although Grantham also made 5 Pro Bowls in the 1960s, too. He posted double-digit AV in 7 of his first 9 seasons in the AFL, and he scored two defensive TDs in his career as well.

No. 1: Don Maynard, RB/WR—132 AV (1960-1972)

An original Titan himself as a running back, Maynard switched to wide receiver in 1961 and eventually made his way to a Hall of Fame career there. We named him the MVP of the 1968 AFL Championship Game, as well. Maynard led the AFL in AV twice (1967, 1968), while leading the league in TDs once (1965). He also led the AFL in varying receiving yardage categories in 1967 and 1968, too, despite Namath’s inefficiency.