It’s the penultimate entry in our NFL Thursday miniseries checking out the best players in each team’s history. We move down the East Coast from Baltimore to Atlanta today, to look deep into the history of the Falcons franchise. The organization was an expansion member of the NFL in 1966, and as it approaches its 60-year anniversary soon, the team still has not won a league championship despite coming very close.

No. 10: Jake Matthews, T—86 AV (2014-present)

Certainly one of the more anonymous members of this list, he nevertheless made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and has been a pretty good player for a full decade with the Falcons after being the No. 6 overall pick in the draft. That’s the fate for offensive linemen, of course. Twice he has posted double digits in Approximate Value (2016, 2018), and he has started 5 playoff games for the franchise as well (all in 2016-2017). He is still active!

No. 9: Bob Whitfield, T—87 AV (1992-2003)

The No. 8 overall pick, he made just a single Pro Bowl (1998) in his 12 seasons with the team. Does that make him a disappointment? Of course, he earned the distinction during the year that the Atlanta organization first reached the Super Bowl. It was also the only season of his career with the franchise that he posted double-digit AV. Seems like a Top 10 pick should have done better than that, overall, but maybe it’s just us.

No. 8: Jessie Tuggle, T—92 AV (1987-2000)

A 5-time Pro Bowler (1992, 1994-1995, 1997-1998) despite posting just 2 seasons of double-digit AV 1995, 1998), he was an undrafted free agent, so the Falcons certainly scored with this guy. That’s a tremendous return on investment, really, in terms of the Pro Bowls. Four times (1990-1992, 1995), he topped the NFL in tackles, so that’s where his primary value resided. He also added 21 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, and 6 picks.

No. 7: Claude Humphrey, DE—93 AV (1968-1974, 1976-1978)

An old-school Falcon, he was the No. 3 overall pick in the draft and went on to a Hall of Fame career despite never reaching the postseason with Atlanta. He was the 1968 ROTY who ended up making 6 Pro Bowls (1970-1974, 1977), both before and after losing a full season to injury (1975). He racked up 99.5 sacks with the franchise, and he also posted 4 seasons of double-digit AV as well to go with 7 seasons of double-digit sacks.

No. 6: Todd McClure, C—97 AV (2000-2012)

He never made a Pro Bowl, and he only posted 1 season of double-digit AV (2012)—and then retired. Go figure! But hey, he was a 7th-round pick who is probably only known to the most diehard Falcons fans, since he played in an era between the team’s 2 Super Bowl appearances. However, he did start 9 postseason games for the Atlanta franchise, so that’s saying something. For a late-round draftee, he did just fine overall.

No. 5: Roddy White, WR—107 AV (2005-2015)

A late first-round pick, he also never made it to the Super Bowl with the team, but he was a very productive player: 4 straight Pro Bowls (2008-2011), a receptions crown (2010), and 1 year topping the NFL in yards per touch (2011). Sadly, he only got to play in 5 playoff matchups in his career, but he caught 34 passes for 3 touchdowns in those games. Twice, he hauled in at least 100 receptions in the regular season, too. Impressive.

No. 4: Jeff Van Note, C—115 AV (1969-1986)

An 11th-round pick, he played in just 4 postseason games despite being with the team for 18 seasons. That’s rough. However, he did make 6 Pro Bowls (1974-1975, 1979-1982); meanwhile, his 18-year career with the Falcons is one of the 25 longest in NFL history and is the second longest with the same team. But get this: he played running back and defensive end in college and was drafted as a prospective linebacker. Pretty crazy!

No. 3: Julio Jones, WR—119 AV (2011-2020)

Drafted No. 6 overall, he made 7 Pro Bowls (2012, 2014-2019) during his 10-year stint with the Falcons, and that’s just the start of the accomplishments. In 2015, he led the NFL in receptions; twice, he topped his peers in receiving yards (2015, 2018); thrice, he was the leader in reception yards per game (2015-2016, 2018). He played in 8 postseason games for the team including 1 Super Bowl, catching 61 passes for 6 TDs.

No. 2: Mike Kenn, T—139 AV (1978-1994)

There are a lot of offensive linemen on this list, which is probably one reason the team has never won an NFL title. The No. 13 overall pick, he made 5 consecutive Pro Bowls (1980-1984) while clearly anchoring the line for many seasons. In all that time, however, he played in just 6 postseason contests and never reached a Super Bowl. However, he did start in every regular-season game he ever appeared in, so that’s something.

No. 1: Matt Ryan, QB—203 AV (2008-2021)

If only the team hadn’t blown that big Super Bowl lead … oh well. The No. 3 overall pick in the draft, he made 4 Pro Bowls (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) and was voted the NFL MVP in 2016 when he topped the league in numerous passing categories, including QB rating. He also won the 2008 ROTY vote as well. Six times he posted double-digit win totals as the starter in Atlanta, but the specter of that fateful day in January 2017 …