Would Sean Taylor be the best safety

[Terry Yake]

reed is up there, there's no doubt

Lott
Reed
C. Woodson

as for sean taylor, the guy was an absolute monster. it was pretty obvious he was on his way to greatness and i'm almost certain he'd be the best S in the game today. would he have been better than lott? doubt it but he would've been top 5 all time for sure

 

[Ivan13]

Ronnie Lott
Charles Woodson
Rod Woodson

my top 3 all time.

Agreed.

reed is up there, there's no doubt

Lott
Reed
C. Woodson

as for sean taylor, the guy was an absolute monster. it was pretty obvious he was on his way to greatness and i'm almost certain he'd be the best S in the game today. would he have been better than lott? doubt it but he would've been top 5 all time for sure

Reed is in no way a better safety than either of the Woodsons.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

I considered Charles Woodson more of a CB than a S.

 

[m9]

Rod Woodson was a CB as well. Hard to categorize those type of guys.

 

[ShootIt]

Yea no doubt he could of been mentioned high on an All-time safety list had his life not been cut short.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Rod Woodson was a CB as well. Hard to categorize those type of guys.

So? He switched to safety and was still dominant.

 

[m9]

Reed was an 8X All-Pro at safety, playing in the same era with another one of the best guys in Polamalu.

Rod Woodson was good as a safety, but was better as a corner. If you are talking defensive backs then Rod Woodson is right up there, but purely as a safety I can't put Woodson ahead of Reed. The resume just doesn't compare.

 

[Bonzai12]

Longevity counts for something. There's no telling if Taylor would have been able to play for 10+ seasons and perform at a high level like Woodson/Lott did.

 

[DaveG]

Charles Woodson played corner and then safety. All pro at both. More impressive than Reed.

As did Rod Woodson. I'd take both over Reed fairly easily if we're just talking pure DBs, and that's not taking away from Reed.

 

[Bonzai12]

As did Rod Woodson. I'd take both over Reed fairly easily if we're just talking pure DBs, and that's not taking away from Reed.

I was thinking the exact same thing when I wrote "Woodson" in my post above. Both of them excelled anywhere you put them in the secondary.

I still think Deion is the best DB I have ever watched. Horrible at run defense but so legendary at pass defense - I will be shocked if another player comes along better at man on man.

 

[DaveG]

Agreed 100%. Neon, Lott, and the Woodsons are the four best I've ever seen as DBs. #5 is up for debate and Reed is in that conversation as well as some others like Revis.

Not sure if Taylor would have reached that level Reed/Revis type level be he would have been close that's for sure.

 

[CDJ]

Like #1 ever? Probably not. Guys like Lott and Woodson come to mind. Even a guy like Sharper is pretty high up there in terms of how I saw them (he's just a terrible human being)

Hall of famer though IMO