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The state of Pennsylvania plays host to two NFL franchises in the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as three major college football programs in the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Temple Owls.

Pennsylvania is currently the fifth largest state in America by population, and the list of talented NFL players both past and present to come from the state is impressive to say the least.

Current NFL Players from Pennsylvania

The list of talents playing in the NFL today who grew up in Pennsylvania is headlined by Aaron Donald, who has separated himself as one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play the game. Donald capped that off by winning the Super Bowl with the LA Rams in 2022, marking quite the career.

Matt Ryan, Cameron Heyward, Chris Godwin, James Conner, DJ Moore, Micah Parsons and Kyle Pitts are just some of the names that contribute to a very deep and impressive list.

Famous NFL Players from Pennsylvania

Some of the most well-recognised quarterbacks in the history of the NFL have come from the state of Pennsylvania. Joe Montana leads the list, having won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, winning Super Bowl MVP in three of those. 

Dan Marino also grew up and went to college in Pennsylvania, attending Pitt University and going on to have a historic career as the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.

Perhaps the greatest star, however, is Joe Namath. Nobody lived the celebrity lifestyle of an NFL quarterback quite as well as Broadway Joe did. Namath was the quarterback of the New York Jets from 1965 to 1976, leading them to their only Super Bowl in 1969. Namath is the honorable mention of our top 10 list today, and he’s a Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion… so this is quite the list.

Ranking the Top 10 All-Time NFL Players from the state of Pennsylvania

10. Jim Kelly | Quarterback

Born: February 14, 1960 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Years active: 13

Teams: Houston Gamblers, Buffalo Bills

Awards: First Team All Pro (1981), 5x Pro Bowl, NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader (1991), Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jim Kelly was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1983, but signed with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL instead by preference. When the league folded, Kelly returned to the Buffalo Bills and became one of the all-time greats to play for the franchise.

Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, where they famously lost all four. It’s the longest consecutive run of Super Bowl appearances in history. Kelly retired with over 35,000 passing yards and 237 career touchdowns during his tenure with the Bills, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

9. Marvin Harrison | Wide Receiver

Born: August 25, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Years active: 13

Teams: Indianapolis Colts

Awards: Super Bowl Champion, 3x First Team All Pro, 8x Pro Bowl, 2x NFL receiving yards leader, 2x NFL receptions leader, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Marvin Harrison is one of the all-time great Colts, and a fan favorite in Indianapolis. He played alongside Peyton Manning for the majority of his career, and the two together became quite the pair. Harrison was selected for the Pro Bowl for eight consecutive seasons between 1999 and 2006.

The Colts star wideout finished his career with 1,102 catches, 14,580 receiving yards and 128 touchdowns. In 2002, he set the record for the most receptions in a single season with 143 catches, a record that has since been broken by Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints.

Harrison sits fifth on the all-time NFL receptions list, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

8. Tony Dorsett | Running Back

Born: April 7, 1954 in Rochester, Pennsylvania

Years active: 12

Teams: Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos

Awards: Super Bowl Champion, Heisman Trophy Winner, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 4x Pro Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Tony Dorsett won the Heisman Trophy while playing running back at the University of Pittsburgh. He was even great as a freshman, which set the tone for his career, both through college and as an NFL pro.

Dorsett won the Heisman in 1976, and was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys with the second pick of the 1977 NFL Draft. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year, and went on to have eight 1,000+ yard rushing seasons in his first nine seasons as a pro. Dorsett won Super Bowl XII with the Dallas Cowboys, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame both in 1994.

Dorsett ended his pro career with 12,739 rushing yards and 91 total touchdowns.

7. Darrelle Revis | Cornerback

Born: July 14, 1985 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania

Years active: 11

Teams: New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Kansas City Chiefs

Awards: Super Bowl Champion, 4x First Team All Pro, 7x Pro Bowl

Darrelle Revis played his college football for the Pitt Panthers, and was selected in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He would become known as “Revis Island” for his ability to totally nullify the league's best wide receivers while playing in lone coverage or ‘on an island’.

Revis became a Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots before spells back with the Jets and his final year with Kansas City. He is one of the greatest cornerbacks of the modern era and retired with 29 interceptions and three defensive touchdowns.

He is not yet eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but was named to the 2010s All Decade Team and is widely recognised as one of the best to ever do it.

6. Mike Munchak | Offensive Guard

Born: March 5, 1960 in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Years active: 12

Teams: Houston Oilers

Awards: 2x First Team All Pro, 9x Pro Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Mike Munchak attended Penn State University where he was a starter for two of his three eligible seasons. He was selected in the first round of the 1982 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, where he would play his entire 12-year NFL career.

Munchak was selected to nine Pro Bowls out of his 12 eligible years, and served as a cornerstone of the offensive line that blocked for Warren Moon for many years.

The standout guard went on to have a career in coaching, serving as the offensive line coach for the Tennessee Titans, where he would then be promoted to head coach. Following a four-year tenure, he went back to coaching the offensive line, both with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos.

5. Mike Ditka | Tight End & Head Coach

Born: October 18, 1939 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania

Years active: 12

Teams: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys

Awards (as a player): NFL Champion, Super Bowl Champion, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, 2x First Team All Pro, 5x Pro Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Awards (as a coach): Super Bowl Champion, 2x NFL Coach of the Year

Mike Ditka, nicknamed “Iron Mike”, became an NFL Champion with the Chicago Bears in 1963. He went on to become a modern era Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys in 1972, and won Super Bowls both as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys, and as head coach with the Chicago Bears.

Ditka changed the game from the tight end position from the moment he was drafted fifth overall in 1961. When he retired, his 427 receptions were first ballot Hall of Fame numbers at the position, and he paved the way for the future tight ends, and changed the way the position is perceived today.

Iron Mike is an NFL legend and one of only two individuals to win an NFL title as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He is a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame.

4. Jack Ham | Outside Linebacker

Born: December 23, 1948 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Years active: 12

Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers

Awards: 4x Super Bowl Champion, 6x First Team All Pro, 8x Pro Bowl, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jack Ham had Hall of Fame careers both at the college and pro level without ever needing to leave the state of Pennsylvania. He played college football at Penn State, where he is considered one of the greatest Nittany Lions of all time, and was drafted by the home state Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 1971 NFL Draft.

Ham became an integral part of the dominant 1970s Steelers defense known as the ‘Steel Curtain’. He won four Super Bowls with the Steelers during his 12-year pro career, and is now a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL.

3. Dan Marino | Quarterback

Born: September 15, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Years active: 17

Teams: Miami Dolphins

Awards: NFL MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 3x First Team All Pro, 9x Pro Bowl, 5x NFL Passing Yards Leader, 3x NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader

Dan Marino has one of the best resumes of any quarterback in the history of the league. He sits eighth on the all-time passing yards list, an enormous achievement considering the era he played in was not as pass-friendly as the NFL is today.

Marino led the Miami Dolphins to the playoffs 10 times, appearing in Super Bowl XIX, where they would fall short to another Pennsylvania native quarterback playing for San Francisco.

He was the first of his kind, and Marino blew the league away with his fast release and gunslinger style of football. When he retired, he had broken more than 40 single season and career passing records, including career passing attempts, completions, passing yards and touchdown passes, of which he had 420. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 50,000 and 60,000 career passing yards, and the first to hit 400 passing touchdowns.

Dan Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, and was voted one of the top 10 quarterbacks in NFL history in 2019, as part of the NFL 100 All Time Team.

2. Johnny Unitas | Quarterback

Born: May 7, 1933 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Years active: 23

Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Colts, San Diego Chargers

Awards: Super Bowl Champion, 3x NFL Champion, 3x NFL MVP, 5x First Team All Pro, 10x Pro Bowl, 4x NFL passing yards leader, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Often known as ‘The Golden Arm’, Johnny Unitas had one of the most successful careers in the early days of the NFL and is credited with increasing the popularity of the league.

Unitas led the then-named Baltimore Colts to four championship titles, one of which came during the Super Bowl era in 1971. He broke multiple records, throwing for over 40,000 passing yards and 290 passing touchdowns.

Unitas was cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers after being drafted before he could even play a game. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he went and played semi pro football for $6 a game before getting another shot with the Baltimore Colts. He was humble and determined, and went on to have 20+ years as a pro quarterback.

His 1958 title game against the New York Giants is largely considered one of the greatest games ever played, with Unitas leading the Colts down the field to tie the game with less than two minutes on the clock. His record of 47 consecutive games with a passing touchdown stood for over 50 years, before it was broken by Drew Brees.

1. Joe Montana | Quarterback

Born: June 11, 1956 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania

Years active: 16

Teams: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs

Awards: 4x Super Bowl Champion, 3x Super Bowl MVP, 2x NFL MVP, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, 3x First Team All Pro, 8x Pro Bowl, 2x NFL Passing Touchdowns Leader, 5x NFL Completion Percentage Leader

A list that includes both Johnny Unitas and Dan Marino and neither of them being No. 1? The guy in first place must have had quite the career, and he did.

Not only did “Joe Cool” pinch a Super Bowl from the grasp of Dan Marino, but he won four during his career, and is one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of the game.

Montana became the first player to win the Super Bowl MVP three times, a record that has only been matched and since eclipsed by Tom Brady.

He was known as the comeback kid, having led his team to no fewer than 31 fourth-quarter comeback victories, including the comeback that resulted in Montana and the 49ers hoisting the Lombardi in Super Bowl XXIII.

The accolades speak for themselves, Montana was one of the greats, and after missing 31 consecutive games through injury, he made a comeback, proving himself all over again. He was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 1986 and retired with over 40,000 passing yards and 273 passing touchdowns.

Parameters for Rankings

These Pennsylvania natives have been ranked based on their career achievements as individuals in the NFL. Dan Marino’s career as a Miami Dolphins continues to be one of the greatest careers amongst pro football quarterbacks even though he didn’t win the ultimate prize of a Super Bowl.

Joe Montana on the other hand is a natural selection for the number one spot, and it’ll be extremely difficult for any player to knock him off that spot. His career is quite remarkable.