It always seems like height is valued in the NBA while strength is valued in the NFL. Granted, shorter players sometimes have a tougher road in the NFL, but we rarely get worked up over tall NFL players because it only matters that they have the strength to keep up with the league’s physicality. But the NFL has seen its fair share of unusually tall players over the years. Some are familiar and others are forgettable, but let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember some of the tallest players in NFL history.
Dan McGwire, 6’8’’
We’ve seen a few 6’7’’ quarterbacks in recent years, but none of them have eclipsed McGwire as the tallest quarterback in NFL history. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because his brother Mark used to hit steroid-aided home runs in the big leagues. As for the older McGwire, he was the 16th overall pick in 1991 but never played well to take the starting job away from Dave Krieg in Seattle.
Eventually, the Seahawks drafted Rick Mirer with McGwire spending the fifth and final season of his career with the Dolphins. In five years, he threw just 148 passes with two touchdowns and six interceptions.
Jonathan Ogden, 6’9’’
Ogden was a massive offensive tackle who also tipped the scales at 345 pounds. The Ravens drafted him fourth overall in 1996, and he didn’t disappoint. Ogden was an 11-time Pro Bowler, being named to the team every year but his rookie season.
He spent 12 years in Baltimore and helped the Ravens win XXXV. Ogden was ultimately named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the 2000s All-Decade Team.
Ed Jones, 6’9’’
Nicknamed “Too Tall,” Jones played 15 seasons in the NFL after he wisely gave up basketball in college to focus on football. He played defensive end for the Cowboys and was a lean 6’9’’ who weighed in at 271 pounds.
Of course, his football career was split into two stints by an attempted boxing career. But Jones returned to football and went on to make three straight Pro Bowls from 1981 to 1983.
Morris Stroud, 6’10’’
Stroud was actually one of the first tight ends who played mostly basketball in college. He didn’t exactly catch on to football despite his size, catching 54 passes for 977 yards and seven touchdowns over six seasons with the Chiefs.
He also made an impact on special teams by trying to deflect field goals on the way down, forcing the NFL to create a rule prohibiting that. The rule is still colloquially known as the Stroud Rule.
Dan Skipper, 6’10’’
While he had the size of an offensive lineman, Skipper hasn’t quite had the strength and quickness to keep a steady job in the NFL.
Between 2017 and 2020, he spent most of his time on various practice squads, playing in just 12 NFL games.
Richard Sligh, 7’
It’s hard to imagine anybody in the NFL being taller than the seven-foot Sligh. After playing college baseball, the Raiders took a chance on him as a defensive tackle in the 10th round of the 1967 draft.
He played just eight games that season, although he was part of the team that won the AFL championship before losing to the Packers in Super Bowl II. But those were the only eight games Sligh would play in the NFL. The Bengals took him in an expansion draft the following year but cut him before the season.