Which cities and states produce the best football talent? It’s an age-old debate, and Touchdown Wire asks you to help determine the answer.
We’ve imagined NFL rosters for the ages composed of the greatest players who grew up in the areas of the 32 current franchises. Our selection methodology is explained in detail in this article.
Touchdown Wire columnist Doug Farrar revealed his power rankings for our 32 Homegrown Legends rosters here, providing the seedings for an epic virtual tournament.
Here’s where you come in. Cast your votes below in the first round of our Homegrown Legends tournament, and check back on Friday, Sept. 25, at approximately noon ET for results and the opening of second-round voting.
AFC rosters:
Buf / Mia / NE / NYJ // Bal / Cin / Cle / Pit // Hou / Ind / Jax / Ten // Den / KC / LV / LAC
NFC rosters:
Dal / NYG / Phi / Was // Chi / Det / GB / Min // Atl / Car / NO / TB // Ari / LAR / SF / Sea
- Coming Friday: Homegrown Legends tournament bracket, second round
AFC first-round matchups
1. Houston vs. 16. Denver
How Houston can win: The Texans have an aerial assault with QB Andrew Luck, RB Thurman Thomas, WRs Otis Taylor and Cliff Branch. If the pass attack is ineffective, backup QB Vince Young and RB Eric Dickerson can create chunk plays on the ground and control the tempo. DE Michael Strahan and OLB Brian Orakpo can dominate the line of scrimmage to shut down the run and harass the passer with MLB Mike Singletary liking this kind of party. — Mark Lane, Texans Wire
How Denver can win: The Broncos are unlikely to accomplish much through the air against a Texans’ secondary featuring Earl Thomas, Darrell Green, Lester Hayes and Emmitt Thomas. Instead, Denver will attack Houston on the ground with a backfield that features Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler and Phillip Lindsay. QB Dutch Clark, a Hall of Famer, is an ideal player to lead a run-heavy offense. Clark rushed for 2,772 yards and 36 touchdowns in his career, and he’ll line up in an old-school wishbone formation to utilize all three RBs. — Jon Heath, Broncos Wire
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Other matchups:
LAC vs Buf / Jax vs KC / Cin vs Ten / Pit vs Bal / Cle vs Ind / NYJ vs LV / Mia vs NE // Dal vs Min / Was vs NYG / Atl vs TB / SF vs Sea / Car vs Ari / LAR vs GB / Phi vs Det / NO vs Chi