37. Rich Gannon: Gannon was selected in the fourth round (98th overall) by the New England Patriots in the 1987 draft, but never played a game for New England. Gannon spend 17 years in the league with the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. Even though Gannon played 11 seasons in the league before joining the Raiders, he wouldn’t even sniff this list without his time in Oakland.
His most impressive seasons by far came in Oakland between 2000 and 2002. In 2000, Gannon led the Raiders to a 12-4 record and a trip to the AFC Championship game while completing 60 percent of his passes for 3,430 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the second time and was also a First-Team All-Pro. In ’01 Gannon took the Raiders back to the playoffs after a 10-6 regular season record. That year, Gannon completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 3,828 yards and 27 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive year. ’02 may have been his best year of all, as Gannon led the Raiders to an 11-5 record and a trip to the Super Bowl before losing to Tampa Bay. That season Gannon completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 4,689 yards and 26 touchdowns. For his efforts, Gannon was named to the Pro Bowl, a First-Team All-Pro and the NFL MVP by the AP.
For his career, Gannon completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 28,743 yards and 180 touchdowns. Gannon was also a real threat with his legs, rushing for 2,441 yards and 21 touchdowns on 521 carries.
Rich Gannon was a very underrated QB for most his career. He was a playmaker who played with a lot of savvy in his years with the Raiders. Not a Raider fan by any means but I really enjoyed watching him play and his competitive spirit.
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