The 16 Most Jacked Players In NFL History

The NFL is overflowing with almost impossibly athletic human beings who earned the right to be called “freaks of nature” in the most flattering sense of the term, and it’s hard for guys to stand out from the pack when it comes to their physique. However, there are more than a few players who’ve managed to do exactly that.

NFL players devote a ton of time and effort to the training required to reach the peak physical prowess that’s required to hang with the rest of the competition, and most people can only dream of obtaining the kind of muscle mass they tend to be able to pack on.

However, there have been some very notable names who somehow managed to make most of the other guys on the field look puny based on their build, and these are the ones who stand out when it comes to the most jacked player in NFL history.

I’m going to start with some current players who admittedly benefit from recency bias, but I’m going to do what I can to cover the bases.

DK Metcalf

DK Metcalf went viral ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft courtesy of a picture of him posing shirtless in the gym next to a bunch of other prospects where he not only dwarfed everyone else but was sporting a laughably sculpted torso with an incredibly defined six-pack.

The Seahawks ultimately drafted the 6’4″, 235-pound Ole Miss product in the second round, and he’s repeatedly used his muscle to his advantage while making the Pro Bowl two times in six seasons.

Derrick Henry

Derrick Henry also went viral before he entered the NFL for a similar reason when he made Mark Ingram look tiny while standing next to the former Alabama RB while he was playing for the Crimson Tide in 2016.

While he benefitted from the the camera angle that made Ingram look more diminutive than he really is, Henry is still a beast who stands at 6’3″, tips the scales at close to 250 pounds, and has emerged as one of the most electric RBs in the NFL since being drafted in 2018.

Saquon Barkley

Saquon Barkley has obviously used his legs to cement himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL, and you can’t talk about them without mentioning the thighs that have mesmerized basically every person he’s played with while helping him terrorize most of the teams he plays against.

Myles Garrett

Myles Garret is the best defensive end the NFL currently has to offer, and it’s hard to not be in awe of what he’s able to do with the 6’4″, 271-pound wrecking ball he calls a body.

There aren’t many people who can squat 675 pounds and do box jumps with 50-pound weights in each hand, but he’s one of them.

Khalil Mack

Khalil Mack recently wrapped up his 11th NFL season while earning Pro Bowl honors for the ninth time, and much of his dominance can be credited to a grueling workout routine that has also made him a linebacker you do not want to mess with.

Danielle Hunter

There’s not much to say about Danielle Hunter that this picture doesn’t already say for me, and there’s a reason he’s been named to the Pro Bowl five times in the nine seasons he’s spent in the NFL.

Aaron Donald

Aaron Donald spent a decade laying waste to virtually every offensive line that was faced with the daunting task of stopping him.

Most of the guys in the trenches had him beat in the weight department, but there was only so much they could do to prevent the defensive juggernaut from doing what he did best with the help of the work he put in at the gym.

J.J. Watt

J.J. Watt was simply built different in multiple senses of that phrase, and the fact that he posted the best results in every event but the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2011 highlights that reality.

Watt was an incredibly imposing DE at 6’5″ and 288 pounds, and he lived up to the hype that comes with being the 11th overall pick in the draft during a 12-year career that will undoubtedly lead to him being enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

James Harrison

James Harrison was one of those players who struck fear into the hearts of opposing players whenever he stepped onto the field, as the LB who spent most of his career with the Steelers was known for the punishing hits he handed out with the help of the muscle he was able to amass on his 6’0″, 242-pound frame.

Harrison played his final NFL season in 2017, but the 46-year-old is still going strong and routinely shows off his strength with the impressive workout videos that litter his Instagram account.

Larry Allen

Larry Allen spent the bulk of his 14 years in the NFL with the Cowboys, and the Hall of Famer routinely defied his size as an improbably athletic 6’3″, 325-pound guard widely regarded as one of the strongest to ever play the game.

The nature of Allen’s position meant he couldn’t really get shredded, but there was a laughable amount of muscle on the frame of a man who could supposedly squat 900 pounds and was once filmed benching 700 (with a little bit of assistance from a spotter) in the gym.

Vernon Davis

The ideal tight end possesses a mix of strength and speed, and Vernon Davis firmly checked both of those boxes.

The former Maryland Terrapin made it very clear he possessed both of those assets in college before the 49ers selected him with the sixth overall pick in 2006, and he used them to his advantage during the 16 years he spent in the NFL.

Laron Landry

Laron Landry (the man making the tackle in the picture) was much, much bigger than your typical NFL safety to the point where some people viewed it as a detriment, and his massive biceps repeatedly turned heads during his time in the league.

He probably got some help from the PEDs that led to him being suspended multiple times before the third test he failed in 2015 effectively ended his career, but he still deserves a mention.

Tony Mandarich

Tony Mandarich is widely regarded as one of the biggest busts in NFL history, as the Packers selected him with the second overall pick in the 1989 NFL Draft ahead of three future Hall of Famers in the form of Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders.

Of course, there’s a reason he went that high in the first place, as Mandarich was a 6’6″, 330-pound specimen who was a sight to behold physically but lacked the work ethic needed to ultimately make a mark in the NFL, where played for seven seasons but never came close to living up to the hype.

Jon Kolb

This is a bit of a throwback, but I have to include Jon Kolb, the offensive lineman who kicked off a 13-year stint with the Steelers in 1969.

Why? Well, he not only played in the NFL but participated in the early iterations of the World’s Strongest Man contest while earning a fourth-place finish in 1978 and 1979.

Steve Weatherford

You might not expect to see a punter on this list, but I have to give credit where credit is due to Steve Weatherford.

Weatherford primarily relied on his kicking leg to make it to the NFL, and while he was far from the most physically imposing player on the gridiron, he was a former track-and-field star who took his fitness seriously and was hiding a sneaky impressive physique under his uniform.

Weatherford pivoted to a career as a fitness trainer and motivational speaker after retiring and still looks pretty great at the age of 42.

Ed Hochuli

I know this list is supposed to be reserved for NFL players, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to the man, myth, and legend who is Ed Hochuli and the pythons lurking under the referee uniform he wore for his 27 seasons an official.