With Independence Day upon us, I decided to put together the most patriotic roster I could think of; a Best 53 of the Presidents. With only 44 presidents to choose from, I had to dip into the pool of VPs to fill out the depth chart. After taking a look at the player pool, I decided to go with an old-school split-back base offense and a 1-gap, 3-4 base defense.
The Criteria
- Size – Using height and weight information and historical photos, I tried to match the presidents to position that fits their body type.
- Presidential-style – Were they more aggressive or timid in their leadership?
- Previous Experience – There are a handful of presidents that have college football experience.
- Gut instinct – Does it just make sense.
The Offense
Quarterbacks
| QBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| George Washington | Woodrow Wilson | Al Gore |
| 6'2" | 5'11" 180 | 6'1" |
| 1st | 28th | 45th VP |
There was an obvious choice as the commander and chief of this presidential roster, our first president, George Washington. Described as “over six feet in stature; of strong, bony, muscular frame, without fullness of covering, well-formed and straight. He was a man of most extraordinary strength,” Washington has the build and the leadership qualities to take the reigns as QB, drawing comparisons to the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers. He would be backed up by an undersized, but strong-armed Woodrow Wilson. The QB room would be rounded out by the 45th Vice President, Al Gore. Gore has the size to be taking snaps, but his true value would be in the film room as a student of the game.
Running Backs
| RBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teddy Roosevelt | Ronald Reagan | Franklin D Roosevelt |
| 5'10" 237 | 6'1" 186 | 6'2" 182 |
| 26th | 40th | 323nd |
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| 5'10 162 | ||
| 14th |
Speak softly and carry a big truck stick. Our 26th presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, would be the power-back, workhorse of the offense. While Roosevelt had a big part in advancing the forward pass in the game of football, it would be his contributions to the run game that would advance this team. The lightning to Roosevelt’s thunder in the split back offense would be our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. While Reagan does have on-field experience playing on the line for Eureka College, it is his on-screen experience that he would draw from here. In 1940, Reagan played halfback George Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American. Reagan would be a big threat out of the backfield in the passing game as well. Backing up Teddy would be his cousin, FDR, and sitting behind Reagan, primarily contributing in the passing game and on special teams, is Franklin Pierce.
Wide Receivers
| WRs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama | John F Kennedy | George HW Bush |
| 6'1" 180 | 6'1" 182 | 6'2" 195 |
| 44th | 35th | 41st |
| Rutherford B Hayes | John Tyler | Jimmy Carter |
| 5'9" 180 | 6' 160 | 5'10" 155 |
| 19th | 10th | 39th |
The starting wide receivers are 2 of the youngest, and most charismatic, presidents in history, Barack Obama and John F Kennedy. Both have similar size, around 6’1″ 180lbs, which makes them great fits on the outside. Kennedy played wide receiver on the JV football team at Harvard, and though he rarely saw the field, he was known for playing many touch football games with his family. While Obama never played football, he did enjoy success on the basketball court, winning a state championship in 1979. That experience would come in handy as a wide receiver, especially in the red zone. Backing up the 2 of them on the outside, primarily for their size, would be 6’2″ ~200lb George HW Bush and 6′ John Tyler. Playing the role of slot receiver, when they decide to spread the ball out a little, would be the 5’9″ Rutherford B Hayes. Rounding out the wide receivers is Jimmy Carter, who would make most of his contributions on special teams, or more likely just rooting the team on from the sidelines.
Tight Ends
| TEs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Abraham Lincoln | Warren G Harding | Spiro Agnew |
| 6'4" 185 | 6' 240 | 6'2" |
| 16th | 29th | 39th VP |
Lincoln is the perfect fit for a dominating, 3 down tight end. His size is the obvious, at 6’4″ Lincoln is the tallest president, but he also grew up country strong, spending time working on the family farm. Lincoln also had a reputation as a wrestler. This wrestling experience would come in handy in when blocking in this run heavy offense. All this combined also makes him a serious threat in the red zone. In backing him up, we go from who some consider to be the greatest president of all time, to the worst in Warren G Harding. Harding would essentially be a body on the field in heavy sets, just to use his weight to get in people’s way. Rounding out the tight ends, we again dip into the pool of Vice Presidents with our 39th VP under Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew. Agnew would be a hard-nosed, trash talker on special teams and be brought in on goal line sets as an additional blocker.
Offensive Line
| OL | ||
|---|---|---|
| T Chester A Arthur | T Donald Trump | G William Taft |
| 6'2" 238 | 6'1" 245 | 6' 332 |
| 21st | 45th | 27th |
| G James A Garfield | C Grover Cleveland | T James Buchanan |
| 6' 185 | 5'11" 275 | 6' 217 |
| 20th | 22nd & 24th | 15th |
| T George Clinton | G Herbert Hoover | C Garrett Hobart |
| 6' 220 | ||
| 4th VP | 31st | 24th VP |
The offensive line was easily the hardest position group to fill out, as their have not been that many presidents that fill out the body type of a typical offensive lineman. The obvious was our largest leader, the 27th president, William Howard Taft. Taft comes in at a stout 6′ 330lbs and will fill the roll of bowling ball at one of the guard spots; he could also see some time on the defensive line in goal line situations. Starting opposite Taft at the other guard position is the president with the second shortest term in office, James Garfield. Garfield is listed at 6′ 185lbs, but images suggest he was a stockier man. Either way, his undersized frame will be used in space, utilizing a lot of pulls, wraps, and traps. Between the two of them will be our second largest president, Grover Cleveland. Cleveland saw himself as a protector, both in his first political job as sheriff and later as president where he saw his role as overseer of congress (vetoing more bills than any president). This will help him in vetoing the called protection schemes and setting his on fronts on the line. Finally we move to the outside of this presidential offensive line, and we’ll start with the anchor left tackle, Cleveland’s predecessor, Chester A Arthur. At ~6’2″ 240lbs, Arthur has the frame to build upon to play the tackle position. Starting opposite Arthur is our current president, Donald Trump. If you go by what Trump says, he sits 6’3″, but pictures suggest he is more around 6’1″, but either way, his plump 245lb frame is a great fit for the offensive line. He is also one of the few presidents with prior football experience, having played one year of ball at the New York Military Academy, as well as having a hand in the destruction of the USFL. We round out the offensive line group with 2 presidents that fit the body mold requirements, and 2 former VPs whose images suggest they could hold their own on the line.
Offensive Scheme Breakdown
The offensive would be a balanced attack with an early down focus on the run. Roosevelt’s ground and pound would open things up for Washington to go deep to Obama and Kennedy. Lincoln would be a great red zone target and be able to make those tough catches over the middle in crucial situations. Reagan in the backfield with Roosevelt would keep the defense honest and provide a big play threat as a receiver out of the backfield.
The Defense
Defensive Line
| DL | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bill Clinton | Lyndon B Johnson | Millard Filmore |
| 6'2" 234 | 6'3.5" 210 | 5'9" |
| 42nd | 36th | 13th |
| Richard Nixon | Joe Biden | Dick Chaney |
| 5'11" 175 | 6' 180 | 5'8" |
| 37th | 47th VP | 46th |
| John Quincy Adams | ||
| 5'8" 203 | ||
| 6th |
Now we move to the defensive side of the ball. We’ll start the defensive line out with our starting nose tackle in this 3-4 defense, the 13th president of the United States, Millard Fillmore (aka 1800s Alec Baldwin). I couldn’t find any weight statistics on Fillmore, but by the look of his images, he could handle his own as a one-gap nose tackle. We then move to the outside to our defensive ends and we’ll start with our second tallest president, Lyndon B Johnson. At 6’3.5″, Johnson has the length to separate from offensive lineman to make plays in the run game. Opposite him will be our 42nd president, Bill Clinton. Clinton just feels like a perfect fit on the defensive front and will make a great pairing with this defense’s top pass rushing OLB. Backing up Clinton will be another president with actual football experience, Richard Nixon. Nixon was a backup tackle at Whittier College, which gives him experience in the trenches and in a reserve role. We’ve then got another couple of vice presidents. Biden will be primarily a special teams contributor and vocal supporter on the sidelines; Chaney, on the other hand, will see some serious playing time as a nasty run stopper. We round out the defensive lineman with our 6th president, John Quincy Adams. Adams will be used strictly is pass rushing situations as an undersized, 1-tech.
Linebackers
| LBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gerald Ford | Ulysses S Grant | George W Bush |
| 6' 195 | 5'8" | 6' 182 |
| 38th | 18th | 43rd |
| Zachary Taylor | William McKinley | James K Polk |
| 5'8" 230 | 5'7" 233 | 5'8" |
| 12th | 25th | 11th |
| Benjamin Harrison | Hannibal Hamlin | Mike Pence |
| 5'6" | 6'1" | 5'11" 159 |
| 23rd | 15th VP | 48th VP |
We now come to the leader of the defense, and the only person on this roster that not only had serious college football experience, but had a real chance to play professionally, Gerald Ford. Ford was a two-way starter for the University of Michigan, playing both center and linebacker. He helped lead the Wolverines to 2 undefeated, national title seasons in ’32 & ’33 and was named the team’s MVP in ’34. He went on to be selected to play in the East West Shrine game and even played a game against the Chicago Brears as a part of the Collegiate All-Star team in ’35. All this makes him a natural fit as the starting mike linebacker and captain of this defense. Starting next to him in this 3-4 front is another general, the 18th president, Ulysses S Grant. Grant was relentless as a commanding general and would show the same as a will backer in this defense. Given his size, I’d say he’d draw comparisons to former Saints great Sam Mills. We then move to the outside with our starting sam backer, Zachary Taylor. A former general himself, Taylor spent 4 decades in the Army. Opposite him at the jack backer position, and the primary pass rusher of the defense, is George W Bush. Bush is a little undersized, but I could see him in a Von Miller type role, with Clinton providing support on the inside next to him. Filling the role of backup sam and jack backer, respectively, would be Benjamin Harrison and Jame K Polk. Both have the image to fit the role they’ve been given. Backing up the inside will be our 25th president, William McKinley. He is again on the shorter side, but has a stockier build that looks like he could handle his own on the inside as a backer. We round out the backers with 2 more vice presidents, including our current VP, Mike Pence. Pence will serve mostly in a special teams role, but could occasionally see him getting a shot to start as a pass rusher.
Cornerbacks
| CBs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thomas Jefferson | Harry S Truman | James Monroe |
| 6'3" 181 | 5'9" | 6' |
| 3rd | 33rd | 5th |
| Martin van Buren | Calvin Coolidge | William Henry Harrison |
| 5'6" | 5'10" 166 | 5'8" 162 |
| 8th | 30th | 9th |
We now move to what I think is one of the best fits for this roster, and that’s our 2rd president, Thomas Jefferson, at starting cornerback. At almost 6’3″ and 180lbs, Jefferson has the perfect build to be a shutdown corner, a la Richard Sherman. Starting opposite Jefferson is another favorable president, Harry S Truman. Truman is definitely undersized, but holds the characteristics to provide solid defense for this roster. Backing them up, but primarily playing the role of nickelback, based on his size, is our 5th president, James Monroe. Rounding out the corners are a few undersized individuals who would really only be able to contribute on special teams, including William Henry Harrison, who would really only be good for one play a game.
Safeties
| Ss | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dwight Eisenhower | Andrew Jackson | John Adams |
| 5'11" 172 | 6'1" 154 | 5'7" |
| 34th | 7th | 2nd |
| Dan Quayle | ||
| 6' | ||
| 44th |
We start the safeties out with another general, and our last president with actual football experience, Dwight D Eisenhower. Eisenhower started at both running back and linebacker for the Army football team (reportedly having tackled Jim Thorpe at one point in his career). This experience at linebacker and in his military career, combined with his size, make him a perfect fit as commander of the secondary at the free safety position. Starting opposite him at the strong safety position would be our 7th president, Andrew Jackson. Jackson is undersized for the role, at about 150lbs, but his attitude completely fills the role. Jackson had a notorious temper and a record of wins in various brawls and duels, including killing a man in a duel who disrespected his wife, firing second after the man’s first shot hit Jackson in the chest. His dangerous reputation would be enough to give opposing wide receivers alligator arms. Backing up the free safety spot would be both our 2nd president, John Adams, and former VP Dan Quayle. In the unlikely event Jackson went down, we would see Ford step back to strong safety and fill a spot at linebacker.
Defensive Scheme Breakdown
The defense is overall undersized, but has the most amount of experience and tenacity. The defense would look to use a lot of blitz packages, utilizing Jefferson as a shutdown corner. The combination of Clinton and Bush as a rush tandem could lead to a 20+ sack season for Bush.
Specialists and Head Coach
| ST | ||
|---|---|---|
| K James Madison | P Andrew Johnson | LS Gerald Ford* |
| 5'4" 122 | 5'10" 174 | 6' 195 |
| 4th | 17th | 38th |
| Head Coach | Benjamin Franklin |
There was really only one position to put the smallest president, James Madison, in and that is kicker. At 5’4″ 120lbs, he is still significantly smaller than the current smallest kicker in the league, Cairo Santos, who’s listed at 5’8″ 160lbs. We finish out the presidents with the first one to ever be impeached, Andrew Johnson, who will handle the punting duties. We finish out the roster with our long snapper. I mentioned Gerald Ford played 2-ways for Michigan as a linebacker and center, but he was also a big contributor on special teams as the Wolverines’ long snapper. Given his experience, we’ll let him continue that role here.
It only seemed natural to have a founder father as the head coach of this presidential team and it seemed like a perfect fit for Benjamin Franklin to fill that role. It would be interesting to see the kind of offensive playbook he could put together for Washington to execute.
The Starting 22
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| QB | George Washington |
| RB | Teddy Roosevelt |
| RB | Ronald Reagan |
| Z | Barack Obama |
| X | John F Kennedy |
| TE | Abraham Lincoln |
| LT | Chester A Arthur |
| LG | James A Garfield |
| C | Grover Cleveland |
| RG | William Taft |
| RT | Donald Trump |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| DE | Lyndon B Johnson |
| NT | Millard Fillmore |
| DE | Bill Clinton |
| Sam | Zachary Taylor |
| Mike | Gerald Ford |
| Will | Ulysses S Grant |
| Jack | George W Bush |
| CB | Thomas Jefferson |
| CB | Harry S Truman |
| SS | Andrew Jackson |
| FS | Dwight Eisenhower |