Auburn Football: Top 25 Best Former Auburn Tigers in NFL History
3. Willie Anderson, T
Arguably the best offensive lineman to come out of Auburn University was Willie Anderson (not to be confused with wide receiver Willie “Flipper” Anderson), who played 13 seasons in the NFL – 12 of them as the right tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals.
After being selected as the tenth overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, Anderson played in all 16 games as a rookie and started ten. He emerged as one of the league’s most consistent offensive tackles in an era that included Hall of Famers like Jonathan Ogden, Willie Roaf and Walter Jones.
Overshadowed by some of the best players in NFL history early in his career and playing for some bad Bengals teams during the same period, Anderson didn’t receive much attention early in his career.
However, from 2004-06, Anderson was a First Team All-Pro tackle according to the Associated Press, making him one of the top two players at his position in the NFL and only the second Bengal to be named an All Pro on three separate occasions. Anderson was also selected to the Pro Bowl from 2003-06.
Anderson has twice been nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame, but has not yet been selected.
Next: 2. Frank Gatski