Who was the best player on the Bills roster during the Super Bowl years?

[JohnNord]

On just about every good team in the NFL team, the quarterback in the best player on the roster.  That has been the case on the Bills for the past two seasons.  
 

But who would you say the best player on the Bills roster was during the Super Bowl years?  I’d actually tough to do given the quality of the roster. 
 

As great as Jim Kelly was, I think he was probably #3 behind Bruce (1) and Thurman (2).  The one exception might be 1991 when Kelly threw for a (then) franchise record 33 TD’s and 3,800 yards passing.  But even then Thurman won MVP that season.  
 

If I were to rank the best players I’d probably go on this order overall:

 

1. Bruce Smith

2. Thurman Thomas

3. Jim Kelly

4. Cornelius Bennett

5. Andre Reed

[Putin]

Bruuuuuuuuuce !!!!

[JohnNord]

3 minutes ago, Putin said:

Bruuuuuuuuuce !!!!

#78 - One of two football jerseys I actually own 

[strive_for_five_guy]

Bruce for sure in my mind.  He’s the only player from that team in the discussion as maybe best all-time at his position, plus it’s an extremely impactful position at that.

[Success]

Gotta be Bruce. Best ever at his position (imo).

 

[Locomark]

No one even close to Bruce. If we had him today we would still all be hungover from the parade. 

Edited February 21 by Locomark

[ALLEN1QB]

Thurman Thomas..without him would have been no Superbowl appearance. 

[billsbackto81]

My avatar says it all. 

 

There's only one player in Bills history where you can say: Top 3 All Time Greatest player at his position.

 

Bruce Smith.

 

 

Who else? Name one? Tasker maybe if you include Special Teams.

 

 

[Nihilarian]

Those late 80's-early 90's Buffalo Bills teams had some great players. Some not even thought of as great by many.  LT Will Wolford, C Kent Hull, LG Jim Ritcher, ST Steve Tasker, LB Daryl Talley, LB Shane Conlan, LB Biscuit, among others.

 

Having lived through that era there is one guy that stand out to me that was basically indispensable...besides the QB. The Bills won one of their greatest games with Kelly on the sidelines as Frank Reich who went 21 of 34 for 289 yards, 4 TDs in that wild, Wildcard game against the Houston Oilers, 41-38.

 

The player I consider most indispensable was RB Thurman Thomas who had two, two thousand yard seasons and was the NFL MVP in 1991. He was Marshall Faulk before Faulk. The Bills actually ran more then they threw it most of those glory years. JMO   

[BubbaT]

To me it was Bruce and Thurman. But those teams had a LOT of really really good players besides the Hall of Famers. I’d take Kent Hull and Will Wolford and Jim Richter on our current team. 

[Nextmanup]

Bruce Smith.

 

I have him as the second greatest Bill of all time after OJ.

 

 

[Big Turk]

Bruce Smith

 

[Chicken Boo]

Bruce was probably the best player, but Thurman's role was most important, in my opinion.

[JohnNord]

2 minutes ago, BubbaT said:

To me it was Bruce and Thurman. But those teams had a LOT of really really good players besides the Hall of Famers. I’d take Kent Hull and Will Wolford and Jim Richter on our current team. 

Kent Hull was an unsung hero for sure.  I always read how much he did in terms on line protection calls in the K-Gun.  Also a great center from a position standpoint as well

[BubbaT]

1 minute ago, JohnNord said:

Kent Hull was an unsung hero for sure.  I always read how much he did in terms on line protection calls in the K-Gun.  Also a great center from a position standpoint as well

He was great at everything. Line calls, pass blocking, run blocking. People think of those teams as pass happy but they ran the ball great too. That was a helluva an offensive line

[Peace Frog]

If we're talking playoffs overall during the early '90s, it's Bruce Smith.  If we're talking Super Bowl performances, it's Thurman.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, JohnNord said:

On just about every good team in the NFL team, the quarterback in the best player on the roster.  That has been the case on the Bills for the past two seasons.  
 

But who would you say the best player on the Bills roster was during the Super Bowl years?  I’d actually tough to do given the quality of the roster. 
 

As great as Jim Kelly was, I think he was probably #3 behind Bruce (1) and Thurman (2).  The one exception might be 1991 when Kelly threw for a (then) franchise record 33 TD’s and 3,800 yards passing.  But even then Thurman won MVP that season.  
 

If I were to rank the best players I’d probably go on this order overall:

 

1. Bruce Smith

2. Thurman Thomas

3. Jim Kelly

4. Cornelius Bennett

5. Andre Reed

 

 

Bruce and OJ are really the only two players in Bills history who are really in "best ever at their position" discussions so that's a pretty easy one.

[ndirish1978]

Bruce and Thurman are tied for me. 

[Marv's Neighbor]

Andre Reed,

[Man with No Name]

bruce