Category profile
- Dominance
- 86
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 82
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 86
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
| Season | Touchdowns per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 50 | |
| 1968 | 59 | |
| 1969 | 68 | |
| 1970 | 78 | |
| 1971 | 87 | |
| 1972 | 96 | |
| 1973 | 86 | |
| 1974 | 76 | |
| 1975 | 65 | |
| 1976 | 55 | |
| 1977 | 45 |
Data sources
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Pro Football Reference
- NFL official records
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Willie Lanier ranks #172 in American Football
Willie Lanier ranks 172nd among American Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 2128th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 86.4 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 86, Peak 92, Longevity 82, Honours 86, Statistics 86. Those categories are normalised against the full American Football reference universe of 340 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1967–1977 with 11 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1972, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes super bowl titles 1, pro bowls 8, interceptions 27, first-team all-pro selections 6.
Immediately ahead sits Davante Adams on 86.4, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Orlando Pace on 86.4. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Willie Lanier GOAT Score explained
- Dominance86/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Lanier stood above the field while competing. Scored 86/100 against the full American Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1972. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity82/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 10 years of competition and 11 recorded seasons. Scored 82/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.
Top Lanier comparisons
Willie Lanier — frequently asked
- Is Willie Lanier the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Willie Lanier ranks 172nd in American Football with a GOAT Score of 86.4, behind Tom Brady on 97.2.
- What is Willie Lanier's GOAT Score?
- 86.4 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 86 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 82 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Willie Lanier rank all time?
- 2128th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 172nd within American Football.
- Willie Lanier vs Davante Adams: who ranks higher?
- Willie Lanier, on 86.4 against Davante Adams's 86.4 — a margin of 0.0 points.