Lanier vs McMichael
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Lanier wins: Dominance, Honours
McMichael wins: Longevity, Statistics
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Lanier leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories. Super Bowl IV champion and the first Black middle linebacker to be a league star.
Category breakdown
Season form · Touchdowns per season
Career timeline · Touchdowns per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Touchdowns per season| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Lanier | 0 | 0 | 50 | 109 | 342 | 665 |
| 🇺🇸 McMichael | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12.5 | 55 |
Careers are aligned at debut, so a rookie's first 5 seasons are measured against the same window in a legend's career — Yamal against Messi at the same age-stage, a tour rookie against Tiger Woods in 1996.
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
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