NFL history: The Mount Rushmore of every NFL franchise

Cincinnati Bengals: Boomer Esiason, Ken Anderson, A.J. Green, Anthony Muñoz

Founded by former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown, the Cincinnati Bengals have been in existence since 1968 and are still looking for their first ever Super Bowl win. They have, however, made it to the big game following both the 1981 and 1988 seasons.

In each of those years, they were led by Pro Bowl quarterbacks. Ken Anderson was the starter in 1981 and came off arguably his best season as a pro. Anderson was good for 3,754 yards and 29 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions that season. He was with the Bengals from 1971 through 1986, but had relinquished the starting role by the end of his career.

The reason Anderson was benched in 1985 was due to the rise of their second-round pick from the year prior in Boomer Esiason. He ended up leading the team for nine seasons, but did return for his last year as a pro in 1997. Overall, Esiason was 62-61 as a starter in Cincinnati and had 187 career touchdown passes.

Both gunslingers spent a good part of their career being protected by Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Muñoz. He spent his whole career (1980-1992) in Cincinnati and was named to 11 Pro Bowls during that span.

Wide receiver A.J. Green finishes out the Mount Rushmore as the only current Bengal on this list. He’s second on the list to only Chad Johnson in both receptions and yards. Green should be able to pass him, as long as he gets the chance to finish his career with the team that drafted him back in 2011 out of the University of Georgia.