Deion Sanders was a great football player, and he’s not shy about saying so: When Sanders was named the 34th best player in NFL history, he was furious, saying it was insulting that anyone could think 33 players were better than him.
So it says a lot that Sanders is willing to proclaim Devin Hester a better return man than he was -- and the best return man in NFL history.
Sanders tweeted on Monday night that Hester is the greatest returner of all time, and he expanded on those comments in an interview on ESPN 1000 in Chicago.
“I think right now he’s a Hall of Famer,” Sanders said. “He spent a couple years without barely getting the ball kicked to him. I can’t think of a returner ever playing the game with the impact he has. There is none. He’s phenomenal.”
Hester became the NFL’s all-time leader in kick return touchdowns when he brought back a punt 64 yards Monday night in Minnesota. For his career, Hester has 175 punt returns for 2,127 yards and 10 touchdowns, and 112 kickoff returns for 2,684 yards and four touchdowns. Sanders retired with 212 punt returns for 2,199 yards and six touchdowns, and 155 kickoff returns for 3,523 yards and three touchdowns.