Falcons Uniform History: No Debate At #28

Since Atlanta welcomed its first and only NFL team in 1966, the Falcons have had 17 different players take the field with No. 28 on their backs.

The first was tight end Ray Ogden, a Jesup native who played his college ball over in Tuscaloosa. Lined up alongside such immortals as Bob Berry, Perry Lee Dunn and Cannonball Butler, Ogden found himself stuck on a Falcons team that won three games in the span of his two years there.

Fellow Alabama product Javier Arenas wore the number last year, and his one-year stay proved even less eventful.

In between Arenas and Ogden, few players truly stand out except for one -- a man whose excellence in uniform only served to underscore what a truly great man he was outside the field of play. For six years, one could even argue he was the soul of those Falcons teams.

Yes, dear readers, I'm talking about the one and only...

Thomas DeCoud! The one-time Pro Bowler who played free safety for six seasons!

Before you furiously click out of this page, this is the part where I tell you: I'm kidding, of course. And that's not to take away from DeCoud, who by all accounts was a solid player until his final season with the Falcons (he made 14 interceptions and broke up 26 passes from 2009-12). For all the criticism he got, he still made his share of plays, and he's easily the second-best to don this number.

But the no question, hands-down greatest to wear No. 28 for the Falcons has to be Warrick Dunn, who in 90 games with the team rushed for 5,981 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also caught 204 passes for 1,635 yards and ran for 310 across four playoff games with Atlanta.

Dunn finished his career a 10,000-yard rusher, a three-time Pro Bowler and winner of several "Man of the Year" awards for his charity work and community outreach efforts. He was never the biggest running back (5-foot-9, 187 pounds), but the guy was a super-dependable, hard-nosed back that could run in between the tackles with the best of them. He was my favorite player growing up for that very reason.

So congrats to Dunn, who edges out DeCoud for the illustrious title of "best to wear No. 28 for the Falcons." Sound off on your favorite Dunn memory in the comment section, if you feel so inclined.