The Top 10 Heaviest NFL Players Ever

The NFL is home to some of the largest and strongest athletes on the planet, with offensive and defensive lineman routinely clocking in at over 300 pounds. If you have ever wondered about who the heaviest NFL player ever is, we’ve got you covered.

In fact, we are going to take a look at the 10 biggest NFL players of all time and briefly discuss their careers.

10. Jordan Mailata – 365 lbs

Beginning our list is the 10th biggest football player ever: Jordan Mailata.

Mailata’s path to the NFL is an interesting one. The former rugby star out of Australia came through the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and was eventually drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 7th round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Despite having minimal knowledge of the NFL, Mailata was able to carve out an NFL career and has become an everyday starter at left tackle. In fact, in September 2021, Mailata signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension.

9. Caleb Jones – 370 lbs

Another currently active player, Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Caleb Jones comes in at number nine on our list of the heaviest NFL players.

The Indianapolis-born Jones went to school at local Big Ten program Indiana, helping the Hoosiers set a school record for passing yards in a season.

Though Jones went undrafted in 2022, he signed a three-year, $2,565,000 deal with nearby Green Bay, though only $5,000 of the money was guaranteed. Despite only playing in one career game in his first two seasons, Jones is on the active roster as the Packers backup right tackle.

8. Michael Jasper – 375 lbs

While Michael Jasper was a 7th-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2011 NFL Draft, he remains the last NAIA player to be drafted after coming out of Bethel University in Tennessee.

In college, Jasper weighed an astonishing 450 pounds, which would have made him the fattest NFL player of all time. Nevertheless, the two-way lineman lost 75 pounds in the offseason to appease then-Bills head coach Chan Gailey.

Jasper didn’t have any success in the NFL and bounced around with the Bills, Titans, Panthers, and Giants, never featuring in a single NFL game. He did play a season in the United Football League with the Omaha Nighthawks in 2012, starting on both sides of the ball as an offensive lineman and a nose tackle.

Jasper went back to his roots and has been the head coach of Bethel University since 2019 after serving as their offensive line coach from 2016 to 2018. Jasper has had massive success as a head coach, going a combined 22-3 over the last two seasons.

7. Ted Washington – 375 lbs

Ted Washington, also known as Mt. Washington, was an absolute beast at nose tackle, enjoying a fruitful 17-year NFL career after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1991 NFL Draft out of Louisville.

Washington made the Pro Bowl four out of five years from 1997 to 2001 and was even named a First-team All-Pro in 2001 with the Chicago Bears and a Second-team All-Pro with the Buffalo Bills in 1997.

All-in-all, Washington recorded 34.5 sacks playing one of football’s toughest positions and played for the 49ers, Broncos, Bills, Patriots, Raiders, and Browns.

He reached the pinnacle in 2003 in his only season with New England, winning the second Super Bowl in Patriots history in a dramatic 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers.

6. Trent Brown – 380 lbs

Current New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown is certainly one of the biggest NFL players in history, clocking in at a massive 6’8”, 380 pounds.

Despite being one of the last picks in the 7th round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Brown has chiseled out quite the career for himself. In addition to being an everyday starter for a number of teams, Brown was voted into the Pro Bowl in 2019 and won Super Bowl LIII as a member of the Patriots, when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.

Brown started his college career with JUCO program Georgia Military College, where he excelled and was named second-team NJCAA All-American in 2012. Plenty of big-name Division I programs came calling and he settled on Florida. He has since earned his time with the 49ers, two stints with the Patriots, and the Raiders.

5. Daniel Faalele – 380 lbs

Current Baltimore Ravens backup tackle Daniel Faalele is the second Australia native on our list.

Faalele, who is of Samoan and Tongan descent, was drafted in the 4th round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of the University of Minnesota after going to the famed IMG Academy for high school football.

Faalele, who was originally a basketball and rugby player, immediately garnered interest from Division I programs as a 16-year-old after being discovered in Australia by University of Hawai’i recruits.

It took him less than a year to learn the sport before starting for one of the most prestigious high school teams in the country. They would go undefeated and he was named to the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game.

So far, Faalele has appeared in 32 of the Ravens 34 regular-season games, earning one start and playing in just under 20% of all snaps.

4. William Perry – 382 lbs

William Perry aka “The Refrigerator” is one of the most famous and heaviest NFL players of all time – and for good reason.

After a phenomenal college football career at Clemson where he was a national champion and a consensus first-team All-American defensive tackle, Perry was hand-picked by Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka in the first round of the 1985 NFL Draft.

Ditka was always one to try something new and immediately utilized the big man in short-yardage situations on offense. The Refrigerator would score two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown while running for 66 yards on two fumble recoveries in his rookie season.

Of course, this made him a huge fan favorite in Chicago as they went on to win Super Bowl XX, with Perry scoring a touchdown in the title game.

Five of his 29.5 career sacks would come in that same rookie season but the offensive production would come to a halt after fumbling on each of his individual carries in the 1986 and 1987 seasons.

Perry would go on to enjoy an 11-year NFL career, finishing with the Eagles after nine years with the Bears.

3. Bryant McKinnie – 386 lbs

Bryant McKinnie was certainly one of the biggest NFL players in history and few can doubt his greatness both individually and as a team player.

McKinnie was a two-time All-American offensive tackle (unanimous in 2001) at the University of Miami and won the national championship in 2001, a Miami squad that many consider to be the greatest college football team of all-time. He is now a member of the University of Miami’s Hall of Fame.

After being drafted 7th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2002, McKinnie enjoyed a sensational NFL career that would last a total of 12 seasons with the Vikings, Ravens, and Dolphins. A few seasons after earning his only Pro Bowl selection in 2009, he would finally leave for Baltimore where he was a part of their Super Bowl XLVII winning team.

Unfortunately, many believe that McKinnie’s career could have reached an entirely new level if he had committed to getting in better shape. We’ll never know for sure.

2. Nate Newton – 401 lbs

Nate Newton was known as “The Kitchen” due to being a heavier football player than William “Refrigerator” Perry.

Although Newton was undrafted out of Florida A&M and started his career in the now-defunct USFL, he was sought out by Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry after the league folded.

Although his weight issues nearly saw Newton cut, he would eventually get into better shape and saw his play improve drastically.

Eventually, Newton would become a part of the “Great Wall of Dallas”, one of the best offensive line groups of all time, and help Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in four years.

Newton was named to six Pro Bowls as well as two First-Team All-Pro ballots as he spent virtually his entire career with the Cowboys until finishing his last season with the Carolina Panthers in 1999.

He was named to the USFL All-Time Team and has undergone a dramatic weight loss since the end of his career, clocking in as low as 220 pounds.

1. Aaron Gibson – 410 lbs

Aaron Gibson is the heaviest NFL player in history, though there are some high school and college players that could soon take his title.

Though the offensive tackle’s career wasn’t as exciting or as prestigious as the aforementioned Nate Newton, Gibson was a force to be reckoned with after being drafted in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin.

In college, Gibson blocked for running back Ron Dayne, who set the NCAA Division I career rushing record in 1999 and won the Heisman Trophy.

The Consensus All-American and two-time All-Big Ten was plagued by numerous injuries and a nearly-fatal spider bite throughout his six-year NFL career. He was limited to just 38 career games before featuring for five different Arena Football League teams.

Gibson has recently become heavily involved in fitness and is now rocking six-pack abs.