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From spooky pass rushers to ghoulish hard-htiting linebackers, great NFL defensive players from past and present get most of the love as most frightening. But offensive superstars can also be downright scary in their own right, haunting the minds of the teams and coaches trying to contain them.
There are quarterbacks who cause dread whenever they pass (or run). There are running backs who leave would-be tacklers in their wake. Then there are wide receivers and tight ends who cause nightmares as freakish Frankensteins.
Looking at some of the monsters from the modern era and throwing it back to some galloping ghosts of the past, here's celebrating Halloween with a treat of triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).
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Patrick Mahomes, QB
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and other such greats could have made the quarterback short list, but the guys screaming "Let's Go", "Green 19" and "Omaha" are a little too good looking to have a true goblin's nature. Patrick Mahomes may sound a lot like Kermit, but he strikes fear into the heart of defenses like a poison draft frog.
Until he or one of his deadly passes fall to the ground, there is a terrible feeling that he is inevitable that doesn't go away until the Chiefs QB touches the ball for the merciful last time.
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Josh Allen, QB
Think what Cam Newton did for a while with his legs through the red zone and what John Elway did with his cannon arm for a much longer time. Then you get this physical specimen — Josh Allen. Every game the Bills MVP QB plays is an absolute thrill ride with his fearless deep passing and ravaging running.
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Lamar Jackson, QB
Lamar Jackson has developed into a dangerous, daunting dual threat who rips out opponents' souls with his speed, quickness and lethal downfield passing. Having the spirit of Edgar Allan Poe and Ray Lewis in him, Jackson representing the Ravens is apropos.
MORE: How Lamar Jackson stacks up against Patrick Mahomes
Michael Vick, QB
Before there was Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick drove defenses batty, putting them in the dark with his dynamic transcendent running skills. He was a smallish passer who packed a wallop, dancing around linebackers as the OG QB speed demon.
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Jim Brown, RB
Watching old NFL Films of Jim Brown in action go through, over and around defenses is like seeing a horror movie where the titular slasher always won with his angry running and nasty demeanor. They didn't get much leaner and meaner than the 6-foot-2, 232-pound behemoth who dominated his era.
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Bo Jackson, RB
Bo Jackson didn't get a chance to play in the NFL as long as he wanted because of his own scary hip injury. But Bo knew hew to spook defenders while blasting through defenses with throwback running channeling Brown at 6-foot-1, 227 pounds. Like a ghost, "Boo Jackson" came, haunted and conquered before becoming a true urban legend.
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Derrick Henry, RB
Running backs aren't supposed to be this strong, powerful and fast at 6-foot-2, 252 pounds. Derrick Henry, a future Hall of Famer, often pounds would-be tacklers into submission and smashes it all the way to the house He was terribly tough to stop as a Titan, and with the Ravens, he has joined Lamar Jackson as masters of the macabre.
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Marshawn Lynch, RB
You can't make a Halloween NFL list like this without going "Beast Mode." Smashing like thunder and flashing like lightning, Marshawn Lynch would come to bully defenders out of their bags of candy until he got every last Skittle. He is still out there breaking tackles and giving someone a pounding headache just revisiting his prime in Seattle.
MORE: Where does Marshawn Lynch rank among the greatest Seahawks ever?
Barry Sanders, RB
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Barry Sanders, like Michael Vick, was a nimble imp. At 5-foot-8, 200 pounds, the Lions' GOAT back could get around the gooey muck and creep through the smallest of running lanes to explode like an evil leprechaun. Ted Nugent is the "Motor City Madman", but it was Sanders who cast a spell to put defenders vs. Detroit in a multitude of madness.
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Calvin Johnson, WR
While the fictional Megatron could turn into a metallic weapon, the real Megatron in Calvin Johnson was an explosive bomb waiting to go off against overmatched cornerbacks with his nasty 6-foot-5, 237 pound frame. There was no person on earth ready to cover the Lions' wide receiver without help. Like Sanders in Detroit, he left the fans wanting a little more, but in the end, he left a scary-enough legacy.
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Randy Moss, WR
Getting "Mossed" was no fun when Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss would post up and rip cornerbacks for big plays while they were caught reaching for his big and speedy 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame. He was often everything, everywhere all at once as a monstrous matchup.
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Terrell Owens, WR
Where there's a Randy Moss, a Terrell Owens cannot be far behind. From his time with the 49ers to the Cowboys, Eagles and beyond, Owens often played body snatcher, owning most cover men with his 6-foot-3, 214 pounds. The molded mercurial mercenary mashed with no mercy.
MORE: Did Terrell Owens play basketball in college?
Rob Gronkowski, TE
When you carry the nickname "Gronk", you have no choice but to scare. The formerly un-coverable Patriot and Buccaneer, Rob Gronkowski smashed and spiked opponents alike and wasn't above cackling when leaving lesser linebackers and safeties in his wake. Gronk was always greatest when Gronk was maddest.
MORE: Where does Rob Gronkowski rank among the greatest Patriots of all time?
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