Tallest Player in NFL History

Who was the tallest player in NFL history? That would be Richard Sligh, who was drafted in the 10th round by the Oakland Raiders in 1967, out of North Carolina College. Sligh measured in at 7 feet even, the only NFL player to break that mark.

Sligh played sparingly in his rookie year, appearing in eight games, but was a reserve on the team that lost Super Bowl II. He was chosen from the Raiders roster by the expansion Cincinnati Bengals in 1968, but waived before the season started. Slight didn’t play again after his rookie season, and passed away in 1998.

The tallest current active player (as of an update to this article in 2025) is Dan Skipper, offensive lineman for the Detroit Lions, at 6 foot, 10 inches tall. Matt O’Donnell, at 6-foot, 11 inches, spent a couple of offseason stints on the Cincinnati Bengals roster, and several seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos/Elks of the Canadian Football League.