New York Jets legend Darrelle Revis tells some interesting stories on “The Pat McAfee Show”

These days, the question of who the greatest quarterback in NFL history is is pretty cut and dry — few would contend at this point that the title belongs to anyone but Tom Brady.

That’s not the case for all positions, though. Asking a room full of NFL fans who they think is the greatest cornerback in NFL history would yield quite a vast array of answers. There are, after all, so many different factors that go into such a loaded question.

But ask almost anyone in the tri-state area and you’re likely to get the same answer: Darrelle Revis.

Arguably the G.O.A.T. of New York Jets defenders, “Revis Island,” as he is still affectionately called, is perhaps the only (long-term) Jets player with a legitimate claim as the greatest ever at their position.

On Tuesday, Revis made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show”, speaking a bit about his retirement and time as a player.

“When I retired I really just tried to step away from the game and focus on my mental health,” Revis told McAfee. “Once you retire, you’ve got to kind of decompress. There’s a lot of things I tried to get into to try and cope with playing for so long … I played in the Big Apple, so it’s a lot of pressure … for me, I just tried to step away from the game and really kind of get back into practical living.”

Revis, 36, has undoubtedly taken a step out of the public eye since his retirement in 2018, only rarely making appearances in the years since. That has, however, seemed to change a little bit lately. With this interview, his recent admittance into the Jets’ Ring of Honor, and his announcement of the Jets’ second-round draft pick in April (Breece Hall), Revis seems to be gradually easing himself back into the NFL world.

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And the NFL world is happy to have him back. He’s arguably one of the greatest defensive players the game has ever seen, finishing his career with 146 total passes defended, 32 interceptions, seven Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro recognitions and a Super Bowl ring.

Naturally, McAfee asked Revis what it was like for him during those years being one of the most feared defenders in the NFL.

“Coming into the league, I was pissed off,” said Revis. “There were a lot of talks about the shutdown corner not existing no more. And I took that personal, I took it to heart.”

Revis then recalled his first Pro Bowl, where his locker was beside now-Hall-of-Famer Champ Bailey’s.

“Champ at that time kind of passed me the torch, he said ‘young blood, it’s your time up.’ And at that moment I just felt like I needed to continue to keep the legacy of the shutdown corner alive.”

And keep it alive, he did. There is no greater piece of evidence to this being true than the famous graphic depicting all the notable receivers Revis held under 35 yards in 2009. The list is made up of exclusively elite players, including all-time New England Patriots receiver Randy Moss… twice.

Seeing as the Jets have not beaten the Patriots in their past 12 consecutive matchups, it feels like a lifetime ago when Revis used to cause nightmares for Brady, Moss, and Bill Belichick.

Even so, when asked by McAfee if there were ever any opposing players who kept him up at night, Revis made sure to list Brady and Moss before anyone else. The other two names Revis shouted out were Terrell Owens and Steve Smith.

Seeing as Revis played the majority of his career with the Green and White, the Jets were sure to come up in the interview. After highlighting the fact that Revis will be going into the Jets’ Ring of Honor this coming season, McAfee asked Revis about his time playing there, more specifically if the scheme was reliant on him just erasing the other team’s best player.

“When Rex Ryan was hired, we had individual player meetings,” Revis said. “Rex sat me down and basically just said he believes I’m the best corner in the NFL at the time, and he was going to help me strive to be that. His defensive scheme highlighted me as a player.”

McAfee was sure to close the interview raining praise on the future Hall-of-Famer.