The New York Giants have had a lot of great players throughout their storied history. In fact, outside the Chicago Bears’ 39 Hall of Famers, the Giants are among the teams with the next most at 32.

As such, it’s difficult to narrow down and rank the five best Giants players of all time. To do so, you have to revisit the best stretches in Giants history. These were around the NFL championships of the mid-1950s, the dominant defensive days of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and what can only be described as the Eli Manning era in the first decade-plus of the 2000s.

All five Giants on this list come from one of these periods, so with apologies to other great G-Men like Y.A. Tittle, Rosey Brown, Mel Hein, Andy Robustelli, Phil Simms, Tiki Barber, and others, here are the best players ever to suit up for Big Blue.

1 Lawrence Taylor

When ranking the best Giants players of all time, the difficult decisions come after the top spot. While there have been a lot of great players in New York’s storied history, none have been as dominant as the great Lawrence Taylor.

LT was the No. 2 overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft out of North Carolina (behind South Carolina RB George Rogers to the New Orleans Saints...oops), and didn’t waste any time becoming a superstar.

Taylor was a game-wrecker his rookie season, becoming the first and only player in NFL history to win Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. He won DPOY again the next season, and, in 1986, his league-leading 20.5 sacks won him his third DPOY and NFL MVP.

The legendary outside linebacker was just the second defensive player to win MVP (Minnesota Vikings DT Alan Page was the first in 1971), and is still the last defender to do so.

When the dust settled on his 13-year career, all of which was spent with the Giants, Taylor had 142.0 sacks, 10 Pro Bowl selections, 10 All-Pro selections (eight First-Team, two Second-Team), and two Super Bowl rings.

Despite being one of the best defenders and most feared pass-rushers to ever play the game, Taylor is also one of the biggest “what ifs” in NFL history. It’s scary to think about what could have been if Taylor hadn’t dealt with personal issues off the field during his playing days.

2 Eli Manning

While Eli Manning had plenty of ups and downs in his career, he got it done when it mattered most

This may be controversial, but Eli Manning is the second-best player in Giants history.

Sure, Peyton's little brother had his ups and downs (with emphasis on downs) along the way, but he is inarguably the best quarterback in franchise history overall, and what he did with a grand total of 6 minutes and 31 seconds left on the clock in the dying moments of Super Bowls 42 and 46 could put him here at No. 2 alone.

The tale of the tape on Eli’s career is 16 seasons, 57,023 passing yards, 366 passing touchdowns, 244 interceptions, a 60.3% completion rate, four Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls, and two Super Bowl MVPs. He is the Giants’ career leader in almost every meaningful passing category.

Sure, Manning led the NFL in interceptions three times in his career (2007, 2010, 2013) and has a 117-117 regular-season record as a starter. But it’s a safe bet that there are 20 or more NFL fan bases that would give their left arm to have had a quarterback who won them two Super Bowls.

Ultimately, Manning had his flaws, but his longevity and penchant for the big moment make him second on this list. Don’t agree? Ask Tom Brady. I bet he does.

3 Michael Strahan

Unlike Lawrence Taylor, the rise of Michael Strahan was more of a slow burn than an explosion. The 1993 second-round pick out of Texas Southern took some time to develop and grow into the pro game.

In his first four seasons, Strahan had 1.0, 4.5, 7.5, and 5.0 sacks before breaking out in year five with 14.0. That earned the defensive end the first of seven Pro Bowl appearances and the first of six overall All-Pro selections.

In the early 2000s, Strahan on one side of the ball and Tiki Barber on the other defined the Giants, as they transitioned from Jim Fassel to Tom Coughlin.

By 2001, Strahan was one of the most feared pass-rushers in the league, and he showed that by setting a new official NFL sack record of 22.5 in a single season, a record that has since been tied by T.J. Watt.

By the time 2007 rolled around, Strahan wasn’t what he once was, but he still chipped in 9.0 sacks in the regular season, 2.0 in the postseason, and provided the leadership the Giants needed to upset the undefeated New England Patriots.

4 Frank Gifford

While young football fans today probably think of Michael Strahan more as a morning show host than a dominant defensive legend, the same was true of the generation prior who thought of Frank Gifford more as the Monday Night Football guy and Kathie Lee’s husband.

However, sleeping on Gifford is the same as sleeping on Strahan.

Gifford played all 12 seasons of his NFL career with the Giants after the team took him 11th overall in the 1952 NFL Draft out of USC. The talented football player could do it all, playing both sides of the ball and making the Pro Bowl at safety, halfback, and flanker.

In addition to his 3,609 rushing yards, 34 rushing touchdowns, 5,434 receiving yards, and 43 receiving scores, Gifford also threw for 823 yards in his career and his 14 touchdown passes are the most for a non-quarterback in league history.

Gifford finished his football career and walked into his second act with eight Pro Bowls, six All-Pro selections, the 1956 MVP and one NFL championship win. Not bad for Kathie Lee’s husband.

5 Harry Carson

Harry Carson didn't stand out like LT, but without the Hall of Fame linebacker, the Giants of the 1980s wouldn't have won like they did

If not for Lawrence Taylor, there is a chance Harry Carson would have been remembered as the best Giants defender of the team's late '80s and early '90s run. Alas, LT exists, so Carson will just have to settle for being a Hall of Famer and the fifth-best player in Giants history.

Carson played 13 seasons for Big Blue, making the Pro Bowl in nine of those campaigns and serving as team captain for 10.

The 1976 fourth-round pick out of South Carolina State was a fantastic all-around linebacker and the perfect complement for Taylor. He is the LB who stayed home, cleaned up the runners, or grabbed the interceptions or fumbles caused by his counterpart’s game-wrecking ways.

Carson, who had 123 fewer career sacks than LT, wasn’t the flashiest player, but that business-like approach is what made him exactly what those Bill Parcells-Bill Belichick defenses needed.