Top NFL players
It can be so tempting to assemble a collection of talent and expect it to develop the chemistry that will result in championship results. Ask the Browns. Or Cowboys.
But still, I’ll go out on a limb and declare that this “dream team” assembly of stars – my picks as the NFL’s best of this past decade – would mesh well enough to dominate. Hypothetically.
So now, the envelopes, please …
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Tom Brady. Him again. Old man survived “Deflategate,” keeps winning rings, even when down 28-3.
Running back: Adrian Peterson. After reconstructive knee surgery, he rushed for 2,097 yards and NFL MVP honors in 2012. Three years later, at 30, he became the oldest runner named first-team AllPro. And he’s not done yet, finishing 102 yards shy of a second consecutive 1,000yard season.
Running back: Ezekiel Elliott. Has rushed for more yards (5,405) than anyone since he entered the NFL in 2016.
Tight end: Rob Gronkowski. Gave the Patriots the NFL’s toughest matchup problem and red-zone weapon, which overshadowed his premier impact with run-game blocking. The Patriots miss all of that now, but an assortment of injuries took him to early retirement at 29.
Wide receiver: Antonio Brown. With deft double moves, he’s the only wideout named first-team All-Pro four times during the decade. It’s a shame that assorted drama prevented a talented player from a repeat honor.
Wide receiver: Julio Jones. When the Patriots practiced for Super Bowl LI, Bill Belichick had his defense work against two players at the same time wearing No. 11 for the scout-team offense. What a compliment for the looming threat.
Wide receiver: Calvin Johnson. Like Barry Sanders, Lions fans surely wish “Megatron” could have stayed longer. Three first-team All-Pro selections in a row during the first half of the decade was just one measure of his greatness.
Left tackle: Joe Thomas. No, as it continues to be confirmed, he wasn’t the problem. And he gets more points for playing 10,363 consecutive snaps one losing season after another for the Browns.
Left guard: Kelechi Osemele. He’s now plagued by injury issues that will test his ability to regain previous, dominant form. But sample size wins out. And Osemele had his own rookie year exploits in contributing to a Super Bowl crown in Baltimore.
Center: Maurkice Pouncey. As perennial Pro Bowl selections (7) suggest, the NFL’s premier center has long lived up to a Pittsburgh tradition.
Right guard: Marshal Yanda. The Oline anchor has been a rock through the transition of establishing a new kind of offense in Baltimore. Longevity gives him the nod.
Right tackle: Lane Johnson. As his new record contract illustrates, a not-soanonymous lineman who has been the perfect Philadelphia bookend to longtime star left tackle Jason Peters.
Dynamic duo: Drew Brees and Michael Thomas. Brees, Mr. Record-Breaker, is still humming in his 19th season. And no receiver in NFL history has had the type of production in his first three years like Thomas, who broke the NFL’s season record for receptions with 149 in 2019. These intense pros are made for each other.
DEFENSE
Left end: JJ Watt. A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Two-time
NFL sack champion. And seriously tough luck with injuries.
Defensive tackle: Aaron Donald. The most disruptive defensive force in the game, ignited by his quick burst off the snap. Relentless motor equates to: Sacks. Pressure. Tackles for loss.
Defensive tackle: Geno Atkins. Quarterbacks know his inside rush (751⁄2 sacks) well enough.
Right end: Justin Houston. No player had as many sacks in a season this decade. His 22 in 2014 was one shy of breaking Michael Strahan’s (Brett Favre flopaided) NFL record. And Houston, versatile enough to switch from linebacker, is still going strong, with 291⁄2 since the start of 2017.
Outside linebacker: Von Miller. Among active (and soon-to-be-activated) players, only Terrell Suggs has more sacks than the Broncos’ star (106).
Inside linebacker: Bobby Wagner. Tackling machine is just one of the “Legion of Boom” members to rank among the decade’s best.
Inside linebacker: Luke Kuechly. Like Wagner, the sideline-to-sideline face of the Panthers’ defense has compiled over 1,000 tackles.
Outside linebacker: Khalil Mack. A former NFL Defensive Player of the Year can often fill up a stat sheet with impact plays, but debate lingers about the price the Bears paid to get him. Then again, if someone is willing to pay, you’re worth it.
Cornerback: Richard Sherman. No one personified the “Legion of Boom” like the crafty and bodacious Sherman. It’s been a few years since All-Pro honors, but he’s still crafty, bodacious and plenty good since rebooting with the 49ers.
Cornerback: Darrelle Revis. No one since “Prime Time” played the NFL marketplace quite like Revis, with three firstteam All-Pro selections during the first half of the decade. He also helped the Patriots collect more championship hardware in his lone year in New England.
Safety: Earl Thomas. One of the NFL’s most decorated ball hawks during the decade, but his signature image came last year in flipping an obscene gesture to the Seahawks while being carted off with a season-ending broken leg. He’s a Raven now.
Safety: Eric Berry. The former Chiefs star not only represented one of the most inspirational storylines of the decade in coming back from treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma but also returned to perform at an All-Pro level.
Dynamic Duo: Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. Willis had already established himself as a potential Hall of Fame candidate with the 49ers when Bowman arrived in 2010. But together, they formed the NFL’s best tandem of inside linebackers for a few years during the first half of the decade. In 2011, Bowman’s first season as a starter – and first of three consecutive All-Pro selections – the 49ers didn’t allow a rushing TD until Week 16. Bowman demonstrated much grit in returning to All-Pro form after a gruesome knee injury suffered in the 2013 NFC title game.
Special teams
Kicker: Justin Tucker. Money. The Ravens’ star is the most accurate field goal kicker (90.6%) in NFL history.
Punter: Johnny Hekker. From undrafted free agent to perennial All-Pro with the Rams. Throws off fake punts, too.
Kick returner: Cordarrelle Patterson. Still dangerous with 7 kickoffs returned for TDs during the decade.
Special teamer: Matthew Slater. Coverage dynamo is the Patriots’ player I can most envision as an NFL head coach, a la Mike Vrabel.
Head coach
Bill Belichick. Worst regular-season finish of the decade: 11-5, last year, when the Patriots went on to win a sixth Super Bowl crown.