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With the NFL Draft in the rear-view window, we're now facing an unprecedented period of football history thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. OTAs and minicamps have already been cancelled, training camp will likely follow suit, and the entire 2020 season either isn't happening or will happen in such a weird bastardized format that nobody will consider it legitimate. For all intents and purposes, we should assume we won't have any new content to talk about for 2020. Good thing they put out their All-Decade Team for the 2010s, because I have some content to talk about! Long story short, the official NFL All-Decade Team is voted on by members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who happen to decide who goes into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Needless to say, it's an extremely useful metric for determining who gets into Canton one day. Want some proof? Of the 90s All-Decade team, 33 eventually made the HOF. The 2000s team had 26 entrants, with plenty more still eligible and having a strong chance of getting in. The 2010s team is a bit different since there wasn't a "second team" voted on, which will skew the percentages compared to previous decades. But that only means there are plenty of worthy future HOFers who didn't get this honor. Make no mistake, this was an awesome decade for football -- we're going to look back and be shocked at how many transcendent players made their mark here. With that in mind, I decided to look at the official All-2010s team and evaluate their HOF chances by tier. While I do cite some stats here and there, this is not meant to be a clinical ranking. Mostly I just went by "feel," based on their accolades, place in the general sports narrative, influence and impact on the game, the committee's voting trends, and pretty much all the stuff we claim we don't care about when discussing HOF candidates but end up obsessing over anyway. So without further ado, here you go. Locks Quibble over the borderline guys if you want, but I feel very confident in all of these people getting in one day. Tom Brady Aaron Rodgers Frank Gore (the analytics crowd and certain posters on this forum can scream all they want, but the 3rd-leading rusher of all time is not getting left out of Canton. Better get used to it now) Adrian Peterson Larry Fitzgerald Calvin Johnson Rob Gronkowski Joe Thomas Marshal Yanda (guards historically have a hard time getting in, but I think the consensus best of his era has an upper hand) Julius Peppers J.J. Watt Luke Kuechly Von Miller Bobby Wagner Darrelle Revis Richard Sherman Earl Thomas Solid chance, late-stage These people are at or nearing the end of their careers, so I think it’s fair to assess their HOF chances with a mostly full resume. Marshawn Lynch -- Has the peak years, the legendary playoff highlights, and the classic narrative of “can’t tell the story of football without him” as a Seahawks icon. He might have to wait a few years like Edgerrin James did, but ultimately I don’t think he’ll be denied. Jason Peters -- A longtime stalwart on Philly’s blindside who aged like a fine wine. They drafted Lane Johnson as his replacement and had to keep him on the right side for a half-decade because Peters kept chugging along into his late 30s. Feels like one of those guys whose legacy will grow stronger the further away from retirement. Jump on the bandwagon while there’s still space. Joe Staley -- I’m tempted to just copy/paste everything I wrote about Peters. An incredible talent who did under-appreciated work on some terrible 49ers teams, and probably won’t get his full due until long after the fact. Jahri Evans -- I mentioned earlier how hard it is for guards to get in, but one of Drew Brees’ most trusted blockers, with four All-Pro appearances, will surely get a long look. Logan Mankins -- Same as Evans, except with Brady which will probably give him a boost. Patrick Willis -- The only guy on the All-Decade Team eligible for the HOF right now. Willis didn’t make the final ballot his first year, almost certainly due to him retiring young, but his peak was all-time great and he has a lot of supporters in the voting committee. His induction will surely be coming soon. Eric Weddle -- Led the Chargers defense for over a decade. Kinda fell under the radar with more famous safeties in front of him (Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu in the 00s, Earl Thomas and Eric Berry in the 10s), but still great in his own right. I could easily see him being a Steve Atwater type whose reputation slowly grows as the retro tape-grinding crowd falls in love and champions him. Solid chance, still in prime These people are well on their way, but need just a few more peak years before we can start talking about a gold jacket. And if injuries or a steep decline derail them, then all bets are off. Julio Jones -- Julio played with Roddy White for five years and already shattered his franchise records. He’d be a borderline HOFer if he retired tomorrow and is somehow only 31 years old. If you think he’s already a lock, I won’t argue with you. Julio could be chasing all-time records if his problematic foot and the Falcons’ general malaise don’t betray him first. Tyron Smith -- At one point he was in the conversation for best LT in football, before a series of injury-plagued years have kinda taken the shine off him. But when healthy, he’s still great and hasn’t even turned 30 yet. His prime is far from over. Zack Martin, Alex Mack, Maurkice Pouncey -- I’m lumping in all these interior linemen who still have a lot of strong years left. Mack is the oldest at age 34 and he’s still doing well. Chandler Jones -- People will look at Jones’ resume and wonder why he’s not a bigger deal. He has 96 sacks in just eight seasons and is still 30 years old. He went from being a terrifying force on the Patriots’ edge to being a terrifying force on the Cardinals’ edge, without missing a beat. With tons of great football still ahead, Jones should be jumping up this list in quick order. Calais Campbell -- Perennially underrated and the Ravens just got a steal trading for him. Will go down as one of the fiercest matchup nightmares of his era. Cameron Jordan -- Spent years being the only reliable player on a makeshift Saints defense. Now the critical cog of a team desperately pushing for one last Super Bowl with Brees. Geno Atkins -- Still only 32 years old and has plenty left to offer. Atkins is low-key one of the most influential players of the modern era -- he showed teams that there’s nothing wrong with an undersized DT if their motor is endless and they have pass-rushing chops. Atkins’ success helped paved the way for Aaron Donald just a few years later, and now teams are chasing that prototype when they’re building through the trenches. They won’t always succeed, because we don’t get a Geno Atkins or Aaron Donald in every draft. But they will try. Fletcher Cox -- Probably the best player on the Eagles for many years now. I’m worried that he’ll get forgotten with so many awesome DTs in his era with more accolades, but he deserves some love. Aaron Donald -- Currently the best DT in the league with multiple Defensive POTY awards. At 28 years old with no signs of slowing down, he’s on the fast track to Canton. We are witness to greatness here. Khalil Mack -- Has a DPOTY under his belt with time for more. Big concern is whether he gets lost in the shuffle on a Bears team that’s quickly losing the plot. Which is, uh, eerily similar to his circumstances on the Raiders when they traded him. Patrick Peterson -- Only 29 and still going good. I should probably have him higher given the poor aging curves of cornerbacks, but I think Peterson has time to bolster an already impressive resume. Justin Tucker -- Adam Vinatieri is guaranteed to be the next kicker inducted, but he didn’t make the All-2010s team, so let’s talk about the league’s current best kicker. It’s not often you think of a kicker as a “physical freak,” but the way Tucker makes 50+ yard field goals look so routine is legitimately awe-inspiring. It feels like he’s been around forever but he’s just 30 years old, and in the best-case scenario has literally another decade in front of him. He’ll surely join Vinatieri in the Hall one day. Maybe? These people have strong resumes, but for one reason or another don’t pop off the page and will need some convincing arguments when their name comes up. LeSean McCoy -- Shady entered the 2010s as one of the league's most explosive playmakers, and ended the decade as an afterthought. It’s still strange to me that he finally “won” his Super Bowl ring as a healthy scratch. There always seemed to be some weird controversy following McCoy, whether it was his contentious relationship with Chip Kelly that got him shipped out of Philly, or the hilarious “private party” that was clearly a planned orgy that he sheepishly cancelled when the NDA form got leaked. But despite the off-field stuff, history will vindicate McCoy as one of his era’s best dual-threat RBs. Darren Sproles -- In an earlier age teams would’ve looked at Sproles’ size and never given him a second chance. Fortunately for us, he got to play in the modern era with coaches that knew how to utilize his skillset. Sproles went on to become one of the most unique playmakers in NFL history -- despite never finding a true position, he was a game-changing threat with the ball in his hands, ripping off touchdowns and chunk yards as a receiver, running back, kick returner, and punt returner. He finished his career with 19.696 all-purpose yards, fifth-most of all time. I don’t know if the committee will see him as a do-everything weapon or as a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type, which is going to be a very interesting debate when he’s eligible. Either way, Sproles was an absolute blast to watch and we won’t see another like him for a long time. Travis Kelce -- Kind of a late bloomer as he spent his first couple years battling injuries and a steep developmental curve, but emerged as the league’s best TE by the end of the decade. 30 years old and in a Reid/Mahomes cheat-code offense, he has plenty of time to boost his resume. Ndamukong Suh -- His reputation is colored by infamous dirty hits and a tendency to take plays off. But when he had the switch on, Suh was one of the most un-blockable players we’ve ever seen. Even with all the drama, he’s carved out a successful career with multiple teams, following arguably the greatest defensive college season of all time (I still maintain he should’ve won the Heisman). For better or worse, he made his mark in the NFL. Eric Berry -- He got drafted the same year as Earl Thomas and spent his peak going neck-and-neck with ET as the best safety in football. Which player you thought was better largely depended on what style you prefer -- whether it was Berry’s ball-hawking skills that could change the scoreboard on a dime, or Thomas’ impeccable center-field range that enabled the LOB to unleash its aggressive nature. The best part about this debate was that there were no wrong answers, since both players were amazing and could’ve carried the argument right up into Canton when they got inducted together. Sadly, brutal injuries and a battle with cancer ended Berry’s career far too short. I put him in “maybe” since the committee values peak years and Berry’s was right up there among the greats. But he had so many incredible years still left in him, and I’m gutted that it couldn’t happen. One of the ultimate “what could’ve been” careers of the modern era. Chris Harris Jr. -- The Broncos’ No Fly Zone is one of the defining defenses of the era, and even then it felt like Harris was playing second fiddle to Aqib Talib, who didn’t make the All-Decade team (he would be in the Solid Late Stage category if he did). I think Harris is great, but he needs some more time as the undisputed CB1 before I feel comfortable moving him up the ranks. Tyrann Mathieu -- If you want an influence argument, here’s Honey Badger setting the template for the “Heavy Nickel” position that defensive coordinators have been chasing ever since then, from Derwin James to Minkah Fitzpatrick to the recently drafted Isaiah Simmons. As for Mathieu, his resume is dented by a mid-career lull that saw him bounce from the Cardinals to the Texans to the Chiefs on short “prove it” contracts. Fortunately, he seems to have gotten his groove back in KC and was a big factor in that team turning its defense around and getting over the Super Bowl hump. Still only 27, he’s been through a lot of poo poo and is easy to root for. It’d be really awesome if he put it all together and got that gold jacket one day. Stephen Gostkowski -- Seamlessly replaced Vinatieri in New England and was a rock for 14 years. The accolades and Patriots connection might give him a bump, but the voters are still stingy with kickers, and with Vinatieri and Tucker clearly in front of the line, I have a hard time seeing him get in soon. Devin Hester -- The greatest returner of all time, but was average at best as a receiver and cornerback. We’re about to see how much the committee really values return specialists when he becomes eligible in 2022. Probably not We’ve been surprised before, but these people just haven’t done enough to earn a HOF spot anytime soon. Antonio Brown -- At age 30, Brown was screaming towards “lock” status until the 2019 offseason, where … *gestures at everything* Knowing this league, there’s an outside chance he gets signed again -- Aldon Smith just got a job after nearly a half-decade out of football -- but I’ll believe it when I see it. He’s burned way too many bridges at this point, and teams don’t want to deal with the PR fallout. Probably the biggest fall from grace in recent sports history. Cordarrelle Patterson -- Arguably the best kick returner in the league right now, which is impressive in an era where kick returns have been actively neutered. But he never lived up to his billing as a first-round receiver and has been bouncing around the league since the Vikings gave up on him. Widely considered a disappointment despite his return skills. Shane Lechler, Johnny Hekker -- Lumping in the punters together. These guys deserve a look, but it took forever for Ray Guy to get in, and he was the consensus best punter ever. History is not on their side, as good as they are. Tyreek Hill -- Too early in his career to say -- plus, you know, the whole “hitting woman” and “breaking child’s arm” thing. But boy can he run fast. Benne fucked around with this message at 10:15 on Apr 29, 2020 |
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Apr 29, 2020 09:57
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The one quick thing I’ll throw in is Shane Lechler also made the NFL 100th Anniversary team, along with Ray Guy. Ray Guy made the all decade team of the 70’s, and then also the 75th Anniversary team in ‘94, while Lechler made both the 2000’s and 2010’s teams. No matter what, unless they radically alter the HoF voting rules, a punter will have a tough, uphill battle, as noted by Guy being eligible for 23 years (I think?) to get in. Lechler seems like a dude who, if anything, would have a similarly long wait, or be a senior nominee down the line where the vetting process is a bit less.
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Apr 29, 2020 13:00
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Missing one of the top 3 pass rushers of the decade in Cam Wake.
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Apr 29, 2020 15:37
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Its unreal that Brees was never an all pro
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Apr 29, 2020 15:55
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Wait. What about 2006?
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Apr 29, 2020 16:20
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If Luke and Wagner are locks, Lavonte David should at least be in the discussion. Fake edit: I guess we're talking about all decade team specifically. I just wanted to point out how criminally underrated he's been in his career.
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Apr 29, 2020 16:26
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Amy Pole Her posted:Wait. What about 2006? Doesn't count for this thread
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Apr 29, 2020 16:32
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Man.. how the hell did he not win it in this decade?
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Apr 29, 2020 16:39
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He was only 1st team All-Pro once. He was 2nd team in 2011 behind Rodgers, and again in 2018 behind Mahomes.
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Apr 29, 2020 16:46
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Amy Pole Her posted:Man.. how the hell did he not win it in this decade? Because he's been like the 4th best qb always
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Apr 29, 2020 16:50
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I’m phone posting and can’t check all the numbers/years, but he did have a knack for his best years coinciding with someone else having a historically great season themselves, such as Rodgers’ 2011 or Mahomes’ 2018. It’s the same reason why Brees never won an MVP, and I’m not sure if he was even close to winning one in any particular year.
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Apr 29, 2020 16:55
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Amy Pole Her posted:Man.. how the hell did he not win it in this decade? Let's see 10 - Brady 11 - Rodgers 12 - Peyton 13 - Peyton 14 - Rogers 15 - Cam 16 - Matt Ryan 17 - Brady 18 - Mahomes 19 - Lamar So right off the bat, we can throw out 2010, 2012 and 2014 for Brees as he threw a ton of ints those years After that, 2011, 2013 and 2018 had transcendent winners. 2019 he was injured for a third the season, so that's out as well. Cam put up 1000 less passing yards then Brees, but similar TD / Int numbers, while being an unstoppable tank. Matt Ryan threw half the ints of Brees in '16 while generally being much more efficient. '17 Brady threw 9 more TD's then Brees, and otherwise they had comparable stats. Amusingly Brees wasn't even the 2nd team this year, Carson Wentz was. He really is the Vegeta of QB's.
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Apr 29, 2020 16:55
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It’s wild how that... completely makes sense when you break it down year by year but you just do the overall consensus and it’s like “well yeah he’s obviously been first team all pro... maybe in... wait really not even... wow”
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Apr 29, 2020 16:58
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Amy Pole Her posted:It’s wild how that... completely makes sense when you break it down year by year but you just do the overall consensus and it’s like “well yeah he’s obviously been first team all pro... maybe in... wait really not even... wow” Yeah, it's honestly wild that he's so consistently good, but every single time, some other QB put up better numbers. Most of them make sense, and then you get those two years other QB's in his division did it and just have to laugh.
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Apr 29, 2020 16:59
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Turns out that sharing most of your career with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers is a tall order While not an MVP he does have an OPOTY in this decade though
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Apr 29, 2020 17:43
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Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald would be locks for me if they retired today. Might have to wait in line a few years since DTs are not a position that easily gets in the hall but I think they'd make it. If I had a vote I'd vote for him and hes one of the best people and stories the league has ever seen, but Eric Berry sadly probably doesn't have a chance unless he has a career resurgence out of nowhere. Which is possible I guess, not like he hasn't surprised before.
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Apr 29, 2020 17:49
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thank you for loveing my son. aaron donald would have gone 15th or 16th instead of 13th if not for him. Very influential on football
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Apr 29, 2020 17:51
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Benne posted:Tyreek Hill -- Too early in his career to say -- plus, you know, the whole “hitting woman” and “breaking child’s arm” thing. But boy can he run fast. Would being an abusive POS actually keep him out of the HOF?
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Apr 29, 2020 17:59
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Shinji2015 posted:Would being an abusive POS actually keep him out of the HOF? If he never goes to jail it won't
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Apr 29, 2020 18:01
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Shinji2015 posted:Would being an abusive POS actually keep him out of the HOF? I'm sure it won't matter by that time unless he gets in trouble again (always a possibility!), we're already at the point where most of the public has forgotten unless they get reminded about it.
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Apr 29, 2020 18:03
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devin hester should go in, the dude was unreal.
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Apr 29, 2020 18:06
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Aaron Donald is absolutely, 100% already a lock if he retires today 6 years in the league with 6 Pro Bowls, 5 First Team All-Pros, back-to-back DPOYs and a DROY is a ridiculous resume that 99,9% of players won't get in 20 years in the league, plus his stats are absurd too Also Devin Hester should be in the HoF but they hate fun so I guess we're out of luck Mystic Stylez fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Apr 29, 2020 |
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Apr 29, 2020 18:09
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I think Hester gets in eventually, but it’ll take a while cause the voters are generally dumb. He’s unquestionably the best returner of all time and had a ton of highlights. I don’t know if he’ll have to wait as long as a kicker/punter would, but I think he’ll get in at some point.
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Apr 29, 2020 18:17
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Hester should be a lock. Teams did everything they could to NOT kick to him and he still put up these returns.
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Apr 29, 2020 19:05
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One thing to consider is that it's really hard to get into the NFL Hall of Fame. Check this out: https://www.profootballhof.com/heroes-of-the-game/hall-of-famers-by-draft-year/ More or less there's an average of 5 to 7 Hall of Famers drafted annually. That said, the All-Decade teams have a very high hit rate on Hall of Famers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_2000s_All-Decade_Team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_1990s_All-Decade_Team First team almost universally makes it in or becomes a repeat finalist, second team has about a 50% success rate.
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Apr 29, 2020 23:46
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R.D. Mangles posted:devin hester should go in, the dude was unreal. Even in his last season when he did a small swan song with the Seahawks when they needed a return guy he looked good as hell.
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Apr 30, 2020 01:07
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Andy Dalton
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Apr 30, 2020 01:21
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thrilla in vanilla posted:Andy Dalton Yeah where's &e?
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Apr 30, 2020 01:51
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Shinji2015 posted:Would being an abusive POS actually keep him out of the HOF? It's sure as hell not keeping Larry Fitzgerald out.
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Apr 30, 2020 03:26
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thrilla in vanilla posted:Andy Dalton
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Apr 30, 2020 03:51
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After reading over this thread, yeah, I probably should have Donald ranked higher. His resume is very similar to Watt's at around the same peak age, and Watt is still a lock even after years of devastating injuries. If Donald avoids the same fate, he'll be walking in. I'm surprised that nobody's made a stronger case for Julio given how much he's accomplished, and I openly hedged my bets on him.
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Apr 30, 2020 08:11
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Some of the old WR hall of famers who wouldn't make it in today still have more touchdowns than Julio due to whatever the problem has been over there. I don't think he would be a lock if he retired right now because he would be surrounded by a ton of very goods like DT or chad johnson. Once he gets that 14,000 yards milestone or a second season with 10+ TDs then that should do it. the lock, that is. "loggitup." Haha. 'probably' was a good spot for him
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Apr 30, 2020 08:38
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Benne posted:After reading over this thread, yeah, I probably should have Donald ranked higher. His resume is very similar to Watt's at around the same peak age, and Watt is still a lock even after years of devastating injuries. If Donald avoids the same fate, he'll be walking in. He suffers from a relative lack of touchdowns I guess, that's the only real negative I can see. And there's the logjam at WR in general that could hold him back a bit?
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Apr 30, 2020 12:19
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R.D. Mangles posted:devin hester should go in, the dude was unreal. They could build an entire exhibit around Devin Hester returning kicks. The only person close to peak Hester was Dante Hall.
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May 23, 2020 16:35
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Slowpoke! posted:They could build an entire exhibit around Devin Hester returning kicks. The only person close to peak Hester was Dante Hall. Watching your team kick off to peak Hester was terrifying. It never mattered how much time they ate on the clock marching down the field, he could turn it around in an instant
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May 23, 2020 17:13
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Shinji2015 posted:Watching your team kick off to peak Hester was terrifying. It never mattered how much time they ate on the clock marching down the field, he could turn it around in an instant One of the best superbowl moments was hearing how dangerous he was on kickoffs and trying to think how Indy could stop him, then watching him take the opener back
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May 23, 2020 17:16
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Best offensive weapon that team had.
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May 23, 2020 18:29
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The biggest thing with Hester is his records can't even be broken since the rules have completely changed. We'll never see a returner like him again
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May 24, 2020 05:19
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Slowpoke! posted:They could build an entire exhibit around Devin Hester returning kicks. The only person close to peak Hester was Dante Hall. Josh Cribbs??
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May 24, 2020 17:58
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Flikken posted:Josh Cribbs?? lol
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May 24, 2020 18:29
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