Nick Wright wasn’t happy with how the NFL constructed its All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
So, he built his own. And four former New England Patriots made the cut.
The NFL took a different approach Monday when releasing its selections. Unlike the league’s annual All-Pro selections, which are broken into a First Team and a Second Team, the 2010s All-Decade Team was a combined list of 53 players — which included nine Patriots.
Wright was frustrated with this process, largely because of the historical implications that typically come with being a First-Team selection.
“It’s an important distinction, because being First-Team All-Decade was almost a golden ticket to a gold jacket,” Wright said Wednesday on FS1’s “First Things First.” “Over 95 percent of First-Team All-Decade guys become Hall of Famers.”
Wright took matters into his own hands and assembled his 2010s All-Decade First Team from the 53 selections the league announced Monday. While many of the Patriots’ picks didn’t make Wright’s list, four did: Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Logan Mankins and Chandler Jones.
Do you agree w/ @getnickwright's 2010s All-Decade First Team?
QB: Brady
RB: Peterson, McCoy
WR: Julio, A.B.
TE: Gronk
OL: J. Thomas, Yanda, Mack, Mankins, J. Peters
DL: C. Jordan, Suh, Donald, J.J. Watt
LB: C. Jones, Kuechly, V. Miller
CB: Sherman, Peterson
S: E. Thomas, Berry pic.twitter.com/B3FmPnQFNU— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 8, 2020
Wright justified his selections for most of the First-Team players, but when it came to Brady and Gronk, all he said was that both were “obvious.”
Of all the New England players who made the NFL’s 53-man All-Decade Team for the 2010s, none remain with the Patriots heading into the next decade of play.
