The New England Patriots will unveil their 2010s All-Decade Team on Wednesday afternoon.
One member of that team already has been identified: fullback James Develin, who was recognized as such during his virtual retirement news conference Tuesday. Several others will be shoo-ins.
Before the official announcement, we decided to make our All-Decade predictions, following the framework shared by Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston.
Here are our picks:
OFFENSE
QB: Tom Brady
RB: James White
FB: James Develin
TE: Rob Gronkowski
WR: Julian Edelman
WR: Wes Welker
FLEX: Danny Amendola
C: David Andrews
G: Logan Mankins
G: Joe Thuney
OT: Nate Solder
OT: Sebastian Vollmer
Many of these selections were no-brainers — Brady, Gronkowski, Edelman, Solder. … Welker only played three seasons with the Patriots during this decade and never won a Super Bowl, but he was a Pro Bowler in all three of those seasons and had 1,569 and 1,354 receiving yards in his final two. No Patriots wideout has even touched 1,200 in the years since. … Not designating a left and right guard allowed us to recognize Mankins and Thuney, both of whom played on the left side. Right guard Shaq Mason still would be in the conversation. … Vollmer gets in over Marcus Cannon, who started two Super Bowls and was a second-team All-Pro in 2016. … The hardest cut for us was running back LeGarrette Blount, who was on two Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2016. White deserves top billing at the No. 1 running back despite his receiving-focused play style, but we strongly considered slotting Blount in as our FLEX (an extra spot for a back, tight end or receiver) over Amendola. Ultimately, though, Amendola’s postseason production pushed him over the top.
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DEFENSE
DT: Vince Wilfork
DT: Lawrence Guy
DE: Chandler Jones
DE: Trey Flowers
OLB: Rob Ninkovich
OLB: Kyle Van Noy
ILB: Jerod Mayo
ILB: Dont’a Hightower
CB: Stephon Gilmore
CB: Malcolm Butler
S: Devin McCourty
S: Patrick Chung
There was no slam-dunk pick for Wilfork’s running mate at D-tackle, but Guy quietly was one of the better defensive players on the 2017 and 2018 teams that won one Super Bowl and reached another. Alan Branch is another candidate. He was excellent in 2016. … Jamie Collins was in the conversation at linebacker, but he’s not getting the nod over any of those four. … Butler over Darrelle Revis was an interesting internal debate. Revis was the better player but stayed only one year (2014). Butler had his breakout moment in Super Bowl XLIX, then was very good in 2015 and 2016 and solid in 2017 (until … you know). Aqib Talib and Jason McCourty deserve honorable mentions. … If we’d been able to include a nickel back, Duron Harmon would have gotten our vote.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Stephen Gostkowski
P: Ryan Allen
Returner: Julian Edelman
ST: Matthew Slater
With only one spot for a kick or punt returner, we’re giving it to Edelman, who ranks in the top 20 in NFL history in punt return average (and second among active players behind Tyreek Hill).
