© Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
On Monday, the NFL Hall of Fame announced its All-Decade Team for the 2010s. There were 53 selections, but only 52 players selected, with former Saints and Eagles running back Darren Sproles taking two spots as the sole FLEX and as a punt returner. Eight of the selections were unanimous, as voted on by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
Among those 52 names were four 49ers, with one retiree, and three current players in Patrick Willis, Joe Staley, Frank Gore and Richard Sherman. The full list is below:
OFFENSE
WR – Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones
TE – Rob Gronkowski, Travis Kelce
T – Jason Peters, Tyron Smith, Joe Saley, Joe Thomas
G – Jahri Evans, Logan Mankins, Zack Martin, Marshal Yanda
C – Alex Mack, Maurkice Pouncey
QB – Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers
RB – Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Adrian Peterson
Flex – Darren Sproles
DEFENSE
DE – Calais Campbell, Cameron Jordan, Julius Peppers, J.J. Watt
DT – Geno Atkins, Fletcher Cox, Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh
LB – Chandler Jones, Luke Kuechly, Khalil Mack, Von Miller, Bobby Wagner, Patrick Willis
CB – Patrick Peterson, Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman
S – Eric Berry, Earl Thomas, Eric Weddle
DB – Chris Harris, Tyrann Mathieu
SPECIAL TEAMS
P – Johnny Hekker, Shane Lechler
K – Stephen Gostkowski, Justin Tucker
PR – Tyreek Hill, Darren Sproles
KR – Devin Hester, Cordarrelle Patterson
COACHES
Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll
The introduction of a FLEX position robbed any prospective fullbacks of potential inclusion. It’s redundancy in having Sproles included twice also provides cause for head-scratching, especially in the case of fullback Kyle Juszcyzk, who had a great case to be included on the list if there was a fullback spot.
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This was the first time in the NFL’s history of creating these All-Decade teams in which as FLEX was used instead of a fullback. There was no fullback spot on the 1970s, 1980s or 1990s teams, however. It returned for Lorenzo Neal’s inclusion in the 2000s All-Decade team.
