NFL Quarter Century: Tom Brady, Aaron Donald, Randy Moss headline the all-2000s team

Yahoo

13 hours ago

The NFL is entering its 2025 season, which means we're a quarter of the way through this century of football. All week long, Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Writer Frank Schwab will dive into the past 25 years in the league.
In the first NFL Draft of the last quarter century, the first overall pick was Courtney Brown. A little later, toward the end of the sixth round, nobody knew the history of the league would change when Tom Brady was picked 199th overall.
Spoiler alert: Brady is the quarterback and captain of our NFL's All-Quarter Century team, and some of Brady's teammates made the list as well. But a team of the best players from the past 25 years has plenty of memorable megastars, and some all-time great players who couldn't even make the starting lineup. The competition for spots was fierce.
Here is our NFL All-Quarter Century team, with only a player's seasons from 2000-2024 considered.
Offense
Defense
Special teams
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Tom Brady
There have been other great quarterbacks in this era. Peyton Manning won five MVPs, Aaron Rodgers won four, Patrick Mahomes hasn't lost in the playoffs before overtime of the AFC championship game, and don't forget about Drew Brees either. But come on. This is an easy one.
Biggest snubs: Manning, Rodgers, Mahomes, Brees
Nobody defined the quarterback position this century — and probably the entire NFL — as much as Tom Brady. (Photo by)
(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)
Running backs: LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson
Tomlinson had no holes in his game. He won two rushing titles, was so good at the goal line he scored 28 rushing touchdowns in 2006 (his 31 total TDs is the NFL record) and also caught 100 passes one season. There have been other great running backs, but few had this diverse of a skill set.
Peterson wasn't an easy call. There are plenty of great backs over the last 25 years. Frank Gore has the most yards in that span. Derrick Henry has more rushing yards per game than Peterson. Christian McCaffrey is a better all-around player. But Peterson's incredible prime won out. He's the last non-quarterback to win MVP, and might hold that title for a long time.
Biggest snubs: Henry, Gore, McCaffrey, Marshawn Lynch, Clinton Portis
Wide receivers: Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, Terrell Owens
Even though we can't count Moss' historic 1998 rookie season in this exercise, it was still no question. Moss' historic 2007 season did happen in this period, and it's Randy Moss. Not much more needs to be said.
Johnson was the receiver you build on "Madden." His all-time great nickname of "Megatron" was well earned, and his 86.1 yards per game is tops in the last 25 years among receivers who have played at least 100 games. He retired early, but he was an unstoppable force for his nine seasons.
Here's where it gets hard. How do you leave Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase off this team? Owens was divisive but he had eight 1,000-yard seasons in a nine-year stretch, and at age 37, he put up 983 yards in what would be his final NFL season. His five first-team All-Pro nods in the last 25 years are tied for the most among all receivers, along with Tyreek Hill. It's very, very close but T.O. gets the last spot.
Biggest snubs: Fitzgerald, Brown, Jones, Jefferson, Chase, Hill
Tight end: Rob Gronkowski
Travis Kelce has some incredible numbers and plenty of team success, but nobody in NFL history can match Gronkowski's dual domination as a pass catcher and a blocker. Coming out of retirement to play a big role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2020 Super Bowl title run wasn't necessary for his legacy, but it finished the GOAT argument.
Biggest snubs: Kelce, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, George Kittle, Jason Witten
Offensive tackles: Trent Williams, Walter Jones
Williams made 11 straight Pro Bowls from 2012-23, and might still be the NFL's best left tackle as he enters his age-37 season.
Joe Thomas and his six first-team All-Pro appearances had a great argument for the second tackle spot. Jones barely edged out Thomas due to his sheer physical domination, a 325-pounder who was an incredible athlete and buried defenders week after week.
Biggest snubs: Thomas, Jason Peters, Jonathan Ogden, Tyron Smith, Lane Johnson, Orlando Pace
Guards: Zack Martin, Alan Faneca
Martin had the most All-Pro appearances (seven) among all offensive linemen the past 25 years. A consistent star for the Dallas Cowboys from Day 1 (he was first-team All-Pro as a rookie and remarkably finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race), he helped raise the value of guards across the league.
From 2001-08, Faneca was a first-team All-Pro six times and second-team twice. He made nine straight Pro Bowls from 2001-09, was on the all-decade team of the 2000s and was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Biggest snubs: Marshal Yanda, Steve Hutchinson, Quenton Nelson
Center: Jason Kelce
Over the last 25 years, Kelce has been a first-team All-Pro six times. No other center made it more than twice. It's fair to wonder if Kelce's media presence played a small role in that, but Kelce's greatness is undeniable.
Biggest snubs: Maurkice Pouncey, Nick Mangold, Kevin Mawae
DEFENSE
Defensive linemen: Aaron Donald, J.J. Watt, Warren Sapp
Donald is perhaps the easiest pick on the entire team. Anyone arguing against Donald on this team is simply wrong.
Watt was another easy pick. Watt, Donald and Lawrence Taylor are the only three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winners in NFL history. At his peak, Watt could singlehandedly take over a game.
Sapp is tough because he had three Pro Bowls and his only NFL Defensive Player of the Year award came before 2000, which is the time frame considered. But Sapp was still a three-time All-Pro after 2000 and was a key for a 2002 Buccaneers defense that is among the best ever. And he was more dominant than any other candidates for the final spot.
Biggest snubs: Geno Atkins, Cameron Heyward, Calais Campbell, Kevin Williams, Ndamukong Suh
Ring him again: Aaron Donald is one of the easiest choices for our NFL All-Quarter Century team. (Photo by)
(Rob Carr via Getty Images)
Edge rushers: Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt
There are 22 players with 100 sacks over the last 25 years. All but two played at least 151 games. Garrett did it in 117 games, the fewest on the list. Garrett is working on a streak of seven straight seasons with at least 10 sacks.
Julius Peppers has 20.5 more sacks than anyone else over the last 25 years (he had 159.5), but it took him 266 games. Watt has 108 in 121 games. He has also finished top four in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting five times in the past six seasons, winning once. His dominance made up for his relative lack of games.
Biggest snubs: Peppers, Von Miller, Terrell Suggs, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Jason Taylor
Linebackers: Ray Lewis, Luke Kuechly
Lewis is the only off-ball linebacker to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice in the last 25 years, and his 2000 season (with an all-time great Ravens defense) is historic. The Super Bowl XXXV MVP and 12-time Pro Bowler was an easy pick.
Since 2005, one linebacker has won NFL Defensive Player of the Year. It was Kuechly in 2013. Concussions ended his career after just eight seasons, but he was first-team All-Pro in five of those seasons. The only time he wasn't first- or second-team All-Pro, he won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Biggest snubs: Patrick Willis, Bobby Wagner, NaVorro Bowman, Derrick Brooks, Brian Urlacher
Cornerbacks: Darrelle Revis, Champ Bailey, Charles Woodson
"Revis Island" was a thing; opposing teams didn't bother throwing to Revis' side of the field in his prime. He was unbelievable in his first stint with the Jets, and as a topper he joined the Patriots for a single season in 2014 and was All-Pro and helped New England win a Super Bowl.
Bailey made 12 Pro Bowls, three more than any other cornerback in NFL history. In his peak season of 2006 he had 10 interceptions even though teams rarely threw to his side.
Woodson was a great cornerback who reinvented himself late in his career with Green Bay and became a versatile weapon from the secondary, and his overall disruptive abilities helped him win NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2009.
Biggest snubs: Ronde Barber, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman, Jalen Ramsey
Teams rarely threw at Darrelle Revis, even when their best wide receiver was over there. (Photo by Rich Kane/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Safeties: Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu
Bill Belichick doesn't give expansive answers on much, but all you have to do is ask him about Ed Reed, who he'll call the greatest free safety ever. Ray Lewis got more attention, but it's possible Reed was the best player on those great Ravens defenses.
There aren't many safeties in NFL history who had a more ridiculous highlight reel than Polamalu. He was explosive, a tremendous hitter, once had seven interceptions in a season and was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010.
Biggest snubs: Brian Dawkins, Earl Thomas, John Lynch
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Justin Tucker
Tucker's ugly alleged transgressions off the field shouldn't be ignored. At the same time, his results on the field are hard to deny. He has the most Pro Bowls (seven) and All-Pro nods (five) among all kickers over the last 25 years. His 89.1% success rate on field goals is the best of this era among any kicker with at least 100 attempts. And his 66-yard field goal to beat the Detroit Lions is still the longest in NFL history. Adam Vinatieri had more high-profile, game-winning kicks, but Tucker was the best.
Biggest snubs: Vinatieri, David Akers
P: Shane Lechler
Lechler was the all-decade punter for the 2000s and 2010s, making him an easy pick. Lechler, a six-time All-Pro, has a reasonable case to be the second punter inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Biggest snubs: Johnny Hekker
KR: Devin Hester
Putting anyone as a snub at this position would be disingenuous. There's no question that Hester was the greatest returner of the last 25 years. He has all the records and became the first primary returner to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was one of the most electrifying players of the era.
Biggest snubs: None