Who’s on the NFL‘s 2010s Mount Rushmore? Narrowing down a decade of pro football to just four emblematic players is challenging, but it forces us to narrow our scope to the truly elite.
The NFL’s All-Decade Teams get the benefit of filling out an entire roster — here, we’ll limit ourselves to a quartet of each decade’s titans.
Who’s on the NFL’s 2010s Mount Rushmore?
Honorable mention: QB Drew Brees, WR Julio Jones, WR Antonio Brown, OT Joe Thomas, TE Rob Gronkowski, EDGE Von Miller, LB Luke Kuechly, CB Richard Sherman, S Earl Thomas
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Tom Brady earned a place on PFN’s 2000s NFL Mount Rushmore, but the GOAT was so productive during that he’s also on our 2010s iteration.
If anything, Brady got better as he aged. He threw for more yards and completed a higher percentage of his passes in the 2010s than he did the decade prior. Brady’s touchdown rate increased and his interception rate decreased as his career progressed.
Brady kicked off the decade by winning his second MVP award after leading the NFL with 36 touchdown passes while posting a minuscule 0.8% interception rate. He grabbed another MVP at 40 years old in 2017 and finished in the top five in MVP voting four other times during the 2010s.
Of course, winning games wasn’t an issue for Brady, either. His 122 victories during the decade were 26 more than the next-best quarterback. Brady also brought home three more Super Bowls for the New England Patriots, bringing his total to six by the end of the 2010s.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
Although the 2010 season wasn’t one of Aaron Rodgers’ best statistical seasons, he started the decade by guiding the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Rodgers won his first MVP award the following year after leading the league with a 9% touchdown rate, 9.2 yards per attempt, and an 83.8 QBR. He became only the second quarterback (joining 2004 Peyton Manning) to post at least a 9% TD rate and 9+ yards per pass in a single season.
Rodgers earned another MVP in 2014 after putting up a 1% interception rate. By the decade’s end, Rodgers was setting all-time pick avoidance records. His 0.3% interception rate in 2018 is the best mark in NFL history; his 0.7% rate in 2019 ranks fourth.
Rodgers led all quarterbacks in passer rating (103.6) and adjusted yards per attempt (8.41) during the 2000s. Only Brady won more regular-season games or posted a better EPA per play mark in the decade.
Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald retired during the 2024 offseason, hanging up his cleats after posting the best defensive tackle carer in the NFL’s history.
Donald is one of just three players –along with Lawrence Taylor and the final player on our Mount Rushmore — to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards. He posted four other top-five DPOY finishes, won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, earned a Pro Bowl berth in all 11 seasons of his career, and received eight first-team All-Pro berths.
One of five defensive tackles with at least 100 sacks, Donald set the single-season DT sack record with 20.5 quarterback takedowns in 2018.
J.J. Watt, DL, Houston Texans
In terms of peak, few defensive linemen can compete with J.J. Watt’s run with the Houston Texans from 2012-15.
Watt’s 69 sacks over those four years were 18.5 more than any other player. His 190 QB hits nearly doubled that of the second-place defender. Watt had 119 tackles for loss during this period; LB Lavonte David was second with 68.
Unsurprisingly, Watt racked up awards in this stretch, winning three Defensive Player of the Year trophies in four years. While injuries hindered much of the rest of his career, he made another All-Pro team for the Texans in 2018.