Who’s on the NFL‘s 2000s 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.
Pro Football Network will unveil its Mount Rushmore for each NFL decade over the coming days, so be sure to check back for future eras this week and next.
Who’s on the NFL’s 2000s Mount Rushmore?
Honorable mention: WR Randy Moss, WR Terrell Owens, WR Marvin Harrison, TE Tony Gonzalez, LB Derrick Brooks, CB Champ Bailey, S Ed Reed
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
An NFL player has to be pretty special to assemble what could be considered separate Hall of Fame careers across two different decades — but that’s exactly what Tom Brady did.
The league’s greatest all-time player may have been more productive during the 2010s, but Brady was also among the NFL’s best players during the century’s first decade.
While Brady had to compete with the next player on our Mount Rushmore for individual accomplishments throughout the 2000s, the New England Patriots quarterback was the ultimate winner. With head coach Bill Belichick at his side, Brady went 97-30 during the decade’s regular season and 14-4 in the playoffs, bringing home three Super Bowls along the way.
Brady won his first MVP award in 2007 after setting the league on fire with a then-record 50 touchdown passes for a Patriots team that went undefeated in the regular season. He also earned Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2009 and went to five Pro Bowls during the decade.
Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts
Brady won more games and will go down in history books as the NFL’s best quarterback, but based on individual statistics, Peyton Manning was undoubtedly the more productive player of the 2000s.
Manning led the league in passing yards (42,254), touchdowns (314), TD rate (5.8%), passer rating (98.2), sack rate (3.2%), and adjusted net yards per pass attempt (7.35) during the decade. He lapped the rest of the NFL’s top quarterbacks in efficiency. During the 2000s, Manning posted 0.263 points per snap and ranked first in EPA per play.
Manning is the NFL’s only player with five MVP awards, four of which came during the 2000s. He finished in the top five in MVP voting in four other seasons during the decade.
Manning won Super Bowl MVP honors after guiding the Colts to the Lombardi Trophy after the 2006 campaign.
LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers
The poster child for fantasy football’s emergence in the mid-2000s, LaDainian Tomlinson racked up touchdowns like no other player in the NFL during his run with the San Diego Chargers.
Tomlinson, a three-time first-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, scored the third-most TDs in NFL history (162) and ranks seventh in career rushing yards (13,684).
His most dominant campaign came in 2006 when Tomlinson won the league MVP award after scoring an NFL record 31 touchdowns (28 rushing, three receiving).
His consistency was his trademark. Tomlinson holds the NFL record for most consecutive seasons with 10+ rushing touchdowns (nine), 15+ rushing touchdowns (six), and 1,200+ rushing yards (seven).
Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens
Ray Lewis headlined a legendary 2000 Baltimore Ravens defense that set numerous NFL records, among them the fewest points (165) and rushing yards (970) in a 16-game season. The Ravens won the Super Bowl that season, while Lewis captured the first of two Defensive Player of the Year awards.
He holds the NFL record for combined (2,059) and solo (1,568) tackles and is the only player in league history with at least 40 career sacks and 30 career interceptions.
Lewis made more Pro Bowls (12) than any other off-ball linebacker, while his seven first-team All-Pros are tied for first at the position.