This morning, in what should be no surprise to Badger fans, former Badgers J.J. Watt and Joe Thomas were named to the NFL’s 2010 “All-Decade Team.” According to NFL.com, the team was chosen by the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There were only eight players unanimously voted to the team. Two of those eight players were Watt and Thomas. Watt has had quite the decade after he began his NFL career in 2011. The Houston Texan has accumulated 96 sacks and 158 tackled for loss over his nine year NFL career. The five-time Pro Bowl participant has been arguably the best defensive end in football over this past decade after shining for a pair of years at Wisconsin.
Thomas, the now retired Browns legend, was one of the most consistent offensive tackles in the history of football during his playing days. There was once a stretch where the Brookfield, Wisconsin native played 10,363 consecutive snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Before his 2017 retirement, Thomas was a ten-time Pro Bowl selection, and a 7-time First-Team All Pro performer. Not only are former Badgers playing in the NFL, but former Wisconsin greats are having their success at UW translate at the next level.
Per Judy Battista at NFL.com, here is the full list of players on the “All-Decade” squad (A star denotes a unanimous selection):
OFFENSE
QB Tom Brady*
QB Aaron Rodgers
RB Frank Gore
RB Marshawn Lynch
RB LeSean McCoy
RB Adrian Peterson*
WR Antonio Brown
WR Larry Fitzgerald
WR Calvin Johnson
WR Julio Jones
FLEX Darren Sproles
TE Rob Gronkowski
TE Travis Kelce
OT Jason Peters
OT Tyron Smith
OT Joe Staley
OT Joe Thomas*
OG Jahri Evans
OG Logan Mankins
OG Zack Martin
OG Marshal Yanda*
C Alex Mack
C Maurkice Pouncey
DEFENSE
DE Calais Campbell
DE Cameron Jordan
DE Julius Peppers
DE J.J. Watt*
DT Geno Atkins
DT Fletcher Cox
DT Aaron Donald*
DT Ndamukong Suh
LB Chandler Jones
LB Luke Kuechly
LB Khalil Mack
LB Von Miller*
LB Bobby Wagner
LB Patrick Willis
CB Patrick Peterson
CB Darrelle Revis
CB Richard Sherman
S Eric Berry
S Earl Thomas
S Eric Weddle
DB Chris Harris Jr.
DB Tyrann Mathieu
SPECIALISTS
P Johnny Hekker
P Shane Lechler
K Stephen Gostkowski
K Justin Tucker*
PR Tyreek Hill
PR Darren Sproles
KR Devin Hester
KR Cordarrelle Patterson
COACHES
Bill Belichick
Pete Carroll