With the NFL's 16-game regular season coming to a close in 2021, it's time to look back at the league’s most dominant players from the most recent decade through the lens of PFF's Wins Above Replacement metric.
The players who rank highly in this list dominated the first decade of the rookie wage scale era from 2011-2020 and consistently produced, with very few down seasons. (In some cases, these players have put up few poor outings, period.)
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Without further ado, the PFF WAR All-Decade Team (2011-2020).
Offense
Quarterback | Total WAR Generated 2011-2020
Player | Position | WAR |
Tom Brady* | QB | 34.754 |
Drew Brees | QB | 31.432 |
Aaron Rodgers* | QB | 30.456 |
Matt Ryan* | QB | 28.044 |
*Still playing in 2021
While Tom Brady’s place atop this list won’t come as a surprise, it’s pretty astonishing when you consider he was 34 years old in the first year of the sample in 2011. All he’s done in his late-30s and early 40s is generate over three more wins above replacement than any other player in the NFL, finishing inside the top five in every season but one.
Tomy Brady season-by-season WAR ranking among QBs
Year | WAR rank |
2011 | 4 |
2012 | 2 |
2013 | 4 |
2014 | 4 |
2015 | 1 |
2016 | 2 |
2017 | 1 |
2018 | 5 |
2019 | 14 |
2020 | 2 |
Brady is the quarterback since 2011 with at least 200 pass attempts and a turnover-worthy play percentage below 2.0%. Brady is also second in total big-time throws since 2011 with 316, one of four players above 300. Only 11 have tallied more than 180 over the span.
Running Back | Total WAR Generated 2011-2020
Player | Position | WAR |
LeSean McCoy | HB | 1.546 |
Le'Veon Bell | HB | 1.454 |
Frank Gore | HB | 1.325 |
Marshawn Lynch | HB | 1.224 |
Infamous for holding the football like he may toss a quick lateral at any given moment, LeSean “Shady” McCoy led all running backs in wins above replacement in 2013 and posted two other top-seven finishes. In 2013, McCoy garnered 314 carries and 52 receptions on 59 targets, putting up 2,146 yards from scrimmage — the fifth-highest total since 2011.