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All-Decade Team presented by American Family Insurance have been fully revealed, but that list doesn’t encapsulate all of the players who had a hand in the most successful decade in team history.

 

 

Matt Tabeek helped remedy that with his All-Cut Team – a list of the best players not to make the all-decade team – and now it’s time to widen the scope even further. These are the top 50 Falcons players of the decade.

 

A few things before we begin:

 

This is a semi-objective list, but a lot of thought went into not only the purely statistical production but what each player meant to the team during his time in Atlanta.

Longevity was certainly a factor, both positively and negatively. If a player had one or two excellent seasons, he likely isn’t higher than someone who was good for the Falcons for five years.

While the all-decade team was created with a sense of permanence and included many expert voters from a wide array of backgrounds, this is a much less serious exercise. That said, it is a fairly accurate depiction of the caliber of players the Falcons have had this past decade.

Here we go.

 

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Photo: Atlanta Falcons

50. LS Josh Harris (2012-19)

A Georgia native, Harris has played in 123 games during his eight seasons with the Falcons this decade. Longsnappers don’t have a flashy role, but they do have an important one, and Harris has handled it very well for Atlanta.

 

Key decade stat: Missed just five games in eight seasons

 

49. WR Taylor Gabriel (2016-17)

A dynamic speedster on the best Falcons offense of the decade, Gabriel was an integral part of that 2016 team. He had a bit of a dropoff in production in 2017, his final year in Atlanta, but Gabriel provided some of the most memorable plays of the decade.

 

Key decade stat: 1,057 yards from scrimmage

 

48. DE Brooks Reed (2015-18)

Reed arrived in Atlanta as part of Quinn’s defensive overhaul. He was a capable early-down defender on the Falcons’ defensive line who offered more pass rushing ability than a typical run defender on the edge. Reed’s best season in Atlanta came in 2017, when he recorded 41 tackles and four sacks.

 

Key decade stat: Seven sacks

 

47. OG Chris Chester (2015-16)

After nine seasons in the NFL, Chester arrived in Atlanta for the final two seasons of his career. At age 33, Chester was part of an offensive line that stayed healthy throughout the entire 2016 season and played a huge role in helping the Falcons have the best offense in the league.

 

Key decade stat: Started every game during two seasons with Falcons

 

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Photo: Atlanta Falcons

46. KR Eric Weems (2010-11, 2014-16)

Weems is an underrated player for how important he was on special teams. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2010 due to his excellence as a returner, gaining 1,100 yards on kickoff returns and scoring a touchdown on both a kickoff and punt return that year. He spent much of the decade in Atlanta, helping mentor younger players on the importance of playing special teams at a high level.

 

Key decade stat: 3,724 kickoff return yards

 

45. DE Adrian Clayborn (2015-17, 2019)

Clayborn provided one of the most memorable moments of the decade with his six-sack performance against the Dallas Cowboys in 2017. One of the key rotational pass rushers for the Falcons under Quinn, Clayborn never became a great player in Atlanta, but he was a good and important one.

 

Key decade stat: 21 sacks

 

44. WR Calvin Ridley (2018-19)

Of all the players on this list, Ridley is the one most likely to dominate the next decade. He’s topped 800 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons and was on pace for his first 1,000-yard season before sustaining an injury late last year. The only reason he’s not higher is because he’s only played two seasons in Atlanta.

 

Key decade stat: 17 touchdowns

 

43. FB Patrick DiMarco (2013-16)

DiMarco is held in high regard among all Falcons fans, and he was a very good fullback who was the cherry on top of the excellent 2016 offense. He did everything asked of him, and he often did it wonderfully. Given the position he played, however, he can only be so high on this list.

 

Key decade stat: 273 receiving yards

 

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42. KR Devin Hester (2014-15)

The greatest kick returner in history broke Deion Sanders’ all-time return record as a member of the Falcons in 2014. He led the league with 1,128 kickoff return yards that season while also developing as a receiver on offense and earning a Pro Bowl nod. Hester only appeared in five games during the 2015 season, however, which turned out to be his last with the Falcons. Playing in just 21 games for Atlanta, Hester had a memorable but short run.

 

Key decade stat: 2,177 all-purpose yards

 

41. LB Stephen Nicholas (2010-13)

Nicholas had a nice seven-year career with the Falcons, but his play started to decline this decade. He was an important part of the 2012 defense, recording 97 tackles and four pass defenses – both career highs – and he is remembered fondly by some Falcons fans.

 

Key decade stat: 245 tackles

 

40. P Matt Bosher (2011-19)

Bosher probably deserves to be a little higher on this list, but this just feels like the right spot for him. With the Falcons for nearly the entire decade, Bosher was consistent and reliable as a punter, kickoff specialist and holder for field goals and extra points. His most memorable play as a Falcon, however, showed that he is a very good tackler as well.

 

Key decade stat: 45.7 yards per punt

 

39. OT Sam Baker (2010-14)

The Falcons traded back into the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft to draft Baker, pairing rookie quarterback Matt Ryan with his blindside protector. Injuries prevented Baker from becoming the player the Falcons hoped he would become, however, and he managed to start just 42 games during the five seasons he was in Atlanta this decade. While on the field, Baker wasn’t a bad player, but he had a hard time staying on the field.

 

Key decade stat: Played just two full seasons this decade

 

38. LB Paul Worrilow (2013-16)

After a breakout season as an undrafted rookie in 2013, Worrilow seemed like a solution to the Falcons’ linebacker woes. Worrilow had over 100 tackles in each of his first two seasons, but he did not have the needed versatility or athleticism to keep up with a changing NFL. Still, Worrilow had three very productive seasons in Atlanta as a full-time starter.

 

Key decade stat: 385 combined tackles

 

37. DE Kroy Biermann (2010-15)

It was tough to tell at times if Biermann was a fan favorite or the target of derision. The fact that fans could have such a range of emotions towards him is a testament to the longevity he had with the organization and the amount of playing time he received. Longevity isn’t everything, though, so while he played in 82 games this decade, he never really became more than a good rotational player. In his best season, Biermann had 75 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

 

Key decade stat: 16.5 sacks

 

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Photo: Atlanta Falcons

36. CB Dunta Robinson (2010-12)

Robinson was a big free agent acquisition for a Falcons defense that needed to improve its pass defense. He didn’t necessarily live up to the expectations set by his big contract, but Robinson was a good player during his three seasons with the Falcons and is probably underrated by many. Robinson started all but one game with Atlanta and recorded four interceptions during that time.

 

Key decade stat: 24 passes defensed

 

35. OT Tyson Clabo (2010-12)

The lone Pro-Bowl season of Clabo’s career came in 2010, but he maintained that level of play for his final two seasons with the Falcons. Clabo was a dependable right tackle in Atlanta who did not miss a single start during the decade and played a role in the Falcons making three-straight playoff runs.

 

Key decade stat: 48 starts

 

34. CB Asante Samuel (2012-13)

Samuel is one of the top defensive backs in NFL history, and his 2012 season for the Falcons was nothing short of spectacular. That year, Samuel had 17 pass defenses and five interceptions. If Samuel had spent more of his career in Atlanta, the Falcons would have surely benefited, and he would be much higher on this list. Instead, Falcons fans can enjoy the time they had with one of the league’s best playmakers.

 

A big free-agent pickup for Atlanta in 2015, Levitre was a very good left guard while healthy. His performance in 2016 played a necessary role in the Falcons making a Super Bowl run, and having Jake Matthews, Alex Mack and Levitre gave Atlanta an incredible trio on the left side of its offensive line. Injuries forced Levitre to miss time at the very end of his career, but he was a great player while healthy for the Falcons.

 

McClure is one of the top players in Falcons history. Unfortunately, this is a ranking of the best players from 2010-19 and McClure only played three seasons during the decade. McClure was still a crucial part of Atlanta’s very successful 2010 and 2012 seasons, however, which is a testament to how good of a player he was. He missed only three starts this decade, and the

Falcons struggled to find a replacement for him until brining in Alex Mack.

 

Key decade stat: 45 starts