? The ultimate NFL team from the past 25 years

At this point of the NFL offseason, front offices are starting to think about their final 53-man rosters for the upcoming season. Tough decisions are on deck for all 32 teams. But let’s expand the scope a little: How would a full All-NFL roster for the past 25 years look? To celebrate the quarter-century mark, we picked out the best NFL players since 2000 and filled out a complete lineup.

We couldn’t think of two people better able to pull off this job than our stat-loving NFL analysts Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder. They served as de facto general managers for this All Quarter Century team, building the 53-man roster through a few simple rules and methods:

• Players are still eligible if they began their career in the 1990s, but only production beginning in the 2000 season was considered.

• These decisions were made mostly on statistical output, focusing on peak seasons while still rewarding longevity. We relied heavily on FTN’s DYAR metric (defense-adjusted yards above replacement), which calculates a player’s value over the course of the season compared to a replacement-level baseline. Other advanced statistics were also taken into account.

• This team includes 25 offensive players, 23 defensive players and five special teams players. For another wrinkle, we filled out a full “practice squad” with the players who just missed the cut and listed them in their respective position groups. We followed current NFL practice squad rules, which includes 17 players if one was brought in from the International Player Pathway Program. Finally, we also needed an elite coaching staff to get the most out of this quarter-century team, so we picked a head coach and three coordinators.

Let’s jump into the All Quarter Century lineup picks, starting with the most important position in sports. Players are listed by position group and in order of how they’d land on the depth chart.

Jump to a position:
QB | RB | FB | WR
TE | OL | DL | LB
DB | ST | Coaches

Quarterbacks (3)

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

The best evidence of Brady’s greatness is his all-time high in Super Bowl rings, of course, but he exemplified both team and individual success throughout his career. His 2007 season is the best in NFL history using both FTN’s DYAR metric and ESPN’s Total QBR. He was almost as good in 2010 despite playing in a completely different offense structured around two rookie tight ends.

For a long time, there was a great debate about who was better: Brady or

play