Pro Football Focus (PFF) released a list of its 101 best NFL players of the 2010s today, and two former Michigan Wolverines football players made the cut in Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (played at U-M from 1995-99) and Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (2006-09).
While explaining its grading criteria, the outlet noted its list "isn't an evaluation of talent, but rather of production, efficiency and performance," and confirmed it took an "all positions created equally" mindset.
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Brady unsurprisingly topped the entire list as the game's best player since 2010, thanks to the three Super Bowls he helped guide the New England Patriots to at the conclusion of the 2014 (over the Seattle Seahawks), 2016 (Atlanta Falcons) and 2018 (Los Angeles Rams) seasons.
"Arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen is also the best player of the 2010s," PFF wrote. "Brady owns the highest single-season grade PFF has ever given to a quarterback for his 2016 season, and his four-year stretch of play from 2015-18 was the greatest four-year run of play we have seen at the position.
"Brady defines clutch — in the fourth quarter and overtime, he still has the highest PFF grade of the decade. Brady’s ability to come up big and make huge plays in key moments has been incredible, but doing it all without making many mistakes is what truly makes him special.
"For the entire decade, he had just 124 turnover-worthy plays on 6,151 regular-season pass attempts, and his regular-season turnover-worthy play rate of 2.0% comfortably ranks first among the 79 quarterbacks who threw at least 500 passes from 2010-19."
The fact that Brady was tabbed as the game's best player since 2010 shouldn't come as a surprise when considering the resume he put together during that span.
He led the NFL in passing yards in 2017 (4,577), led the league in touchdown passes in both 2010 and 2015 (36 each year), was voted as the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2010, was selected as the sport's MVP in 2010 and 2017, and took home the Super Bowl MVP award after the championship victories over the Seahawks in 2015 and the Falcons in 2017.
Though Brady is most recognized for his accomplishments in the NFL, it's also important to note how productive he was during his final two years at Michigan in 1998 and 1999.
He completed 61.9 percent of his passes and threw for 2,427 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a redshirt junior in 1998, before capping things off with 2,217 yards, 16 touchdowns, six picks and a 61 completion percentage as a fifth-year senior in 1999.
Graham, meanwhile, checked in at No. 42 on PFF's list, which may come as a bit of a surprise to some people, with the outlet stating that he doesn't necessarily get the recognition he deserves.
"Perennially underrated because he doesn’t generate the same sack totals as some of the other pass-rushers in football, Brandon Graham has nevertheless pressured the quarterback like few other players over the past decade," they wrote.
"He owns two of the top three pass-rush win rates of the decade, and only two edge rushers have a higher pressure rate over the past 10 years. Graham has always been the poster child for pressure mattering in and of itself, even if it comes with a lower rate of sacks than other players, and the Philadelphia Eagles have been a far better team for embracing that dynamic."
Graham's list of accomplishments certainly isn't as long as Brady's, though it's worth noting he was named a second-team All-Pro in 2016 and recorded at least 5.5 sacks in five of the six seasons from 2012-17 (2013 was the lone year he didn't, when he only had three).
The defensive end's career high in quarterback takedowns occurred in 2017 when he tallied 9.5, though he nearly matched that total last fall when he compiled 8.5.
Graham was also a menace off the edge during his final two years at Michigan, racking up 20 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2008 before putting together a phenomenal senior season of 2009 that saw him compile 26 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 10.5 sacks, earning first-team All-American honors in the process.
Brady and Graham are perhaps best tied together because of what occurred at the end of Super Bowl LII in February of 2018.
With the Patriots trailing the Eagles 38-33 and attempting to mount a game-winning drive with just 2:14 remaining, Graham sacked Brady and forced a fumble in the process, allowing Philadelphia to recover and all but seal the win.
The defensive end etched his name in Eagles lore that night, and depending on which team you were rooting for as a Michigan fan, the play was either glorious or painful.
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