Yellow jacket for this man. Who were the better safeties in the 2010s. Earl Thomas then who? DMac belongs in the hall as the one of the 5 or so(Possibly #2) best safeties for a decade combined with 3 rings.
Ranking Top 10 NFL Safeties of the 2010s:
1. Earl Thomas (10 seasons)
HOF
3x 1st team All Pro, 2x 2nd team All Pro, 7x Pro Bowl, 13 TFL, 2 SK, 30 INTs, 12 FF, 3 TDs
2. Eric Weddle (10 seasons)
HOF
2x 1st team All Pro, 3x 2nd team All Pro, 6x Pro Bowl, 25 TFL, 6 SK, 25 INTs, 6 FF, 3 TDs
3. Eric Berry (9 seasons)
HOF
3x 1st team All Pro, 5x Pro Bowl, 1x CPOY, 29 TFL, 5.5 SK, 14 INTs, 4 FF, 5 TDs
4. Harrison Smith (8 seasons)
1x 1st team All Pro, 1x 2nd team All Pro, 5x Pro Bowl, 37 TFL, 13 SK, 23 INTs, 7 FF, 4 TDs
5. Troy Polamalu (5 seasons)
HOF
2x 1st team All Pro, 3x Pro Bowl, 1x DPOY, 26 TFL, 5 SK, 12 INTs, 6 FF, 3 TDs
6. Kam Chancellor (8 seasons)
2x 2nd team All Pro, 4x Pro Bowl, 17 TFL, 2 SK, 12 INTs, 9 FF, 0 TD
7. Ed Reed (4 seasons)
HOF
1x 1st team All Pro, 1x 2nd team All Pro, 3x Pro Bowl, 4 TFL, 1 SK, 18 INTs, 2 FF, 1 TD
8. Malcolm Jenkins (10 seasons)
1x 2nd team All Pro, 3x Pro Bowl, 41 TFL, 10 SK, 16 INTs, 16 FF, 7 TDs
9. Devin McCourty (10 seasons)
3x 2nd team All Pro, 2x Pro Bowl, 18 TFL, 3 SK, 26 INTs, 11 FF, 1 TD
10. Reggie Nelson (9 seasons)
1x 2nd team All Pro, 2x Pro Bowl, 22 TFL, 5.5 SK, 31 INTs, 7 FF, 1 TD
All pro and pro bowl tabulations are for 2010-2019 only.
I designated the
HOFers (based on entire career). Kam's career ending injury cost him enough seasons to get in. Harrison Smith may get there. The last three including McCourty aren't HOFers. McCourty was never the best player at his position in any season and he was never a game-changer type playmaker. I put less emphasis on rings when evaluating any position other than QB and HC. You have to be a highly impactful player like for example Kam from 2011 to 2014 when he was among the most devastating tacklers in the NFL and a major component to possibly the best secondary in the history of the league.