Van Noy and the Dolphins All-Decade Team

New Dolphins linebacker Kyle Van Noy earned a great honor Wednesday when he was named to the New England Patriots All-Decade Team for the 2010s.

Van Noy arrived in New England via a trade with the Detroit Lions midway through the 2017 season and went on to start 45 games for the Patriots before joining the Dolphins this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

Van Noy had 16.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries for New England, including two he returned for touchdowns.

The Patriots' all-decade team features pretty much all the names you'd expect, including Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty and another player who spent time with the Dolphins, receiver/returner Danny Amendola.

The Dolphins have not announced an all-decade team, though it just might look something like this.

QUARTERBACK

There really isn’t much of a debate here considering Ryan Tannehill started six seasons and nobody else started more than one. Tannehill didn’t live up to his draft standing as the eighth overall pick in 2012, but he was a solid starter nonetheless. The pick: Ryan Tannehill

RUNNING BACK

Now, this is a tough one to call because Reggie Bush, Lamar Miller and Jay Ajayi all performed well, though none of the three started for more than three seasons. Ajayi’s 2016 season is the one that stands out, but he was gone by the trading deadline the next year, so this comes down to one of the other two. A good argument could be made for either, but Bush was simply more impactful. The pick: Reggie Bush

WIDE RECEIVER

Jarvis Landry set the franchise rookie record for receptions in 2014, the overall record for receptions in 2015 and broke that in 2017, so he’s a slam dunk. Brandon Marshall had his flaws as a high-maintenance player, but there’s no denying his production. Mike Wallace was much better than the perception of his two years in Miami because he always was judged based on his contract. Kenny Stills quietly was very productive in his four years here and DeVante Parker had an underwhelming first four years until he broke out with a huge 2019. Brian Hartline had two 1,000-yard seasons. This is a tough call. The picks: Jarvis Landry, Brandon Marshall, Kenny Stills

Jarvis Landry has the most catches by a player in their first three seasons in @NFL history.@God_Son80 + #ProBowlVote https://t.co/O6vPBQETrl
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 11, 2016

TIGHT END

Mike Gesicki’s strong 2019 season bodes well for the future, but doesn’t help him in this exercise. It comes down to Anthony Fasano, who was a good blocker and good in the red zone, or Charles Clay, who was highly productive in his final two seasons with the Dolphins. The pick: Charles Clay

LEFT TACKLE

It’s easy to forget, because of his injuries, just how good a left tackle Jake Long was. Branden Albert also was very good, though his 2014 season was cut short by a knee injury and knee problems flared up again in 2016. Laremy Tunsil also was good in his two years at left tackle, though he’ll come up just short here. The pick: Jake Long

LEFT GUARD

His time in Miami did not end well, but there is no arguing that based on performance on the field, Richie Incognito is the only choice here. The pick: Richie Incognito

CENTER

Is there really a need for discussion here? The pick: Mike Pouncey

Dolphins center Mike Pouncey getting to the second level is a thing of beauty. pic.twitter.com/QjxxcuqxeW
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) November 15, 2016

RIGHT GUARD

John Jerry has the most starts here, but Jermon Bushrod helped contribute to a running game that paved the way for the Dolphins to make the playoffs in 2016. The pick: Jermon Bushrod

RIGHT TACKLE

With only one player who started more than one season at the position and no Pro Bowl selections, the choice is pretty clear. The pick: Ja’Wuan James

DEFENSIVE END

It should be noted that the Dolphins used mostly 3-4 alignments in the first two years and the last year of the decade. That said, Cameron Wake is the one slam dunk here. The picks: Cameron Wake, Olivier Vernon

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

This was one of the best positions for the Dolphins during the last decade and it’s tough to narrow it down to two. Like Mike Wallace, Ndamukong Suh was graded on a curve based on his contract and was much more productive than given credit for. That said, Paul Soliai and Randy Starks also were very productive. The picks: Randy Starks, Paul Soliai

LINEBACKER

There were some flashes at linebacker throughout the past decade but little sustained excellence. That makes the choices here difficult. For example, Kiko Alonso made a lot of big plays in 2016 but didn’t play up to that level the next two years. The picks: Karlos Dansby, Kiko Alonso, Jerome Baker

Jerome Baker untouched #Dolphins pic.twitter.com/QsIrrvJ3a0
— Greg Likens (@GregLikens) November 10, 2019

CORNERBACK

There isn’t any debate here, though Vontae Davis was on his way to becoming a Pro Bowl player here before he was traded to Indianapolis. The picks: Brent Grimes, Xavien Howard

SAFETY

Reshad Jones is the given here, and it’s really tempting to go with Eric Rowe because he played very well at safety after being switched over from cornerback a month into the 2019 season. But Yeremiah Bell, who made his one Pro Bowl in 2009, did lead the Dolphins in tackles in 2010 and 2011. The picks: Reshad Jones, Yeremiah Bell

PUNTER

There is absolute no debate here. The pick: Brandon Fields

KICKER

Dan Carpenter made the longest field goal in team history in 2010, Andrew Franks had the clutch 55-yarder at the end of regulation in the playoff season of 2016, Cody Parkey was almost perfect (21-of-23) in his one season, and Jason Sanders was 18-for-20 as a rookie — plus he had “Mountaineer Shot” in his second season. This is a toss-up. The pick: Jason Sanders

Jason Sanders onside kick!! #Dolphins pic.twitter.com/H6D4KomQTT
— Greg Likens (@GregLikens) November 17, 2019

LONG-SNAPPER

No debate. John Denney was the snapper for nine of the 10 years and made the Pro Bowl twicel The pick: John Denney

KICKOFF RETURNER

There really isn’t much of a debate here, with Jakeem Grant having two kickoff returns for touchdowns. The pick: Jakeem Grant

PUNT RETURNER

Davone Bess was sure-handed and productive as a punt returner in his final two seasons with the Dolphins, but he just didn’t have Jakeem Grant’s big-play ability. The pick: Jakeem Grant