Stephon Gilmore, Chandler Jones Crack Bottom 26 of PFF's Top 101 of 2010s

One current Patriot and two former ones make the bottom part of PFF's All-Decade team of the 2010s.

PFF has begun rolling out their All-Decade Top 101 of the 2010s, which is a list of 101 NFL players they felt were the best in the business over the past 10 years. On Monday, they released numbers 101-75 on the list, which included one current Patriots player and another that sported a Patriots jersey for several years: Stephon Gilmore and Chandler Jones. Cornerback Aqib Talib - who was traded to New England in 2012 and played with them through the 2013 season - also made the list.

Here is what PFF had to say about each of those players, along with where they were listed in the top 101:

85. Aqib Talib

Aqib Talib was always a supremely talented cornerback, but it wasn’t until he found himself in a defensive scheme that suited his man-to-man coverage skills that we started to see what he was truly capable of. That transformation started in New England before he became an integral part of the “No Fly Zone” secondary in Denver during the Broncos' great Super Bowl run. In Talib’s best season (2015), he allowed a passer rating under 50.0 when targeted including the postseason.

80. Chandler Jones 

Chandler Jones has been able to sack the quarterback like few other players in NFL history. He trails only Von Miller in official NFL sacks, and only four players took down the quarterback more times (half sacks are the discrepancy) over the course of the decade. He has always had a knack for decisive pass-rushing wins, whether it was in New England or in Arizona, but when you quantify every pass-rushing snap, there are other players who begin to leap over Jones in terms of how often they win. That ability to finish plays consistently is what propels him onto this list, though.

76. Stephon Gilmore

Gilmore always had supreme talent, but his career in Buffalo was one more of promise rather than every-down production. Bill Belichick and the Patriots realized what he could become and invested big money into him as a free agent. Since arriving in New England, Gilmore has been the best cornerback in the game and one of the most impressive shutdown corners in recent times. For his career, Gilmore has allowed 55% of passes thrown his way to be caught, but over the past two seasons that number has been well below 50% each year. In addition, he has 31 pass breakups to go along with his eight interceptions.

Talib was traded to the Patriots in 2012 in exchange for a fourth-round pick after being suspended by the Buccaneers for four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. In 2013 - which was Talib's first full season in New England, as well as his final season with the team - he was selected to the Pro Bowl. 

Jones was drafted by the Patriots with the 21st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played in New England for four seasons before being traded to the Cardinals in exchange for a second round pick. Jones earned Pro Bowl honors during his final season with the Patriots. 

Gilmore signed with the six-time Super Bowl champions in 2017 after playing for five seasons in Buffalo. Since joining the Patriots, Gilmore has been named to the Pro Bowl twice (2018-19), an All-Pro twice in the same years, and was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019 season.