NFC South All-Decade Team of 2000s: Ronde Barber on top of cornerbacks

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NFC South All-Decade Team of 2000s: Ronde Barber on top of cornerbacks

John Sigler, Saints Wire · Saints Wire

Thu, Jul 9, 2026 ·

4 min read

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One of the best players in the NFC South's early days lined up at cornerback -- but Ronde Barber wasn't the only corner winning Pro Bowl trips in the division's first decade. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar was competing against rivals on the Atlanta Falcons , Carolina Panthers , and New Orleans Saints almost every week. As our look at the NFC South All-Decade Team of the 2000s draws to a close (with the 2010s All-Decade Team coming up next), let's highlight the best cornerbacks who took the field from 2002 to 2009.

Methodology

One key stat we're relying on is Approximate Value from Pro Football Reference , which PFR defines as "an attempt to put a single number on the seasonal value of a player at any position from any year." In practice, that means giving higher numbers to player who start more games, play more snaps, and do more to help their team win by racking up yards, scoring touchdowns, creating turnovers and sacking quarterbacks, and so on. We're also assigning point values to being named a first-team All-Pro (ten points), second-team All-Pro (five points), and Pro Bowler (three points). And then we're adding those numbers together. Remember, these are all-decade teams for the NFC South, which didn't exist until 2002, and only contributions on the four teams in the division factor into our formula. So Drew Brees earning a Pro Bowl nod with the San Diego Chargers in 2005 doesn't help him, for example.

First team: Ronde Barber

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 21: Safety Ronde Barber #20 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers returns an interception against the New Orleans Saints during the game at Raymond James Stadium on October 14, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002 to 2009)
AV: 95
Honors: All-Pro first team (2), All-Pro second team (2), Pro Bowler (4)
Score: 137

Barber had the third-highest score in this decade, trailing his fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers Julius Peppers (143) and Derrick Brooks (154), the latter of whom he won a Super Bowl with in 2002. The 1997 draft pick spent his entire 16 years in the NFL with Tampa Bay and even converted to safety to extend his career into the 2010s. Barber was a true ballhawk with multiple interceptions in 14 seasons and a league-leading 10 of them in 2001. He had some legendary battles with receivers like Steve Smith Sr. and Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

First team: Chris Gamble

December 28, 2008; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws a pass next to Carolina Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble (20) during the second half at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Carolina defeated New Orleans 33-31. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Team: Carolina Panthers (2004 to 2009)
AV:42
Honors:N/A
Score: 42

Gamble never made it to the Pro Bowl, but he made a big impact on Carolina during his nine years with the team. He was the first rookie defender to start 16 games and he set franchise records for interceptions (27) and single-season interception return yards (157), having taught opposing quarterbacks early not to test him with 13 takeaways in his first two seasons. He also had 12 or more passes defensed in six different years, proving himself to be a key part of some great Panthers teams.

Second team: DeAngelo Hall

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 11: DeAngelo Hall #21 of the Atlanta Falcons breaks up a pass to Steve Smith #89 of the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on November 11, 2007 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Team:Atlanta Falcons (2004 to 2007)
AV: 32
Honors: Pro Bowler (2)
Score: 38

Hall is best remembered for his time in Washington, but he got his start in Atlanta, where he won two Pro Bowl nods and established a tense rivalry with Panthers wideout Steve Smith Sr. (who baited Hall into committing a couple of penalties and set up a game-winning touchdown). That's not to say Hall wasn't an effective player. He had 17 interceptions in four years with the dirty birds and led the league with 86 fumble return yards in 2005. That contributed to his 328 career fumble return yards, which is still an NFL record.

Second team: Ken Lucas

Dec. 14, 2008; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas (21) reacts after the Denver Broncos miss a field goal in the Panthers 30-10 victory against the Broncos at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Team: Carolina Panthers (2005 to 2008)
AV: 29
Honors: N/A
Score: 29

Lucas arrived in Carolina after a solid four-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks , and while he didn't reach the Pro Bowl or All-Pro lists he was an important player in the Panthers secondary across from Chris Gamble. He started 59 of the 60 regular season games he appeared in and bagged 48 passes defensed, with 13 interceptions. Crucially, Lucas stepped up in the 2005 postseason and came away with two interceptions during the Panthers' ill-fated Super Bowl run. Their impressive season ended with a loss on the road to his old Seahawks team in the NFC Championship game.

We considered a couple of Saints cornerbacks as honorable mentions here, but it was too close to call it between Mike McKenzie and Fred Thomas. They each had a score of 27, trailing Lucas, and while Thomas had an edge in games played (82 of them) and forced fumbles (6), McKenzie came out ahead in interceptions (13) with nearly twice as many interception return yards (267). McKenzie also scored twice on house calls after picking off the opposing QB.