3. Shaun O’Hara
Let’s be honest, if we were reviewing the previous decade, Shaun O’Hara would be number one on this list. Consideration was given to making him number one on the list as it was, given that his 2010 season was the only time this decade that a NY Giants center was selected to a Pro Bowl. However, given that he only played a total of six games in 2010, it was difficult to place O’Hara any higher than third on the list.
Shaun O’Hara was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers by the Cleveland Browns in 2000. He would go on to play guard and center from 2000-2003 with the Browns, before being signed by the New York Giants to return to his natural position of center in 2004.
In 2004, O’Hara would sign a 3-year $5.4 million deal with New York. After playing admirably in his first three seasons, the Giants would extend his contract in 2007. O’Hara would reward the Giants for their faith, by being selected to a Pro Bowl in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Despite the 2010 Pro Bowl selection, O’Hara’s 2010 season would be injury-riddled and would cause him to miss ten games that year. As a result of the culmination of injuries, the Giants would cut O’Hara in July of 2011 and he would retire in 2012. The final result would be the end of consistency at the center position that the stalwart O’Hara provided in New York for seven seasons.
Obviously, it’s somewhat comical to have a guy that played just six games on a team’s All-Decade list, but that’s how mediocre the center play has been over the last 10 years. Objectively, those six games were much better than anything we’ve seen out of any of the other guys, too.
O’Hara will rank as one of the greatest centers to don a NY Giants jersey, and despite his limited this play this decade, he deserves the high ranking on the All-Decade team.