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BY IRA KAUFMAN

The Pro Football Hall of Fame sent me an advisory this week regarding voting for the NFL’s All-Decade team.

The Hall’s 48 selectors will soon receive ballots listing the most dominant players at their positions from 2010-2019. The announcement is expected to be made in April, close to when the 2020 league schedule is revealed.

Making an All-Decade team is a heck of a distinction. Warren Sapp was so disruptive, he was chosen at defensive tackle for both the 1990s and the 2000s squads.

I noted Sapp’s rare accomplishment during my 2013 presentation for him as a Hall of Fame candidate. Making an All-Decade team is a powerful argument for any player’s credentials for a gold jacket, but the subject has also emerged in a negative sense.

Once upon a time in Hawaii … Bucs Gerald McCoy and Darrelle Revis

John Lynch didn’t make an All-Decade team and he has watched in recent years as fellow safeties Brian Dawkins, Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu and Steve Atwater flew past him into Canton.

And while every All-Decade honor should carry weight, let’s not get carried away. Not every player’s career fits neatly into a single inflexible 10-year frame.

For instance, Lynch became a starter in 1996, Tony Dungy’s first year in Tampa, and he retired following his 2007 season in Denver. If the All-Decade team covered the years 1996-2005, Lynch would be an easy selection.

Jamal Lewis, an All-Decade running back of the 2000s, has never even been a Hall of Fame finalist while Marshall Faulk, who never made an All-Decade team, was justifiably named a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

So now we approach the next All-Decade team, realizing the Bucs have some legitimate candidates, despite their 12-year playoff drought. The protocol could change, but traditionally there have been four spots for defensive end, four slots for defensive tackle and six at the linebacker position.

Three Potential Bucs

Forget about any Buc offensive player cracking this lineup, even though Mike Evans is on a Hall of Fame trajectory. Evans was drafted in 2014, so he missed the first four years of the decade in question.

Lavonte David, before the Bucs made him wear clown uniforms. Is David an All-Decade linebacker?

That leaves Lavonte David, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh as viable candidates for the next All-Decade class.

Can David join the group of six linebackers? Maybe. He’s been durable and productive since joining Tampa Bay in 2012, but David has earned only one Pro Bowl designation.

That will hurt his case among voters who didn’t see David fly around the field on a regular basis.

The locks at linebacker figure to be Luke Kuechly, Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Terrell Suggs. That leaves David fighting for one spot, competing against the likes of Patrick Willis and Justin Houston.

And while Willis retired in 2015, he made four Pro Bowls in the decade, along with three first-team All-Pro honors. Houston averaged 10 sacks per season and earned four Pro Bowl berths.

Pierre-Paul also faces stiff competition at defensive end, where J.J. Watt is an automatic choice. Then you’ve got Calais Campbell, Cameron Wake and Julius Peppers to contend with, but JPP answers loudly with 79.5 sacks, 112 tackles for loss and 145 QB hits in the decade.

The Real McCoy

At defensive tackle, I like Suh’s chances to make the final four.

Aaron Donald is the standard bearer, of course, followed by Geno Atkins and Fletcher Cox. It would be appropriate if the final spot came down to either Suh or Gerald McCoy — linked together since they were chosen one pick apart near the top of the 2010 draft.

In that case, my vote goes to Suh, a more physical presence in the trenches. Suh could be playing for his fifth different team this fall, but he just helped Tampa Bay lead the NFL in rushing defense.

That’s a once-in-a-decade moment, for sure.

Ira with his good friend Sean Sullivan, GM of Bill Currie Ford. Sean is giving all Bucs fans a special Ira/JoeBucsFan discount, and he personally help you meet your vehicle needs (and talk Bucs).