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Kyusung Gong / Associated Press
The Associated Press released its NFL All-Pro roster on Friday.
And while there is generally less to complain about on this occasion compared to the launch of the Pro Bowl lists, there were some surprises and criticisms that are worth highlighting, examining and / or criticizing.
Here are the winners and losers of the ad.
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Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
Each of the last seven All-Pro quarterbacks has also won an MVP. In this case, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers now looks like an MVP lock after receiving 46 out of 50 All-Pro votes. (Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes received two votes each.)
With an unrealistic 48 to 5 touchdown-to-intercept rate, Rodgers posted the second highest passer rating (121.5) in NFL history – behind his own 122.5 in 2011. Now, he will almost certainly join Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Jim Brown, Brett Favre and Johnny Unitas in the exclusive club of three MVPs.
It’s an incredible turnaround for the 37-year-old, who hasn’t been particularly good in recent seasons and hasn’t been an All-Pro (not even a second player) since 2014.
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Justin Edmonds / Associated Press
Denver Broncos security Justin Simmons was the only player to intercept five more passes and register 90 tackles. He made a great move after a great move in a season that was more impactful than his 2019 All-Pro campaign.
Even so, the 27-year-old received only six votes, so he was left out of both teams.
Owners Tyrann Mathieu of Kansas City Chiefs, Minkah Fitzpatrick of Pittsburgh Steelers and Budda Baker of Arizona Cardinals made many important plays, but second holder Jamal Adams lost four games and did not stand out in the race pass for the Seattle Seahawks.
Simmons had a much more significant impact than Adams (who had four takeaways less), Baker (three choices less) and the other runners-up Jessie Bates III of the Cincinnati Bengals and Adrian Amos of the Packers (metrics of significantly more approximate value) low). He was robbed.
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Justin Edmonds / Associated Press
Meanwhile, the only Broncos player to earn All-Pro recognition did not live up to the hype as a first round pick in 2017 until he finally exploded with a stellar season as Denver’s left tackle in 2020.
In the last off-season, the team refused Garett Bolles’ fifth year option for 2021. But he responded by posting the third best Pro Football Focus pass blocking degree for a tackle. Despite the lack of continuity and production elsewhere in the attack, he did not deliver a single bag.
This more than makes up for the fact that the 28-year-old was scorned by the Pro Bowl last month.
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Jeff Haynes / Associated Press
Only Tennessee Titans All-Pro Derrick Henry – who accumulated 2,027 yards – averaged more run yards per game than the Minnesota Vikings’ Dalvin Cook. The 25-year-old posted 111.2, while no other player on the NFC reached 80.0.
But as Henry set up one of the most productive seasons in history, while New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara scored 21 touchdowns, the league record, Cook did not receive a single vote.
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Reed Hoffmann / Associated Press
Los Angeles Rams striker Aaron Donald and Chiefs Travis Kelce’s tight end were the only unanimous All-Pros.
Donald has a chance for his third Defensive Player of the Year award after a campaign with 13.5 sacks and four forced fumbles, while Kelce qualified in the top five in receptions (fifth, 105), receiving yards (second, 1,416) and touchdown receptions (tied for fifth, 11). He became the first tight end to eclipse 1,400 yards while winning his third All-Pro prize.
Donald became the 13th player to receive six All-Pro nods before turning 30.
Now, we’ll see if they also win the Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year. Donald is in a close contest with Steelers All-Pro defender TJ Watt (who received 47 votes), while Kelce will struggle to beat Aaron Rodgers (46) and Derrick Henry (47).
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Jack Dempsey / Associated Press
As Travis Kelce won all 50 votes in the tight end, the second team slot was vacant. This is a shame, because if the Associated Press used the Edge count (voting by choice of classification like Major League Baseball), Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller could have received 50 second place votes.
Instead, the 28-year-old failed to earn All-Pro recognition for a remarkable season in which he picked up more passes than Kelce (107 to 105) and qualified in the top 10 with 1,196 reception yards and nine touchdown shots. .
Nobody made a mistake because Kelce had a historically good season, but you almost wish a voter had chosen Waller just because he had one of the most productive seasons in league history for a tight end (only two tight end managed to get more passes in a year ).
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Zach Bolinger / Associated Press
Four Green Bay players – quarterback Aaron Rodgers, wide receiver Davante Adams, left tackle David Bakhtiari and center pivot Corey Linsley – took 36.4% of the spots in the All-Pro attack. The Packers also had two second-team defenders, top scorer Za’Darius Smith and cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Meanwhile, four Indianapolis Colts – left guard Quenton Nelson, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, linebacker Darius Leonard and special player George Odum – formed the starting lineup. The Colts also had two second team players (pivot Ryan Kelly and long snapper Luke Rhodes), giving Green Bay and Indianapolis a combination of 12 All-Pros.
In addition, Packers safety Adrian Amos and Colts right wing Braden Smith also received votes.
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Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press
Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander chose the wrong year to have an excellent season, at least when it comes to All-Pro credits.
While the 23-year-old won a second-team nod after yielding just 4.7 yards per target, he was in the background for Xavien Howard of the Miami Dolphins and Jalen Ramsey of the Rams.
This is a case where one of the three would be neglected. All were elite closing corners, and Howard would have been hard to deny after becoming the first player to intercept 10 passes in a season since Antonio Cromartie did in 2007.
But Alexander had slightly better coverage numbers than Ramsey: fewer yards allowed per target (4.7 to 5.0), a lower passer rating (67.4 to 68.6) and the same number of allowed touchdowns (two). And he was the highest rated corner in the league in Focus on professional football.
It is fair to imagine whether Ramsey’s name gave him an advantage, as he received seven more votes than the lesser known Alexander.