AD one of two unanimous All-Pro selections

Apologies if this has been posted already.

NFL All-Pro team announced: 2 players are unanimous, Aaron Rodgers' big win is an MVP precursor

Frank Schwab

Fri, January 8, 2021, 1:12 PM EST

Sometimes people use Pro Bowl and All-Pro interchangeably. They’re not.

The Pro Bowl consists of two full rosters of NFL players, and in normal years it includes replacements too. The All-Pro team voted on by Associated Press voters is the best of the best, one player for each position on a football field. It’s a much more elite group.

And since the same panel that votes for it also votes for MVP, it’s also predictive.

After seeing the results of the voting, any doubt that Aaron Rodgers will win MVP should vanish.

There are 50 AP voters. Rodgers got 46 of the votes at quarterback. Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes got two votes each.

For Allen or Mahomes to win, that means half of the voters who just picked Rodgers as the first-team All-Pro quarterback would have to strangely vote for another quarterback to win MVP. That’s not going to happen.

There was one unanimous pick on offense and one on defense. The offensive player who got all 50 first-place was Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. That’s unsurprising after Kelce broke the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end.

It was surprising Derrick Henry wasn’t a unanimous pick at running back after rushing for 2,000 yards. Alvin Kamara got three votes, Henry got the other 47.

Receiver was a deep field. The second team is impressive: DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Jefferson, Calvin Ridley, DK Metcalf and Cole Beasley. The three receivers who got first-team honors earned it.

The Packers had four players on the first team All-Pro offense. The rough news is that one of them, left tackle David Bakhtiari, is out for the season after tearing his ACL.

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Running back: Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans
Tight end: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Wide receivers: Davante Adams, Green Bay; Stefon Diggs, Buffalo; Tyreek Hill, Kansas City
Left tackle: David Bakhtiari, Green Bay
Right tackle: Jack Conklin, Cleveland
Left guard: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis
Right guard: Brandon Scherff, Washington
Center: Corey Linsley, Green Bay

The only unanimous member of the defensive team is no surprise either. Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald got all 50 votes.

It’s harder to say if that means Donald will take home NFL Defensive Player of the Year, which is decided by AP voters as well. Donald could split votes with players from other positions, like edge rusher T.J. Watt or cornerback Xavien Howard. Unlike MVP, which almost always goes to a quarterback, DPOY isn’t so predictable.

Here is the All-Pro team on defense:

Edge rushers: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Interior linemen: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams; DeForest Buckner, Indianapolis Colts
Linebackers: Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers; Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks; Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Cornerbacks: Xavien Howard, Miami Dolphins; Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams
Safeties: Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City Chiefs; Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers and Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals (tie)

To round out the All-Pro team, here are the specialists:

Placekicker: Jason Sanders, Miami
Punter: Jake Bailey, New England
Kick returner: Cordarrelle Patterson, Chicago
Punt returner: Gunner Olszewski, New England
Special teamer: George Odum, Indianapolis
Long snapper: Morgan Cox, Baltimore



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2021 10:18AM by Suh-weet!.