Every year, I like to post the full results of the Associated Press voting for the All-Pro team, as the voting numbers are much more valuable than the binary answer to the question of whether or not a player was an All-Pro.
Remember the new rules beginning in 2016: there is no fullback position, but rather a “Flex” spot that goes to a running back, wide receiver, or tight end. This year, 30 of the 50 votes went to a running back, 12 votes went to a wide receiver, and 8 went to a tight end. On both offense and defense there are 11 first-team All-Pros: on offense, it’s five offensive lineman, a quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one flex, and one tight end. On defense, there are 2 first team edge rushers, 2 interior defenders, 3 linebackers, 2 cornerbacks, 2 safeties, and one defensive back.
The voting is wildly inconsistent across positions, as you’ll soon see.
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore, 47; Russell Wilson, Seattle, 3.
Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina, 27; Derrick Henry, Tennessee, 20; Nick Chubb, Cleveland, 2; Dalvin Cook, Minnesota, 1.
Tight End
George Kittle, San Francisco, 33; Travis Kelce, Kansas City, 17.
Wide Receivers
Michael Thomas, New Orleans, 50; DeAndre Hopkins, Houston, 18; Julio Jones, Atlanta, 16; Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay, 14; Kenny Golladay, Detroit, 1; Julian Edelman, New England, 1.
Notes: Julio Jones had 21 votes to the All-Pro team; 16 at WR and 5 at Flex. Hopkins had 18 votes to the All-Pro team, all at wide receiver. And yet it’s Hopkins who makes the All-Pro team, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. More on this in the next section.
Flex
Christian McCaffrey, Carolina, 18; Derrick Henry, Tennessee, 7; Travis Kelce, Kansas City, 6; Julio Jones, Atlanta, 5; Aaron Jones, Green Bay, 3; Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams, 3; Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay, 2; Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers, 1; Dalvin Cook, Minnesota, 1; Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers, 1; Kenny Golladay, Detroit, 1; George Kittle, San Francisco, 1; Darren Waller, Oakland, 1.
Notes: Derrick Henry received a total of 27 votes (20 at RB, 7 at Flex), and he probably should be considered the first-team All-Pro choice at Flex (there’s no need for for McCaffrey to be the first-team pick at both RB and Flex). Alternatively, Kelce (24) and Jones (21 votes) would have been good choices, too. There’s no reason McCaffrey should have been eligible at both, and frankly, it’s pretty clear that McCaffrey is not a “Flex” — whatever that is. The Flex position replaced the Fullback position, a nod to the fact that a slot player is much more critical to NFL teams than a fullback. By that logic, Kupp or Godwin would have been strong choices, given their strong play inside this year.
I still don’t really know what to do with the flex position, and it is abundantly clear that the voters do not.
- In 2016, David Johnson was the runner-up in the voting at RB (with 3 votes) but the first-team choice at Flex.
- In 2017, Le’Veon Bell also had 3 votes and was the runner up at RB, but earned the most votes at Flex.
- In 2018, Tyreek Hill had the 4th-most votes at WR but beat out McCaffrey (who was 4th in the voting at RB) for the Flex spot.
- And now in 2019, McCaffrey got the most votes at both RB and Flex. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Left Tackle
Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore, 42; David Bakhtiari, Green Bay, 5; Terron Armstead, New Orleans, 2; Tyron Smith, Dallas, 1.
Right Tackle
Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans, 30; Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City, 13; Lane Johnson, Philadelphia, 3; Trent Brown, Oakland, 2; La’el Collins, Dallas, 1; Brian O’Neill, Minnesota, 1.
Left Guard
Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis, 44; Joe Thuney, New England, 3; Joel Bitonio, Cleveland, 3;
Right Guard
Zack Martin, Dallas, 24; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore, 16; Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia, 9; David DeCastro, Pittsburgh, 1.
Center
Jason Kelce, Philadelphia, 29; Rodney Hudson, Oakland, 9; Travis Frederick, Dallas, 2; Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh, 4; Ben Jones, Tennessee, 2; Mitch Morse, Buffalo, 2; Ryan Kelly, Indianapolis, 2.
DEFENSE
Edge Rushers
Chandler Jones, Arizona, 32; T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh, 22; Shaquil Barrett, Tampa Bay, 18; Cameron Jordan, New Orleans, 12; Za’Darius Smith, Green Bay, 9; Danielle Hunter, Minnesota, 4; Nick Bosa, San Francisco, 2; Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers, 1.
Notes: Watt also received a whopping 11 votes at linebacker, while Chandler Jones had only two there; the voting between those two was much closer than this implies.
Interior Linemen
Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams, 49; Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh, 23; Grady Jarrett, Atlanta, 11; DeForest Buckner, San Francisco, 7; Chris Jones, Kansas City, 5; Jordan Phillips, Buffalo, 2; Vita Vea, Tampa Bay, 1; Frank Clark, Kansas City, 1; Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia, 1.
Linebackers
Bobby Wagner, Seattle, 32; Demario Davis, New Orleans, 18; Eric Kendricks, Minnesota, 18; Luke Kuechly, Carolina, 17; Darius Leonard, Indianapolis, 11; T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh, 11; Lavonte David, Tampa Bay, 10; Fred Warner, San Francisco, 6; Blake Martinez, Green Bay, 4; D’onta Hightower, New England, 4; Jamie Collins, New England, 3; Kyle Van Noy, New England, 3; Chandler Jones, Arizona, 2; Shaq Barrett, Tampa Bay, 2; Tremaine Edmunds, Buffalo, 2; Anthony Barr, Minnesota, 1; Za’Darius Smith, Green Bay, 1; Von Miller, Denver, 1; Matthew Judon, Baltimore, 1; Jaylon Smith, Dallas, 1; Joe Schobert, Cleveland, 1; Khalil Mack, Chicago, 1.
Notes: Davis and Kendricks each received 18 votes and made the first-team; Kuechly received 17 votes and did not. This is why I prefer to look at the voting numbers and not the binary ‘did he or did he not’ make the All-Pro team. Of course, technically Kuechly is a second-team All-Pro, but for reasons that will be clear in a moment, I don’t give a ton of weight to second-team All-Pro honors. And if the voters knew that Watt was only eligible for the edge rusher spot, how much would that have changed the voting?
Cornerbacks
Stephon Gilmore, New England, 50; Tre’Davious White, Buffalo, 38; Richard Sherman, San Francisco, 10; Marcus Peters, Baltimore, 1; Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans, 1.
Notes: Yes, Peters is technically second-team All-Pro cornerback this year. That’s because he received one vote. For some reason, Lattimore is *not* considered a second-team All-Pro; perhaps they break ties by looking at the Defensive Back voting? More on this in a minute.
Safeties
Jamal Adams, New York Jets, 28; Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh, 27; Justin Simmons, Denver, 9; Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City, 8; Harrison Smith, Minnesota, 7; Kevin Byard, Tennessee, 7; Devin McCourty, New England, 4; Budda Baker, Arizona, 4; Earl Thomas, Seattle, 3; Terrell Edmunds, Pittsburgh, 1; Anthony Harris, Minnesota, 1; Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia, 1.
Notes: Fitzpatrick received 4 votes at DB compared to just 1 for Adams, so Fitzpatrick actually received the most all-pro votes of any safety. I don’t know whether the 3 All-Pro voters who selected Earl Thomas actually thought he played for the Seahawks this year, or if that was a clerical error by the always accurate AP.
Defensive Back
Marcus Peters, Baltimore, 7; Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore, 7; Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City, 7; Richard Sherman, San Francisco, 5; Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh, 4; Logan Ryan, Tennessee, 4; Jonathan Jones, New England, 3; J.C. Jackson, New England, 2; K’Waun Williams, San Francisco, 2; Devin McCourty New England, 2; Chris Harris Jr., Denver, 1; Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans, 1; Tre’Davious White, Buffalo, 1; Kenny Moore, Indianapolis, 1; Justin Simmons, Denver, 1; Tramon Williams, Green Bay, 1; Jamal Adams, New York Jets, 1.
Richard Sherman *should* have been a first-team All-Pro. He received the fifth most votes of any defensive back, and the AP team has five defensive backs on its first team (well, actually, it has 7 this year, because of the silly way it counts votes). Peters, Humphrey and Mathieu each are considered first-team All-Pros because much like with the Flex position on offense, voters don’t know what to do with the Defensive Back position on defense. Why are Peters, Humphrey, and Mathieu All-Pros but Sherman — who received a total of 15 All-Pro votes, more than double each of those three — not? Because voters didn’t know what position to put Sherman at. The table below shows the number of votes for each defensive back.
To the extent people care about second-team All-Pro votes, Broncos safety Justin Simmons should be on the team. And is it less meaningful that Harrison Smith and Kevin Byard got 7 votes at safety and didn’t even make the second-team, while Marlon Humphrey picked up 7 votes at Defensive Back and is the first-team pick? The Associated Press is doing a bad job at selecting its teams, and it’s just one more reason why an AP-centric view to All-Pro voting is bad.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker
Justin Tucker, Baltimore, 34; Josh Lambo, Jacksonville, 11; Wil Lutz, New Orleans, 3; Harrison Butker, Kansas City, 2.
Punter
Brett Kern, Tennessee, 34; Tress Way, Washington, 13; Bryan Anger, Houston, 2; Logan Cooke, Jacksonville, 1.
Kick Returner
Cordarrelle Patterson, Chicago, 39; Mecole Hardman, Kansas City, 4; Deonte Harris, New Orleans, 2; Jamal Agnew, Detroit, 2; Brandon Wilson, Cincinnati, 2; Andre Roberts, Buffalo, 1.
Notes: Patterson is the best kickoff returner of our era, and it is not particularly close.
Punt Returner
Deonte Harris, New Orleans, 29; Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh, 12; Nyheim Hines, Indianapolis, 4; Andre Roberts, Buffalo, 2; Mecole Hardman, Kansas City, 1; Braxton Berrios, New York Jets, 1.
Notes: Hines would have been my choice. He was a one-game wonder, but that’s the nature of punt returns in 2019. Yes, Hines had only 9 returns to 36 for Harris, but Hines gained 281 yards to Harris’s 338. In addition, Harris lost a fumble on a punt return.
Special Teamer
Matthew Slater, New England, 37; J.T. Gray, New Orleans, 3; Cordarrelle Patterson, Chicago, 3; Derek Watt, Los Angeles Chargers, 2; Raheem Mostert, San Francisco, 1; Nate Ebner, New England, 1; Deonte Harris, New Orleans, 1; Tyler Matakevich, Pittsburgh, 1; Cory Littleton, Los Angeles Rams, 1.