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: there is no fullback position, but rather a “Flex” spot that goes to a running back, wide receiver, or tight end. This year, 27 of the 50 votes went to a wide receiver, 22 votes went to a running back, 1 went to a fullback, and 0 went to a tight end. On both offense and defense there are 12 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.
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City, 45; Drew Brees, New Orleans, 5.
Running Backs
Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams, 25; Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas, 15; Saquon Barkley, New York Giants, 9; Christian McCaffrey, Carolina, 1.
Tight End
Travis Kelce, Kansas City, 21; George Kittle, San Francisco, 18½; Zach Ertz, Philadelphia, 10½.
Wide Receivers
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston, 46; Michael Thomas, New Orleans, 21; Julio Jones, Atlanta, 17; Tyreek Hill, Kansas City, 6; Davante Adams, Green Bay, 4; Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh, 2; Adam Thielen, Minnesota, 2; Mike Evans, Tampa Bay, 1; JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh, 1.
Flex
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City, 22; Christian McCaffrey, Carolina, 8; Saquon Barkley, New York Giants, 6; Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams, 4; Alvin Kamara, New Orleans, 2; DeAndre Hopkins, Houston, 2; Michael Thomas, New Orleans, 2; Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas, 2; Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams, 1; Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco, 1.
Notes: Julio Jones received 17 votes for the All-Pro wide receiver slot, compared to 6 for Tyreek Hill. Saquon Barkley received 9 votes for the All-Pro running back slot, while Christian McCaffrey received just 1 vote. And yet it is Hill that beat out Jones (who received 0 votes) for the Flex spot, while McCaffrey is technically a second-team All-Pro here (Barkley is a second-team All-Pro at running back).
I don’t think the All-Pro voters thought that Hill had a better year than Jones, but because of the way the votes were cast, Hill makes the first-team and Jones does not. And what about Kittle, who had 18.5 votes at tight end: was he more deserving a first-team vote than Hill?
Left Tackle
David Bakhtiari, Green Bay, 19; Terron Armstead, New Orleans, 7; Duane Brown, Seattle, 7; Andrew Whitworth, Los Angeles Rams, 6; Taylor Lewan, Tennessee, 4; Tyron Smith, Dallas, 4; Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore, 2; Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh, 1.
Left Guards
Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis, 31; Joel Bitonio, Cleveland, 12; Rodger Saffold, Los Angeles Rams, 2; Joe Thuney, New England, 2; David DeCastro, Pittsburgh, 2; Andrus Peat, New Orleans, 1.
Center
Jason Kelce, Philadelphia, 28; Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh, 10; Cody Whitehair Chicago, 3; Max Unger, New Orleans, 3; Mike Pouncey, Los Angeles Chargers, 2; Alex Mack, Atlanta, 2; Rodney Hudson, Oakland, 2.
Right Guard
Zack Martin, Dallas, 23; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore, 14; David DeCastro, Pittsburgh, 7; Shaq Mason, New England, 4; Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia, 2.
Right Tackle
Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City, 26; Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans, 16; Lane Johnson, Philadelphia, 5; Rob Havenstein, Los Angeles Rams, 3.
Notes:On the offensive line, breaking this down by position has probably led to better voting than the old days when two left tackles were almost always chosen.
Let’s get to the defense…
Edge Rushers
Khalil Mack, Chicago, 43; J.J. Watt, Houston, 32; Von Miller, Denver, 12; Cameron Jordan, New Orleans, 3; Danielle Hunter, Minnesota, 3; Myles Garrett, Cleveland, 3; Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas, 2; Dee Ford, Kansas City, 1; Jadeveon Clowney, Houston, 1.
Interior Linemen
Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams, 50; Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia, 19; Chris Jones, Kansas City, 14; J.J. Watt, Houston, 10; Akiem Hicks, Chicago, 4; DeForest Buckner, San Francisco, 2, Jurrell Casey, Tennessee, 1.
Notes: Watt recieved 32 votes at edge rusher and 10 on the interior line; as a result, Watt actually is a first-team All-Pro at edge rusher and a second-team All-Pro on the interior line. If Watt was considered an interior lineman, Von Miller would be a first-team All-Pro (and who knows how the rest of the voting would have gone); had Watt been only eligible as an edge rusher, Akiem Hicks likely becomes a second-team All-Pro.
Linebackers
Bobby Wagner, Seattle, 49; Luke Kuechly, Carolina, 33; Darius Leonard, Indianapolis, 31; Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas, 13; Von Miller, Denver, 7; C.J. Mosley, Baltimore, 6; Khalil Mack, Chicago, 4; Jaylon Smith, Dallas, 2; Danny Trevathan, Chicago, 1; Anthony Barr, Minnesota, 1; Benardrick McKinney, Houston, 1; Eric Kendricks, Minnesota, 1; Roquan Smith, Chicago, 1.
Notes: Von Miller and Khalil Mack both received votes here and at edge rusher; in fact, Miller is a second-team selection at linebacker, which doesn’t make much sense.
Cornerbacks
Kyle Fuller, Chicago, 27; Stephon Gilmore, New England, 26; Byron Jones, Dallas, 17; Xavien Howard, Miami, 12; Patrick Peterson, Arizona, 9; Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville, 4; Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans, 3; Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers, 2.
Safeties
Eddie Jackson, Chicago, 37; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers, 27; Jamal Adams, New York Jets, 24; Harrison Smith, Minnesota, 6; Kevin Byard, Tennessee, 3; Eric Weddle, Baltimore, 2; Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia, 1.
Notes: Jets safety Jamal Adams has the most first-team votes of any player who wasn’t a first-team All-Pro selection. He arguably should have been the first-team choice at defensive back, but the voting there was all over the map…
Defensive Back
Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers, 16; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers, 5; Chris Harris Jr., Denver, 4; Bryce Callahan, Chicago, 4; Eddie Jackson, Chicago, 3; Byron Jones, Dallas, 3; Kareem Jackson, Houston, 3; Kyle Fuller, Chicago, 2; Minkah Fitzpatrick, Miami, 2; Jamal Adams, New York Jets, 2; Tyrann Mathieu, Houston, 2; Jaire Alexander, Green Bay, 1; Stephon Gilmore, New England, 1; Kevin Byard, Tennessee, 1; Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville, 1.
Notes: King didn’t get many votes at cornerback, but received a lot of votes here. His Chargers teammate was the runner-up choice, which is tough to reconcile: he is a first-team All-Pro safety and a second-team All-Pro defensive back.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker
Justin Tucker, Baltimore, 23; Aldrick Rosas, New York Giants, 14; Robbie Gould, San Francisco, 6; Jason Myers, New York Jets, 4; Wil Lutz, New Orleans, 2; Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston, 1.
Punter
Michael Dickson, Seattle, 18; Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams, 10; Brett Kern, Tennessee, 9; Thomas Morstead, New Orleans, 5; Andy Lee, Arizona, 5; Tress Way, Washington, 3.
Kickoff Returner
Andre Roberts, New York Jets, 45; Cordarrelle Patterson, New England, 2; Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers, 1; Alex Erickson, Cincinnati, 1; Darius Jennings, Tennessee, 1.
Punt Returner
Tarik Cohen, Chicago, 19; Desmond King, Los Angeles Chargers, 12; Andre Roberts, New York Jets, 11; Dwayne Harris, Oakland, 6, Jakeem Grant, Miami, 2.
Special Teamer
Adrian Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers, 16; Cory Littleton, Los Angeles Rams, 15; Tyreek Hill, Kansas City, 6; Dwayne Harris, Oakland, 6; Matthew Slater, New England, 4; Albert McClellan, New England, 1; Johnson Bademosi, Houston, 1; Kevin Pierre-Louis, New York Jets, 1.
Notes: A tough break for Littleton, who lost out on the All-Pro team by one vote to Phillips. As for Tyreek Hill, you might wonder how he picked up 6 votes despite barely playing special teams (he had just 52 snaps). Well, it turns out those votes were a “clerical error” and intended to go to Saints special teams ace Taysom Hill, who did play 343 snaps on special teams this season. That’s all you need to know about how much thought goes into the voting.