While most all pro teams have preset slots to fill, mine are more amorphous. In a season with several standouts at a position and few at another, I may allow for more players at the deep position and fewer at the shallow. Last year, my offense featured two backs, three wide receivers, and two tight ends. This year, it didn’t make much sense to have more than one back or tight end. Question my rationale if you like, but it’s my team, and I’ll do as I please. (Also, unlike the AP/SN/PFWA teams, players don’t have bonuses tied to my squad, and this ultimately doesn’t really matter). Enough with the expository applesauce. On to the picks.

The All Pro Chart

Normally, I’d explain how to read the chart, but I think it’s self-evident in this case.

All Pro Offense

Quarterback

Rodgers was the pretty obvious pick for first team quarterback and, as such, the MVP award. However, if you think the sheer workload of Mahomes makes him more valuable, I wouldn’t call you crazy. Rodgers led the league in touchdowns while sporting a scoring percentage straight out of the forties, and he joined Peyton Manning (2013) and Tom Brady (2007) as the only players in history with at least 40 more touchdowns than interceptions in a season. In his second season under LaFleur, Rodgers lifted his YPA from the gutter and posted his sixth season above 8.0. Throw in a career high 70.7% completion rate, and you get a passer rating that comfortably led the league and trailed only his own 2011 campaign among all passing seasons. ^[2]For those who still care about TAY/P, he led the league in that too. His 2.62 TAY/P above average ranks 39th among all quarterback seasons with 300 or more plays, while his TAYP+ ranks 18th among … Continue reading Advanced stats also loved him: he led the league in passing DVOA, EPA/P, CPOE, and Total QBR; he ranked second in success rate ^[3]Behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, who had significantly fewer attempts.; and he ranked third in NGS +/-. If you prefer subjective charting stats, Rodgers topped the charts in PFF’s passing and offensive grades as well. ^[4]In fact, his offensive grade of 95.1 led all players at all positions—including the phenom Aaron Donald.

Mahomes continued his nigh-unprecedented string of early career greatness, overcoming injuries to himself and his teammates to post his third straight season over 8.00 ANY/A (and passer rating over 105.0). The wunderkind has set the mark so high that a 14-1 record and a 16-game pace of 40+ touchdowns and 5000+ yards seems ho hum. His performances in the first two playoff rounds demonstrated his typical excellence, while his statistical collapse in the Super Bowl stood out as a heroic individual effort that I would describe as a Mellish surrounded by a team full of Uphams.

Josh Allen was a delightful surprise in a pretty damned awful year. In his first two seasons, he was basically an upgraded Tebow without all the goofy baggage. This year, he did was many thought was impossible by improving his accuracy significantly. Whereas many with accuracy issues have labored in vain to correct their mechanics, Allen’s hard work actually seemed to have paid off, with evident changes from his feet to his shoulders. This resulted in nearly a 70% completion rate, made all the more impressive by his decreased sack rate. As an analytics guy, it’s natural to be skeptical of these huge single-season improvements, but I mean it earnestly when I say I hope Allen can maintain this level of play for years to come. Wishing for someone to fail just so you can confirm your priors doesn’t make you smart or contrarian. It makes you an asshole.

Running Back

Unless you are married to the notion that receiving backs are always superior, bar none, the top spot this season was fairly obvious. Henry led the second place rusher by 470 yards in the regular season and did so while boasting an impressive 5.4 yards per tote. Sure, he may not have been quite as effective as someone like Nick Chubb on a per-carry basis, but he was able to maintain a high level of production over a number of carries only DeMarco Murray has matched since the halcyon days of the bell cow back. Henry isn’t much of a receiver, which means he is necessarily not as valuable as a good receiving back. The fact that he is so good at running the ball may make him less valuable to his team because his talent convinces his coaches to call more -EV plays rather than letting a reborn Ryan Tannehill take more shots. However, I am not going to hold coaching decisions against him, and I am choosing to recognize clear talent when it’s right in front of my face.

Backs in the mold of Kamara are—and long have been—more valuable, if only because of how their coaches use them. Passes are generally higher output options than are runs, and backs tend to catch passes in space with room to maneuver, whereas they usually have to navigate a crowd immediately after taking a handoff. Kamara doesn’t strike me as a back who just happens to be in a favorable role. He has tremendous balance and pad level that allow him to make the most of his touches. The versatile back ranked third in rushing DVOA, and he managed to lead all backs in receiving DYAR despite four starts from New Orleans Tebow.

Cook may be the best back in football, and a full healthy season may be all he needs to get a first team nod. He isn’t big, but he is compact and runs with suddenness, causing defenders to bounce off him like a latter day MJD. Only Henry forced more missed tackles this year, and the Titan did it with two more games worth of touches. Blessed with uncommon vision, he is often able to create yardage where his blockers haven’t done the job.

Wide Receiver

Wideout was a deep pool this year, and I believe there were five guys worthy of a first team selection ^[5]Here, I am including the slot receiver spot as one of the first team receiver spots.. Pro Football Focus’s Plus-Minus measured Adams with the most valuable receiving season in the last 15 years. His route-running has been phenomenal for years, and his overall production has steadily increased as he has built great rapport with a notoriously moody quarterback. In his second season in a new system, he and Rodgers teamed up to produce the third highest receiving touchdown total in history. Diggs helped transform the Buffalo offense while leading the league in catches and yards. His open field quickness makes him a nightmare for defensive backs both before and after the catch.

Composing the second team are a youngblood and a guy who has already staked his claim as one of the great receivers in history. Despite being used in a strangely limited way for his skillset, Nuk Hopkins continued to thrive for a new team. He is a technically sound route-runner who can get open with aplomb, and he has the tracking ability and catch radius to win contested balls on the off chance he didn’t separate on his route. Hopkins has also taken the “best hands in the business” title from Larry Fitzgerald and shows no signs of relinquishing it soon. Jefferson is just 21 years old and is already one of the top receivers in the land. His 1400 yards were good for fourth in the league, and his 15.9 receiving average is evidence of his ability to take big chunks out of defenses. No receiver with a higher average was within 20 catches of his 88.

Brown is a receiver who plays like a running back with the ball in his hands. He missed some games and played on a low volume offense, so his numbers don’t stand out as impressive. But when you watch him play, you see a guy who could be a household name in Dallas or Pittsburgh. Brown reminds me of a young Terrell Owens without the insane behavior. Robinson has been a high caliber player for his entire career, but his numbers have suffered from playing with a who’s who of who cares at the quarterback position. He’s a big man with superb body control who has made a habit of negating the inaccuracy of the passes coming his way.

Slot Receiver

While writers like Peter King chose to honor a pure slot receiver (for understandable reasons), I approached it differently. From the perspective of who I would want on the field were I an offensive coordinator. Rather than going with a pure slot guy, I looked at how all receivers performed in the slot—among those who spent a reasonable amount of time there—regardless of their role in the larger scheme of the offense. For this reason, I went with Reek Hill. A poor man’s Bob Hayes, he is a threat to score on any possession. Reek is as dangerous on the field as he is off the field.

Beasley fills the little white guy archetype for the slot role. He ranked second in the league in snaps from the slot, and he led all receivers in yards and yards per route run from the slot. The fella was always open, and he rarely let a pass slip through his hands. Scary Terry produced in spite of one of the worst quarterback situations in the league. Haskins was awful, and despite the lovely comeback story, Smith was also pretty bad. Among all receivers with at least 200 snaps from the slot, his 2.19 YPRR topped the league. He was a handful after the catch and did an amazing job picking up yardage through contact.

Tight End

From a pure receiving standpoint, Kelce may be the best ever at his position. He is also an underrated blocker, and I can only assume those who knock his blocking just look at his numbers and just assume he blocks like Kellen Winslow. You should probably watch games, I think. His route running is beautiful and arguably represents another step in the evolution of the tight end role. There have been quality technicians before, but Kelce has mastered routes in a way previously unseen from tight ends. His hands are typically reliable, and his ability after the catch should terrify secondaries. If you like numbers, Kelce ranked second among all receivers in yardage (third in yards per game), breaking the single season record for TEs and claiming two of the top three spots.

Early on, it looked like Kelce would lap the field. But Waller came on incredibly strong at the end, with 654 yards and four scores in the last five games. He may not be quite on the level of Kelce, but it is fair to mention that he is the top receiving threat on a team with a mediocre quarterback and little quality or depth on the outside. Hockensen gets the third spot almost by default. I would have much rather featured D.K. Metcalf , Calvin Ridley, or D.J. Moore. Heck, I’d prefer teammate Taylor Decker if we are just talking about quality of play. But I figured at fast and loose as I am with the rules, I wanted to have some semblance of order. So Hockensen takes advantage of injuries to George Kittle and Mark Andrews to make the team.

Left Tackle

After leaving the Washington dumpster fire, Williams—one of the best ever to hold down the blindside—found himself back in the Shanahan system where he laid the foundations of his legacy. He was his typical self, playing well in pass pro and dominating the line of scrimmage on rushing plays. Williams possesses a rare combination of strength and finesse that allows him to play with power from a variety of angles.

Bolles has been a solid player for years, but he took it to another level in 2020. Sacks and pressures are largely QB stats, but allowing no sacks and just 13 pressures in a season is nevertheless impressive for a left tackle. Bakhtiari remains the premier pass protector in the league, and his injury was the only thing that kept him from a coin flip with Williams for the first team nod. Another year in LaFleur’s system should see Rodgers get the ball out faster and with more confidence, which should make life easier on—and augment the reputation of—the stellar Packers line.

Left Guard

Bitonio has been excellent since jump street, often busting ass fruitlessly for hapless passers. He has been a decent run blocker and a great pass blocker throughout his career, and the marriage of Stefanski and Mayfield should see the standout guard receiver more national praise.

Six years into his career, Marpet has now excelled at every position along the interior offensive line. The addition of Tom Brady meant all eyes on Tampa Bay this season, and the athletic young guard shined in the national spotlight. Nelson began his career as an overhyped highlight reel blocker before becoming a full-fledged superstar in year two. In his third season, he has continued to show he can make the consistent, every-down blocks necessary to sustain success, as well as the mauling blocks that made him famous.

Center

Center was a hard position to pick because there were many very good ones this year but no truly great ones. Maybe recent seasons from guys like Mangold, Kelce, Frederick, and Hudson have spoiled me. Since entering the league, Linsley has teamed with names like Bakhtiari, Sitton, Bulaga, and Lang to provide his quarterback with the most consistently excellent pass blocking line in the league. This year’s results were no different, but the pivot man upped his game in the run blocking department en route to the best individual season of his career.

Ragnow is a tough as nails throwback type who takes care of business in the run game and handles his own against the pass rush. Playing with a broken neck isn’t advisable, but it’s still pretty impressive. I’ve been on the Tretter bandwagon since his time in Green Bay, but he has taken his play to a higher level since joining the Browns. He remains one of the most consistently superior pass blocking centers in the game.

Right Guard

Lindstrom is a babyfaced assassin with an attitude that harkens back to the likes of Tom Nalen. He played in a division full of solid defensive interiors but still managed to excel protecting an aging pocket passer (outside of a rough outing against Chris Jones) and create movement on the ground.

Teller was probably the best of the John Hannah run blocking types this year, and his unexpected jump in performance was one of the bright spots of the season. Martin has put enough on tape that he should already be in the Hall of Fame conversation. This season, he brought his typical excellence in the run game but didn’t display his vintage prowess in pass pro. A move to right tackle compounded matters, and an injury that limited him to just 10 games all but guaranteed he wouldn’t get first team love.

Right Tackle

Conklin gets the first team selection because I insisted on being faithful to keeping left and right tackles separate. Were the pool expanded to all tackles, he would be lucky to get an honorable mention. Guys like D.J. Humphries, Terron Armstead, and Duane Brown were too impressive this year. Arriving in Cleveland this year, Conklin helped shore up a line that has long featured quality players but rarely stood before a passer worth protecting. With a promising QB looking to get back on track in a new system, the Browns finally have something worth fighting for. Conklin was solid, if unspectacular, in all phases of the game. Watching Nick Chubb get into the open field off a Teller-Conklin double was a thing of beauty.

Wirfs nearly took over the top spot after a superb performance in the Super Bowl. To have that kind of immediate impact as a rookie tackle is incredible. Playing in front of a quarterback with one of the most efficient and decisive minds the game has seen certainly helped the young star look good, but he was more than just the product of a legendary passer. On plays when coverage held up and forced Brady to hold the ball longer than he wanted, Wirfs held firm. Moton has been consistently good in pass protection for his whole career, earning an honorable mention on my 2019 all pro squad. This season saw him find more success on the ground, but it wasn’t enough to earn more than a second honorable mention.

All Pro Defense

Edge Defender

Pools of black and yellow tears flooded the internet when Watt didn’t win the AP’s DPOY award. While the sterling edge rusher was productive and consistent enough to get my first team nod, I’m not particularly bothered with the perceived snub. He makes the most of his opportunities, which is all you can ask from a defender, but he also benefits quite a lot from a system that occupies blockers and frees him up to make plays. ^[6]I feel similarly about Shaquil Barrett, who you may notice didn’t make the team. I recall the 2006 season, when Jason Taylor and Shawne Merriman were blowing up offenses. Many were calling for the youngster to win the award on account of his higher sack and stop total. However, studying the games made it clear Merriman was schemed to see one blocker, sometimes just a tight end, or even run free to the passer. In a less creative defense, Taylor consistently beat at least one man on his way to the backfield. I called many off Merriman’s sacks “Wade Phillips sacks,” while Taylor’s were “skill sacks.” I think of Watt and Garrett similarly. The Cleveland star was the best edge rusher in the league before getting banged up, and he did much of his damage without the benefit of well-schemed pressure. In my view, Garrett was the best edge defender when it came to actually beating the man in front of him.

Mack didn’t have gaudy numbers this season, but his play was as good as it has ever been. He remains among the best in the NFL at ruining protection, and he is the best there is against the run. Young had the unfortunate luck to begin his pro career playing for a dysfunctional franchise with a weirdo owner, but he came in and shined right away. An injury slowed him down a little, but slowed down for Young is still pretty damned fast for most. With his play and leadership, he became a fairly rare rookie captain.

It was a bit of a down year for Jordan, but I still think he played well enough for an honorable mention. Too many games with inferior quarterbacking meant he saw fewer pass rush opportunities than normal, but he was about as good as normal in that area. He also returned to form against the run. The elder Watt isn’t the inner circle HOF talent he once was, but he hasn’t fallen far enough from the top to stop being a tremendous player. No one on the edge saw more double teams. Despite that, he won pass rush snaps at the eighth highest rate and run snaps at the sixth highest rate among all edge defenders. ^[7]By ESPN’s pass rush and run stop win rate metrics. The old dog can still hunt. ^[8]If Joey Bosa can stay healthy, I wouldn’t be surprised for him and Brian Burns to show up on my all pro squad in the near future.

Interior Defender

As a historian/researcher/whatever, I have spent countless hours gobbling up as much tape as I could find on monsters like Nomellini, Lilly, Greene, Page, Olsen, White, Randle, Young, Sapp, and Williams. I’ve studied shooting stars whose transcendent primes just didn’t last long enough, such as Sherk, Elam, Brown, Haynesworth, Krumrie, and Millard. I can say without hyperbole that Donald is the best I have ever witnessed. He is the quickest off the ball since Sam Adams, has the best arsenal of moves in history, and is rivaled as a pass rusher only by Alan Page. His production and reputation are such that he faces a higher rate of doubles than anyone in the league and still gets to passers so frequently that pundits have resorted to comparing his numbers to those of edge rushers. Despite a scheme change that required him to dial back his wanton fury, the Hall of Famer still took up residence in opposing backfields. Buckner is the best of the rest, a towering figure who manages to play with uncanny leverage to control the line of scrimmage. When you consider the discipline it takes to stand 3-4 inches taller than most guards and still avoid letting them under his pads, you really have to marvel at his ability to play with such speed and fluidity.

Jones is a menacing pass rusher who is fine—but not great—against the run. His skillset is suited for the Chiefs, as the Reid-Mahomes combo tends to score often and put pressure on opponents to pass more often. Heyward is a sound defender in all facets of line play. He can get after the passer, hold his own against the run, or free up a linebacker to make a play in the backfield. Heyward and Tuitt certainly make life easier for Pittsburgh edge rushers.

Williams moved all around the line and was disruptive from any technique coaches asked him to play. Generally a stout run defenders, he picked up the pace as a pass rusher this year. Having Tuitt and Heyward together with Watt is almost unfair. His versatility allows him to play inside the guard to outside the tackle and cause havoc regardless. ^[9]Look for Vita Vea to make his presence felt on the team next year, provided he stays healthy.

Linebacker

Warner looked like the future of the position last year, and he cemented it after a lights out performance in 2020. After losing superduperstar Patrick Willis and heir apparent NaVorro Bowman, the void in the middle of the 49er defense was huge. Warner has taken the mantle as the Bay Area’s defensive leader. He makes plays all over the field, and he is a stud in coverage—no mean feat with increased used of play action exploiting linebackers in coverage more than ever. David has played at a gold jacket level since he entered the league, and he has earned one trip to the Pro Bowl and a single first team all pro nod for his efforts. He can attack the line of scrimmage like Seau and his cover skills are reminiscent of another Tampa Bay legend. Coverage ability is difficult to quantify, and per-target metrics are only good at telling us what happened on a small percentage of plays, but you can turn on any Bucs game from this season (or nearly any game since 2012) and see David’s ability to keep receivers in front of him so he can limit yardage after the catch and prevent big plays. He also has great ball skills for a linebacker and led all backers in pass breakups.

Smith can cover, rush the passer, and makes plays against the run and short pass sideline to sideline. In fact, there was perhaps no backer who did a better job than Smith covering running backs out of the backfield. Wagner is a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest middle linebackers in history. Even in a down year for him, he is among the top players at the position. He is a tackling machine and, despite having lost a step in coverage, remains one of the better cover backers in the game.

White plays at a frenetic pace, hits hard, and seems to be in two places at once. Despite his stature, he’s an old school thumper type who is always moving forward and crushing everything in front of him. He is still figuring it out in coverage, and when it finally clicks, he’s going to be a perennial all pro. Leonard didn’t have a pick this year, but he remains a playmaker. It is a shame he suffered an injury that caused him to both miss time and appear limited upon return, because he started the season on fire before cooling considerably down the stretch. The Leonard of the first quarter of the season would have gotten a first team nod.

Cornerback

Talking about cornerback performance is tricky, because, honestly, how many different ways can you say “this guy covered well” before you sound like that kid who cribbed from the thesaurus without actually knowing what the words meant? All nine of the players on the list were superb in coverage. Some shined more in man, while others shined more in zone. Most were good in both areas. So were many players who didn’t make the cut, like Jason Verrett, Kenny Moore, Xavier Rhodes, and Kyle Fuller. Without fully knowing play calls and responsibilities, picking corners can come down to best guesses and preferences. Below are my preferred best guesses.

Alexander has looked like a star since his debut. This year, only Ramsey and Jason McCourty allowed receptions at a lower rate, and no one yielded fewer yards per snap in coverage. He broke up a ton of passes, didn’t allow a catch longer than 32 yards, and was penalized just once. Howard has always been a ball hawk, but this is a first season I felt like he married his playmaking ability with consistent coverage. If he can keep up the turnovers without suffering the lapses that he had in previous years, he may soon take the crown as the best corner in the league. Ramsey is the prototype corner with the length to erase big receivers and the swagger to avoid getting too discouraged over failures. Playing behind a great front seven (again) and in a talented secondary (again again) gave him the chance to remind everyone why people used to think he was the best. While he wasn’t a slot guy, per se, he did play plenty of snaps in the slot and was effective there.

White has been in the conversation for best corner since day one, and his consistency at a position defined by inconsistency is remarkable. He is still the best zone cover man in the land, which is serves him well given that is the call for the majority of defensive snaps. Williams, the other Rams corner, was also terrific this year. If you want to have a great defense in the modern game, having just one good cornerback isn’t going to do the trick. Williams gave LA the ability to succeed on defense on plays when passers shied away from Ramsey. Humphrey is a versatile player who can play against outside receivers and is lights out in the slot. He can also dog the passer and force fumbles better than just about anyone at the position.

Bradberry allowed 0.75 yards per snap in coverage. Among players with as many snaps as his 607, only Ramsey bested that efficiency. Callahan may seem like a bogus pick, given how few games he played this season, but when he was healthy there wasn’t a better slot defender on the planet. The brevity of his campaign cost him a shot at a first team nod, but he is certainly worth of an honorable mention. Jones isn’t the New England corner with the flashy interception totals, but I believe he was the more consistent player this year. He didn’t allow a catch longer than 35 yards, and he was much more active against the run.

Safety

Simmons may be the best all-around safety in the league. He tends to play deep, where he eliminates big plays and displays his natural ball skills. However, he can also make plays around the line, whether it’s putting pressure on passers or supporting the run. Mathieu is the playmaker and defensive leader he has always been. He has myriad responsibilities, from covering deep, to playing a de facto linebacker role, to serving as a slot corner, and he generally excels in all areas. Anecdotally, Mathieu also seems to elevate the play of those around him.

Amos has been good to great his entire career, and a move to Green Bay in 2019 didn’t change that. It was a bit of an off year for him against the run, but he appeared to play more soundly in coverage than ever. Bates was the AP’s second team all pro and was graded as the top safety in the league by Pro Football Focus. As a pure free safety in the jack Christiansen mold, he had a nose for the football and rarely allowed big plays.

Johnson floats from strong to free to linebacker to slot corner seamlessly, depending on what the alignment warrants. The Rams defense would still be pretty good without him, but his versatility allows them to use much more creativity in how they attack or defend offenses. Baker is similar to Mathieu in his ability to do it all, and he is particularly adept at flying toward the line of scrimmage like a heat seeking missile.

All Pro Special Teams and Coaches ^[10]I didn’t select a long snapper, and I’m not convinced voters even paid that much attention to the spot on the Associated Press team. Morgan Cox and Luke Rhodes were fine choices, though … Continue reading

Kicker

The all pro team is meant to honor the players with the best seasons, not necessarily the intrinsically best players. So, while the best kicker in history is an active player, he didn’t have the best season. That honor belongs to Sanders, who was great on long kicks, perfect on PATs, and solid on kickoffs.

Tucker finally appeared mortal this season, but he was still good enough to make the cut. Some head scratching misses in the playoffs almost knocked him down to honorable mention status, but I tried to remain true to my mantra “the playoffs can only help, never hurt” a player’s spot on the team. Myers was a low volume kicker, but it’s hard to neglect a guy who didn’t miss in the wet Pacific Northwest. He also excelled on kickoffs.

Punter

Bailey led all voluntary turnover specialists in advanced metrics from NFLGSIS and Football Outsiders. He was also among the top kickoff men around. After accounting for the dreary weather, his feats become more impressive.

Fox was PFF’s highest graded punter (they don’t care if a ball rolls into the end zone, because they consider touchbacks vs. coffin corners pure dumb luck). Philosophical musings on punt luck aside, the Lion standout also fares well by traditional and advanced metrics, and his big leg helps flip the field for his team. Way has been among the league’s best for years, and his skill has often saved the Washington defense from the painful ineptitude of the team’s offense. He is quite good at preventing opponents from returning his kicks.

Kick Returner

With respect to men like Sayers and Gray, Patterson may be the best kickoff returner in history. No matter where he goes, he proves that there is one thing that no one on the planet does as well as he. If you’re an entanglement person, Patterson has shown beyond all doubt that he is not the product of anyone’s system. He is given more leeway to shoot his shot than other returners are, and his skills cause opposing special teams coaches to eschew their normal game plans. This year, he had the second highest return average on the highest number of returns, and his touchdown gave needed points to a woeful offense.

Rodgers was efficient with his returns and also put points on the board. Roberts may be the best all-around return man in the game. He led all kickoff returners in average, despite not scoring a touchdown. That comes from remarkable consistency.

Punt Returner

Aptly named for special teams play, Gunner looked great by traditional stats, like his league leading 17.3 yards per return. He also provided much more value than anyone else by FO’s punt return metrics.

When healthy, Grant has consistently been among the best punt returners in the land. One thing that makes him special is that he is able to maintain a high return average without padding that number with a bunch of fair catches. Harris was in a tight group of players on the outside looking in before his postseason performance moved him into the honorable mention spot.

Special Teamer

Odum and Bethel were basically a coin toss here. Odum led all players in special teams tackles and threw in a forced a fumble for funsies. He played well on punt and kick return units as well.

Bethel is already among the best ever in this niche role. He had more penalties than you’d like, but he racked up tackles left and right, forced fair catches, and blocked a kick. Barton trailed only Odum in special teams tackles, and he had half as many whiffs. As a linebacker, he has the power to fight through most blocks thrown by fellow special teamers (often safeties or corners, in addition to other backers).

Head Coach

McDermott led the Bills to their third winning season in four years and the team’s first division title since 1995. He is a defensive coach who has done a good job solidifying that side of the ball, but he has also made sure to foster the development of his raw young quarterback. The passing game is the most important facet of football, and McDermott has shown a dedication to doing it well and preventing other teams from doing to them.

LaFleur found the fabled second season magic with an aging quarterback who hadn’t looked like “not the greatest but definitely the most talented” player in a long time. His schemes made it easier for the offense to find success, which is vital to winning consistently in the NFL. Stefanski was everyone else’s choice for coach of the year. He did oversee the first winning season in Cleveland since 2007 (and just the third in the brief history of the New Browns), but it is hard to tell how much of that is simply being in the right place when the regression hit. Seven of the team’s wins were by one score, and the team saw only modest improvements in most offensive metrics, despite a 1.1 quarterback, a killer line, the best running back group in the league, and a decent enough receiving corps. ^[11]I hope he ends up being the great head coach the Browns have needed to get them on the path their alter ego in Baltimore traveled. Time will tell if his AP award is more Walsh 1981 or Infante 1989.

Assistant Coach/Coordinator

Between McDermott and Daboll, it is likely that the latter is more responsible for Allen’s growth, so it is only fair to recognize him. Prior to 2020, the QB was basically a great athlete with a cannon arm who made plays with his legs because he couldn’t throw with consistent accuracy to save his life. In a topsy turvy year for the whole world, it was fitting that Allen completed nearly 70% of his passes and accounted for 46 touchdowns. Daboll’s schemes freed up receivers on seemingly every play, and the presence of an elite route runner in Diggs only amplified that effect. The run game was only average, but honestly who cares about the run game anymore.

Smith. Smith cares about the run game. He stopped giving away carries to too many other players and focused more on Henry, and he also put the power back in position to succeed by giving him room to build up speed. Like the Juggernaut, if Henry is met in the backfield without building a head of steam, he’s not all that scary. Smith has also helped turn Ryan Tannehill into one of the most efficient passers in the league. And it isn’t just because of play action, as many have posited. Tannehill is also among the most efficient passers on straight drops and on plays when his star back is off the field entirely. Staley crafted a dangerous defense predicated on suffocating coverage and having a defensive tackle who can diagnose plays so quickly that it seems like he just shot out of his stance with abandon. As it becomes increasingly difficult to field a successful defense, Staley’s ability to mitigate big passing plays while also maintaining integrity versus the run is remarkable.

Rice was the last wide receiver to win a major MVP award, but he was not the first.

In 1941 and 1942, Don Hutson was the best player in football. In 1941, Hutson received 6 of 9 first place votes, beating out his passer Cecil Isbell, Sid Luckman, and Chicago’s Danny Fortmann (who you really should learn about) to win the award. In ’42, he once again received 6 of 9 first-place votes, this time beating out Bill Dudley and Sammy Baugh.

In 1955, Harlon Hill was named the NEA MVP. That season, Otto Graham won the United Press poll for MVP, picking up 13 of 30 votes, while Hill and Alan Ameche each grabbed 4 votes.

The AFL had a habit of giving its most valuable player award to wide receivers. In 1963, Lance Alworth had a breakout season, and won a close vote over his Chargers teammates to win the United Press International AFL player of the year award. Alworth earned 7 votes, Chargers running back Keith Lincoln and Chargers quarterback Tobin Rote had five each, and Raiders running back Clem Daniels earned the final three votes. Alworth was even better in 1965, but lost the AP MVP vote to Buffalo quarterback Jeff Kemp, 10-8.

In 1964, Patriots wide receiver — and placekicker — picked up 12 of 24 votes to win the UPI Player of the Year award. Cappelletti won the AP MVP that year, too, but neither the AP nor the UPI was considered the official AFL MVP award. That honor belonged to the Sporting News, and Cappy picked up 99 votes to win the official award, too (Alworth was the runner up with 44 votes).

Finally, in 1965 in the NFL, End Pete Retzlaff won the Bert Bell player of the year award, while Jim Brown swept the other major MVP awards.

As Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas continues his dominant season, I thought it would be worthwhile to look back at the past receivers to win a most valuable player trophy.