While the season isn’t quite yet over, Week 17 won’t dramatically change who makes the All-Pro team. Some starters sitting out the final game for rest or injury recovery as the playoffs approach. So here are my 2018 All-Pro Team Picks for this season:
Brees and Mahomes have both been lights out this season – Mahomes because of sheer volume and Brees due to efficiency. This could go either way, but the voters may give it to Brees because the Chiefs have a much better receiving corps.
Gurley will have missed the last two games of the season, and didn’t get the ball as much the last few games. However, he was still dominant this year with over 1800 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns in 14 games.
Saquon Barkley tip-toeing sideline (Image from Giants.com)
Yes he’s a rookie. But yes he still deserves to be a first-team All-Pro. It was close between Barkley and Elliott, but Saquon’s offensive line is significantly worse than Zeke’s. He was the reason they were even competitive in most of their games.
While Kelce and Ertz were both monsters this year, Kelce has the edge because he was more of a big play machine.
This was a terrific year for receivers, with about seven guys who have a case for first-team All-Pro. Here’s to hoping that at least two tie for that second team All-Pro spot. This doesn’t even include Adam Thielen, Michael Thomas, and Davante Adams who are putting up numbers on par with everyone above.
Both of these guys have been dominant this year, with neither having allowed even a single sack on the season. While Armstead incredibly hasn’t even had a holding penalty, he has missed three more games, giving the first team spot to Smith.
Yanda has returned to his former self after missing all but two games due to injury last season. He has allowed no sacks and has been great in the run game as well. The Colts expected Nelson to be ready to play when the drafted him; yet his lightning quick rise to greatness has to be pleasantly shocking for even his biggest believers. Nelson may soon be the best offensive lineman in football.
Jason Kelce was snubbed from the Pro-Bowl squad, but should be on the All-Pro team yet again. He is the anchor of a terrific run-blocking line and helped shut down Aaron Donald, who had been dominating every team in the league. Pro Football Focus has him rated as not only the best center, but also the third best lineman overall.
Steelers RG David Decastro (Photo by Getty Images/Justin K. Aller)
For a team that lost Le’Veon Bell, DeCastro has been huge in opening up holes for both James Conner and Jaylen Samuels. Both he and Zack Martin have been the two best left guards in football for years and don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
After three years in a row of being voted for the second team, Schwartz should be recognized as the best right tackle in the league this year. He has been dominant on the right side of an overall great o-line. Lane Johnson started off this season rusty but has reverted back to his dominant self.
It’s nice to watch Watt again and while not up to his old standards, the man is back to terrorizing opposing backfields with 14.5 sacks and 18 Tackles for loss. While Cam Jordan is one of the most underrated players in the NFL while Lawrence has built on his breakout season last year, Danielle Hunter may be the absolute most underrated player in football. He was huge for Minnesota’s defense in Everson Griffen’s absence and has kept up his play since.
Cox sacks Rams QB Jared Goff (Photo by Philly.com/Yong Kim)
Aaron Donald is playing at an incredible level and is putting up spectacular numbers unheard of for interior linemen. He has 19.5 sacks with one game to, only three sacks away from breaking the record for anyone INCLUDING edge rushers. He is far and away the DPOY and should be given real consideration for MVP. Cox, while overshadowed by Donald’s dominance, is having a great year himself.
Chicago’s defense was going to be good, but Mack took them from top 10 to arguably the best defense in the league. He’s been a force to be reckoned with this season. Bobby Wagner is always near the ball and rarely, if ever, misses a tackle. The surprise here is Darius Leonard, who in his first season as a second round pick set the NFL world on fire. He has been almost as great of a machine as Wagner and Kuechly. While he missed the Pro Bowl, he deserves to make the All-Pro team.
While this was a great year for receivers, it was a down year for cornerbacks. Most of the big name corners got burned by most of the top receivers. Peterson was consistently good unlike others like Jalen Ramsey and Xavier Rhodes. Xavien Howard was a monster this season, locking down most receivers. Byron Jones made huge improvements after the Cowboys hired Kris Richard as DB coach and Ward looks like a great decision as a top four pick for Cleveland.
Eddie Jackson returns pick six against Minnesota Vikings (Image by AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Three of these four safeties are first-timers and they completely deserve to make it. The new crop of defensive backs is beginning to take over.
In a season filled with inconsistent kicking, these two have been reliable all year, with only a couple of hiccups along the way.
Roberts returns 99 yard kickoff for TD against Packers (Image by New York Jets)
Roberts has the highest average for both kick and punt returns. He also has a kick return TD and punt return TD.
What an honor this would be for Adrian Phillips, a guy who was cut/waived eight times in the last two seasons.
Featured image by LA Rams
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