PFJ's 2015 All-Pro Team

SEASON REVIEW
by John Turney
[Dedicated to my father, John F. Turney, who passed away an hour and thirty-nine minutes ago. He took the 10:11 to Heaven]

Again we present the PFJ All-Pro Team. Following the model of Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman by watching lots of NFL Replay and consulting with pro scouts on to get their take on "sleepers" i.e. players some may have overlooked due to various reasons, one being a player on a poor team, for example.

We tried to get a representation of the positions played, and again, following the Dr. Z model, make sure worthy players got represented, even if you have to have a tie (See "rush backer"), Said one scout, "You really cannot leave either of them off of an All-pro team", which is why, perhap, Khalil Mack made the AP All-Pro team at both DE and OLBer.

We emphasized big plays, as one pro scouting firm's axiom states, "Blue players make blue plays". So, you will note that relative newbies to the linebacker position Deonne Bucannon and Mark Barron are on the second-team, they just kept making plays all season long.

At wide receiver Allen Robinson (1400 yards, 14 TDs) is an honorable mention. Tyler Eifert's 13 receiving touchdowns gets him an honorable mention. Guards Marshal Yanda and Zack Martin were close and are deserving of honorable mention. Center Ryan Kalil is an honorable mention as well.

Tom Brady is an honorable mention at quarterback. Jarvis Landry is an honorable mention as a slot receiver. 

Calais Campbell and Chandler Jones were honorable mentions at defensive end. Fletcher Cox is an honorable mention at 30 end and Linval Joseph and Michael Brockers are honorable mentions at nose tackle. Derrick Johnson gets an HM nod at ILBer, Telvin Smith was very close to being on Second-team and is an honorable mention as well. Jamie Collins is another linebacker honorable mention.

Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson is an honorable mention for his 7 picks and one of the lowest defensive passer ratings versus him. Matthew Slater is an honorable mention as a special teamer.

Here are the All-AFC and All-NFC teams:

MVP—Cam Newton

OPOY— Antonio Brown

DPOY—JJ Watt

OROY—Todd Gurley

DROY—Marcus Peters

Coach—Ron Rivera

Comeback—Palmer

Exec—Steve Kiem

Position Awards:

Offensive Lineman of the Year—Joe Thomas, T, Cleveland

Defensive Lineman of the Year—J.J. Watt, Houston

Linebacker of the Year—Luke Kuechly, Carolina

Defensive Back of the Year—Reshad Jones, Miami

Running Back of the Year—Adrian Peterson, Minnesota

Receiver of the Year—Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh

Returner of the Year—Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota

Special Teams Player of the Year—Justin Bethel, Arizona

Kicker/Punter of the Year—Johnny Hekker, St. Louis