Football is not an 11-man game anymore. There are personnel packages on offense—21, 12, 11, et al and on defense—base (3-4 or 4-3), nickel, dime. Most teams use nickel the most, but it's not a "base" defense, it's the most common.
So, following the precedent set by NFL Films in 1983 and followed up by Paul Zimmerman shortly thereafter, we pick more than 11 player platoons. The Associated Press (AP) did that for years, a 12-man defense from 1984 to 2019, with a couple of exceptions, and a 12-man offense from the mid-1990s to 2019.
You can bet big money T.J. Watt will get votes at both edge and linebacker as has happened so often in the recent past with the AP format that designated "edge" rather than "DE" past. The offense will be improved, they are going with three wide receivers (the NEA was the first to do this in 1991) with no flex.
So, we stick with a fullback because it matters, and mention run-stopping defenders because it matters.
Does the best player at a position always have the best season? No. Sometimes a player like Justin Tucker can be excellent but someone else has a slightly better year. This year it was
Jason Sanders of the Dolphins. He gets the First-team nod.
His field goals are above average (an NFLGSIS metric similar to the one discussed in the next section regarding punters) is close to the top (Gano and Koo are slightly ahead of Sanders) but when you add in PATs (none missed), good kickoffs (5th in NFL in net average) and clutch kicks he tops what the G.O.A.T. did in 2020 (Tucker) who gets the Second-team slot.
In 2016 Johnny Hekker, like Tucker, the likely G.O.A.T. at his position have the best-ever net yards above average—the NFLGSIS metric which is—Sum( (Yards - ReturnYards - 20 * Touchbacks - (Rolling Two Year League Average Net Yards from that Field Position) ) ) / Sum(Punts)
Obviously, we're not going to explain a metric that is not ours, but we've looked at it, and having done quite a bit of work on punting stats, this is one metric we trust
. Hekker's NYOA was 5.596 in 2016. Well,
Jake Bailey’s 2020 topped it by a hair—at 5.641.
Look at it this way, the analytics folks say that roughly 19 yards on a football field gained (or saved) amount to a point in value. With Bailey's 55 punts he gives the Patriots 16 points above average for a season, or a point a game. And then with none blocked and none returned, he adds move value.
Jack Fox of the Lions is the Second-team selection behind Bailey.
The Bears
Cordarrelle Patterson is possibly, or at least you can make the case for, the GOAT kick returner and he is the All-Pro kick-returner once again and the Pats
Gunner Olszewski took the punt return slot from Jakeem Grant as the top punt returner. Olszewski led the NFL in punt return yards and in average and took one to the house. Grant is Second-team for the All-Pro and All-AFC squads.
Isaiah Rodgers of the Colts is Second-team to Patterson. Andre Roberts of the Bills was excellent on both kick and punt returns and deserves a mention.
Justin Bethel, not Matthew Slater, is the top special teams player on the Patriots and he is also the top core special teams player in the NFL this year. George Odum was a close second after leading the NFL with 20 special teams tackles and a forced fumble on the coverage units for the Colts. Bethel was the gunner on punts and was part of the reason Bailey had such a terrific season. He also blocked a PAT, and usually was R-4 or R-5 on kickoffs (ended with 14 tackles on the specials)
DEFENSE
We picked
Justin Simmons All-Pro before anyone in 2018, but this year in the first week and week 16 he was not looking as good as before, but throughout the rest of the season he was the best in the business and in the final analysis with his abilities to support the run (96 tackles) and ball skills (five picks) we still think he's tops.
John Johnson III is the Second-team safety behind Simmons. Johnson, like Simmons, is a left safety. Not a strong safety, not a free safety. He's Both, depending on the strength of the offense. Johnson is also a linebacker in the Rams “long nickel” and a slot defender in the dime defenses the Rams employ versus four-wide offenses. He's also the Rams defense signal-caller on a defense that ended first in scoring defense, fewest yards allowed, fewest passing yards allowed, and was one of the two (Steelers being the other) best overall defenses in the NFL. That's pretty good for a guy coming off an injury that limited him to six games in 2019.
Budda Baker is the complete-type safety, Tyrann Mathieu of Kansas City is the other Second-teamer who also does it all as a safety and can also play slot corner.
Jamal Adams, who played for the Jets and Seahawks in 2020, is our fifth DB as a hybrid rover/safety wth his 9.5 sacks, the most-ever for a defensive back and behind him at "defensive back" we have
Mike Hilton, a slot corner who makes picks, covers, blitzes and get sacks and hit the quarterback, just someone who has to be watched by the quarterback at all times. Hilton in just 12 games had 51 tackles 3 sacks, 3 picks, two fumbles recovered, five run-pass stuffs, five QB hits and 7 passes defensed. For a nickel back he fills up the boxes on the tackle chart.
The Steelers pair of safeties
Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick as well as Jessie Bates III of the Bengals are all honorable mentions. Bates is a more of a pure free safety, for the most part, playing in the middle of the field of half the field in cover-2 looks. Edmunds and Fitzpatrick are a terrific pair for the Steelers who are honorable mentions as well.
It was a good year for safeties, really, and all we mentioned are All-Pro level players.
Xavien Howard of the Dolphins is not just First-team because of his 10 picks, he’s playing great and is simply not challenged much anymore.
Marlon Humphrey, Bal, is the slot corner, though he’s a base corner as well and he can blitz and when he gets near you, he’s a threat to dislodge the ball with eight forced fumbles.
The very rich
Jalen Ramsey of the Rams, the Packers
Jaire Alexander, who is fun to watch, and the Bills
Tre'Davious White round out the Second-team. Ramsey played outside corner, slot, and even some linebacker in base (which the Rams used only about 15% of the time), where he even blitzed from a left linebacker spot on occasion. His only flaw was his five DPI penalties, but he never really hurt the team with them so he got away with them.
We couldn't justify Darious Williams as All-Pro, but we named him All-NFC—he was too good as an outside corner all year with great ball skills. Kenny Moore of the Colts is a fine slot corner and we gave him the Second-team All-AFC slot behind Hilton
Alexander, stellar, only one DPI, and pure coverage was as good and anyone. White was top-notch in 2020, just like 2019 it's just in 2020 there were others on his level and they sure made a lot of plays, too many to ignore. J.C. Jackson and his nine picks deserve an honorable mention but he also gave up five touchdowns which knocked him down our list.
The Rams
Aaron Donald is the clear and obvious First-team rush defensive tackle (3-tech). He had 13.5 sacks, about a million hurries, six run stuffs, four forced fumbles, and about a million double teams drawn.
Donald played in a new scheme in 2020 one where the rams play more “over” fronts as opposed to the "unders" he played most of the time and because of that he wasn’t allowed to just penetrate and make plays in the backfield like in past seasons. Rams lineman had to take their gap and help their neighbor in a gap-and-a-half scheme. In past seasons, Donald usually was over 10 run stuffs, this year he had just six, but the run defense, which was usually from a 3-3 nickel aligned in a 5-1 was sound, in fact, better that is has been in many years, despite the lack of tackles for losses in the run game which is kind of counterintuitive.
DeForest Buckner of the Colts is the Second-team three tech. Buckner had some amazing plays, just super-human at times. It’s too bad there is an Aaron Donald in the league because it regulates Buckner as the Second-team 3-technique. Bucker finished with 58 tackles and 9.5 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles and some really manly plays.
Quinnen Williams of the Jets and
Stephon Tuitt of Pittsburgh plays 5/4i technique in the base defense but sinks further inside (1 or 2i) in nickel (sometimes to 3-tech) and Williams even is on the center quite a lot. We chose them as the First- and Second-team interior men next to the three-techniques—Donald and Buckner.
Williams is so quick and strong and uses his hands so well. He bends people back, disengaged and makes plays in backfield or near the line of scrimmage and in nickel gets excellent push. Though he missed three games he had 54 tackles 7 sacks and 7 run/pass stuffs. He’s really a dynamic player in the mold of the good defensive linemen in the NFL and is on the rise. We think he’s “there” right now.
Tuitt certainly is not as good year-in and year-out as teammate Cameron Heyward, but the question is who had the better season? This year, we think it was Tuitt. He had 45 tackles and 11 sacks.
Leonard Williams if the New York Giants plays five-tech in the base defense, then inside to nickel tackle in passing situations but he also plays some left end in rush situations as well—he’s moving around so he’s our base/sink end. “Big Cat” finished with 57 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 30 QB hits (third in the NFL according to NFLGSIS). We had him long before his 3-sack game in the last game of the season versus Dallas when he had three sacks and seven tackles but was superb all year (for those who may think we just went for the sacks).
Backing him up is J.J. Watt. We are not picking Watt based on what he was (a 15-20 sack, 10-20 stuff guy), we are comparing him to the other players who are playing his same spot (sink end) and pocking him for who is in 2020 and he compared favorably to the other "sink-type" ends. He had 10 run/pass stuffs and five sacks a pick-six, seven passes deflected and played his guts out in many lost causes. A true warrior.
Michael Brockers is the honorable mention here, no one is better at landing his hands on the shoulders of a tackle or guard, using leverage and long arms to bend them back and shed them to disrupt the run game or make a tackle. He also had 5 sacks this year, one-half short of a career-high.
The Second-teamers for the All-Conference teams (see below) are
Chris Jones and
Akiem Hicks. Both have some great things about their game, Hicks was considered in the slot JJ Watt received, but simply put he had too many dumb penalties—ten, including three roughing the passer flags.
Jones challenged Bucker for the Second-team All-pro rush tackle (3-technique) because he can get after the quarterback, but even though he had 7.5 sacks and Sportsradar credited him with 43 hurries (one more than Aaron Donald according to them—complain to them, not us) they also show him with 10 missed tackles or 21.7%. For comparison, Brockers didn't miss any tackles and the other sink ends or 5-tech we considered averaged about 4-5 missed tackles. Nonetheless, Jones was Second-team All-AFC and Hicks was Second-team ALl-NFC, they were excellent in all other departments.
The Browns defensive end
Myles Garrett is one edge/end and Brandon Graham, the steady Eddie of the Eagles,
is the backup. Garrett played the right side, Graham, usually the left. Garrett had 47 tackles, 12 sacks and forced four fumbles, and put great pressure on the quarterback consistently. Graham had 46 tackles 8 sacks and 8 tackles for loss on run plays and good pressure play-in and play-out, as he's done for many years now.
T.J. Watt is likely the
AP and
PFWA and
SN Defensive Player of the Year, but Aaron Donald will give him a run for his money. He led the NFL with 15 sacks and in QB hits with 41 (source
NFLGSIS). He totaled 53 tackles and was second in the NFL in run/pass stuffs with 12.
We love Donald. but while Donald does draw more double-team blocks, and that is a fair consideration, Watt, as we mentioned it tops in sacks, QB hits, hurries (depending on the source), and tops in run stuffs or tackles for loss in the run game. He even does well in coverage. Though it may be a close vote we think this year Watt takes the AP and PFWA DPOY award. We'll see.
Rush linebacker
Za'Darius Smith was more consistent than Khalil Mack and Haason Reddick of Arizona (who had most of his splash plays in the last month and a half but is an up-and-comer). Smith is an edge rusher but also will rush over a guard from a so-called 'Joker" position, standing up. He's been excellent for several seasons in a row but still cannot outdo Watt.
The NFC and AFC Second-team edge linebackers are, respectively
Leonard Floyd and
Kyle Van Noy. We like them because they are complete linebackers that also get after the quarterback. Floyd is usually a left linebacker in a 3-3-5 aligned in a 5-1 look and in pass-rush situations he's usually a left defensive end, though sometimes with play the right side. He also will be a stand-up Joker and even will play 3-technique with a hand on the ground and run 3-man stunts on one side of the line, seemingly to try and isolate Aaron Donald but several times they've resulted in a scheme sack for Floyd.
Van Noy did rush as much, though he's more than capable, he had six sack, but he often faked a blitz and dropped into coverage. He's smart and athletic and plays the "complete game". He had six sacks and six run-pass stuffs.
Inside/Off the ball backers Fred Warner, SF is the best 40 MLBer in the NFL. This is the second year in a row we’ve had him First-team. He had 125 tackles a sack and picked off two passes but he was more than his number,s he's the epitome of the sideline-to-sideline MIKE 'backer.
Devin White of Tampa Bay backs up Warner, though a listed as a 3-4 ILBer he plenty of 40 MIKE, too and noses out the other quality inside backers. White had 140 tackles, 9 run/pass stuffs, 4 passes defense a forced fumble and a recovery, and 16 QB hits and 9 sacks as an Inside/MLB, a rare feat. He was not great in coverage but he’s made to go forward not backward.
It's too bad there isn't a slot for him on the first team because when someone does something historic it's great to see that achievement recognized. His 9 sacks are the most, really, of a pure inside linebacker. Back in the day the Bears Bill George had 13.5 one season, but he had his hand in the dirt for some of them as a noseguard in five-man lines. Other inside linebackers who had big sack seasons, like Karl Mecklenburg or Fredd Young, or Kendrell Bell, Chad Brown, Charlie Clemons, et al, were inside backers in base and were often edge rushers in nickel (either with hand down or a standing up), so most of their sacks came from a defensive line position.
As for White, losing out as a First-team All-Pro to Warner is akin to 1976 when Jack Lambert was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Randy Gradishar was in his first season as a 3-4 inside linebacker who had 7 sacks, none as a nickel lineman was relegated to Second-team All-AFC because Lambert was there. So it goes for White. He'll have his day as did Gradishar who was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year within a couple of years after 1976.
Among those also edged out (and are honorable mentions) were Roquan Smith of the Bears who led the NFL in run-pass stuffs with 13.5 and Lavonte David of Tampa Bay (who plays dual roles and is often a WILL when the Bucs show a 40 look and a SAM in nickel) and Tremaine Edmunds of the Bills.
This year David had 117 tackles 11.5 run/pass stuffs and three forced fumbles plus six passes defense a pick and 1.5 sacks and is a strong honorable mention. We've picked him four times First-team All-Pro and three times Second-team but this year we had to go with others, namely Warner and White, but he was as good as ever it's just that others rose to his level this year. Edmunds started slow but finished strong and had 77 tackles and a pair of sacks but was the leader of the Bills defense.
Myles Jack of Jacksonville edged
Demario Davis of the Saints as our outside linebacker. We know, we know, we dissed the guy from your team. However, there were many worthy. Davis had 119 tackles and four sacks and defensed five passes on a very good defense and though sometimes listed as a MIKE he was actually a WILL in base and nickel.
But Jack was, by our count, the leader among the WILL-type backers in tackles for loss or no gain, played hard for a team that was terrible. And when expanded to tackles for 2-yard gains or less, he was at the tops of that list, too.
In some ways, picking Jack is similar to 1983 when Paul Zimmerman picked Mark Cotney as his Sports Illustrated All-Pro strong safety even though the Bucs were awful. He just thought Cotney played hard no m matter what the score.
Myles must feel abandoned—just a few short years ago he was one of a nucleus of great players in Jacksonville like Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler, and Telvin Smith. They are all gone now and he's basically all alone now. So we judge him on his playmaking abilities and not his team's record. In 2020 Jack had 118 tackles, five passes defenses, a pick, six tackles for losses a pick and a forced fumble, and two recoveries. His bona fides are as good as anyone as his position.
Darius Leonard (132 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 PDs, and 3 FF) and K.J. Wright (10 run-pass stuffs) were both worthy and considered. It was a deep year for this position and we just went with who had the best season. So, if we dissed your guy, true, we did. But we also picked the best as we saw this for 2020, there just is room for one guy as the First-teamer and Jack was it. He played his guts out on many lost causes.
Last year Leonard had 5 sacks and 5 picks. This year 2 sacks and no picks. Big plays are not the only thing but when someone has shown they can make the game-changing plays and then don’t we look around. Leonard was likely the best the last couple of years but was 2020 as good as 2018 and 2019? Probably not.
K.J. Wright plays a lot of SAM backer on the line, every tight end, and was super. If he and Bobby Wagner keep it together like that have the second half of the season Seattle will be a "tough out" in the playoffs.
OFFENSE
QB
Aaron Rodgers closed out his MVP and All-Pro season on fire. Patrick Mahomes is Second-team and All-AFC. The rest of these are honorable mentions.
Blockers
Kyle Juszczyk of the 49ers is a machine and the Patriots
Jakob Johnson was terrific this year. Juszczyk scored six touchdowns and was the quintessential lead blocker in the 49er power run game. The same can be said for Johnson, a monstrous 6-3, 255-pounder he didn't get the touches Juszczyk did but he was sure blowing up linebackers on lead blocks.
Derrick Henry is our number one runner with his league-leading 2,000-yards and likely his league-lead in embarrassing stiff-arms that put defenders to the ground season and Nick Chubb, though he missed a lot of time still had 1,000 yards and a 5.6-yard average and 12 rushing touchdowns and that makes him pour backup runner.
Complete backs (Run, receive, pass pro)
The Saints Alvin Kamara set career-highs in rushing yards, rushing TDs, receptions, receiving TDs (tied), and total touchdowns. His 21 total touchdowns lead the NFL. He was a chalk pick. Dalvin Cook of the Vikes was regulated to the second team behind Kamara, though he was super.
Davante Adams of the Packers is the best and finished with 18 touchdown grabs and 115 catches and 1384 yards and missed some time early in the year. The Chiefs
Tyreek Hill, KC is the speed guy who can also carry the ball through various types of plays, he's our other wide receiver. His 15 touchdowns is what put him ahead
Stefon Diggs in our view. He also had 13 rushes and two more scores.
Stefon Diggs was excellent and really racked up the numbers late in the season. He ended with 127 catches 1535 yards 8 touchdowns and an average of 12.1 yards a catch. He's Second-team along with . . . well, let's see—
The last slot we thought was between D.K. Metcalf and DeAndre Hopkins.
Here are their stats—
Hopkins had more YAC and fewer drops and more third-down catches, more fumbles but Metcalf had more Big Catches (25+ yards), more touchdowns, and higher yards per catch.
