2020 AP All-Pros: Saints shut out of the 1st team after sending 4 players in 2019

A year after landing four players on the AP All-Pro first team, the New Orleans Saints were shut out, with just three on the second team.

The Associated Press announced the players named to its 2020 All-Pro first team, and none of the four New Orleans Saints who earned places on the 2019 list were brought back for 2020.

That includes wide receivers Michael Thomas and Deonte Harris (who made it in last year as a returns specialist) as well as right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and linebacker Demario Davis, who each started a full 16 games in 2020 while continuing to play at a high level. Thomas and Harris each ended the season on injured reserve and weren’t able to match their historic 2019 paces, so that makes sense.

Neither Davis nor Ramczyk should have been snubbed from the first team, though Nola.com’s Amie Just reports they joined running back Alvin Kamara on the second team.

Kamara was ranked behind Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry, who scored four fewer touchdowns than Kamara while fumbling two more times and averaging nearly a full yard less per touch. Instead of Davis, the AP voters picked San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner. Titans right tackle Jack Conklin made the cut over Ramczyk.

What’s baffling is that Saints left tackle Terron Armstead wasn’t even seriously considered for the first or second team, despite having put up some of the best game tape you’ll see from any player in the league this season. Neither was defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who finished the regular season tied for the second-most sacks in the league.

It’s disappointing all around to see the Saints’ standouts not recognized for their efforts. Maybe they can make up for it by going all the way to the Super Bowl instead.

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