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3 #Chiefs players were named First-Team All-Pro by The Associated Press, which is the NFL’s officially recognized All-Pro selection.
The Associated Press has made its annual All-Pro selections. This is the All-Pro award officially recognized by the National Football League and held with high acclaim for the history books.
Three members of the Kansas City Chiefs were named First-Team All-Pro selections. The San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey, Fred Warner, and the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill received unanimous first-team votes.
Below is a quick recap of the players selected and some information on their All-Pro history:
New Orleans Saints playmakers Rashid Shaheed and Demario Davis were each named All-Pros by the Associated Press:
This is really cool: two members of the New Orleans Saints were selected for this year’s All-Pro teams by the Associated Press, with punt returner Rashid Shaheed named to the first team and linebacker Demario Davis picked for the second team.
Shaheed finished the year with the third-most punt return yards (339), having averaged 13.6 yards per return on 25 attempts. He led the NFL in all-purpose yards (1,479) thanks to his 384 kick return yards and 756 yards from scrimmage, 719 as a receiver and 37 as a rusher.
It’s the fifth year in a row that Davis has earned All-Pro recognition on either the first or second team; by earning a spot on the second team this year, Davis triggered a $500,000 bonus in his Saints contract. He’s continuing to play well late into his career, having celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday.
A handful of other Saints players earned votes for the All-Pro list, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell: cornerback Paulson Adebo, special teams ace J.T. Gray, and long snapper Zach Wood; and Shaheed got votes for his work as a kick returner, too. Hopefully they can all build off their successful individual seasons and get New Orleans back to the playoffs this time next year.
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Minnesota Vikings long snapper Andrew DePaola earned a spot on the Associated Press’ All-Pro second team
After the Minnesota Vikings had three All-Pro selections in 2022, they have just one for the 2023 season. Long snapper Andrew DePaola has made the Associated Press’ All-Pro second team.
DePaola is a model of consistency for the Vikings. He consistently delivers accurate snaps on both punts and field goal opportunities. With special teams needing consistency more than anything, having a player like DePaola is massive for the Vikings.
Of course, you could make arguments for other Vikings to be named to the All-Pro team. Outside linebacker Danielle Hunter and tight end T.J. Hockenson had the resume to be on the All-Pro team but they weren’t selected.
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The Cheetah was a unanimous pick to be a First-team All-Pro.
While the NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend, the Associated Press released their picks for their first and second All-Pro teams for the 2023 season.
For the Miami Dolphins, their lone representative on the roster is wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who was one of just three unanimous selections.
In 16 games, Hill recorded 119 receptions (tied a franchise record set by himself in 2022), 1,799 yards (broke a franchise record set by himself in 2022) and 13 touchdowns.
The 29-year-old may not have broken the NFL receiving yards record or become the first player to ever hit 2,000 receiving yards in a season, but his year was still one to remember.
This is his fifth All-Pro selection in eight seasons.
#Chiefs stars Travis Kelce and Chris Jones earned spots on the NFLPA’s All-Pro team this week.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ players have started earning accolades for their performance in the 2023 regular season ahead of the team’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC playoffs this weekend.
Star tight end Travis Kelce and sack-master Chris Jones were named to the NFLPA’s All-Pro team on Wednesday, marking an incredible accomplishment that is sure to put wind in their sails before the Chiefs’ elimination tilt on Saturday.
The players have spoken. Congrats, @tkelce and @StoneColdJones 👏 pic.twitter.com/rb8sVGCr2S
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 10, 2024
Kelce fell just short of eclipsing the 1,000-yard during the regular season, but was among the league’s best players at the tight end position, helping buoy the Chiefs’ offense through tough stretches in their 17-game schedule.
Jones, who missed Kansas City’s first game after holding out from training camp to re-negotiate a better contract, secured 10.5 sacks over the course of the season, cementing his spot as the Chiefs’ top pass rusher.
Both players have been foundational pieces to Kansas City’s budding dynasty and will have a chance to further add to their legacies on Saturday against the Dolphins.
New Orleans Saints standouts Demario Davis and J.T. Gray were recognized on the Pro Football Focus 2023 All-Pro Teams:
Two members of the New Orleans Saints were recognized on the 2023 All-Pro Teams from Pro Football Focus, with linebacker Demario Davis making the cut (on the first team) along with special teams ace J.T. Gray (on the second team).
Davis was joined by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner on PFF’s All-Pro first team; PFF analyst Gordon McGuinness wrote that “Davis quietly had an incredible season himself, giving up just 6.6 yards per reception when he was the primary coverage defender and ranking behind only Warner in PFF grade (89.6).”
PFF tracking found that Davis finished the year with 75 solo tackles and 36 assists (48 of them qualifying as stops) and 22 quarterback pressures, his highest pressures total since the 2020 season. Davis only missed 11 tackles all season, ranking third-best among the 16 linebackers with 1,000-plus snaps in 2023.
As for Gray: he was credited with 11 special teams tackles this season, tied for 11th-most in the NFL. He recorded at least 48 snaps with five of the six kicking units while appearing in 14 games. He’s previously earned recognition as a Pro Bowler and Associated Press All-Pro and is still a highly respected player in his role.
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Pro Football Focus selected Chiefs DB Trent McDuffie to be a member of its midseason All-Pro defense.
The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been one of the NFL’s best units in 2023, and with eight games left on its schedule, the team is predicted to have several players receive recognition after the season.
Chief among them is defensive back Trent McDuffie, who has been one of Kansas City’s most consistent contributors through the team’s first nine games. Pro Football Focus named McDuffie to its midseason All-Pro list this week, indicating that his exceptional play has been turning heads around the league.
PFF's Midseason All-Pro Defense 💪 pic.twitter.com/gSeyCT2YOx
— PFF (@PFF) November 8, 2023
While McDuffie’s selection on this prestigious list doesn’t guarantee that he will warrant All-Pro recognition at the season’s end, it bodes well for his future as one of the Chiefs’ top defenders.
Expect the second-year defensive back to do everything he can to keep cooking up the same kinds of exceptional performances that landed him on this list of midseason standouts.
His contributions are likely to be a key to success in Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVII rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11.
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PFF recognizes Darrisaw and Jefferson for their outstanding play this season
Each season, Pro Football Focus takes a look at what their All-Pro team would look like at certain points of the year.
At the halfway point, Vikings left tackle Christian Darrisaw made PFF’s first team and wide receiver Justin Jefferson made the second team.
Here is what Gordon McGuinness had to say about Darrisaw:
The 2021 first-round draft pick is following up a standout 2022 campaign with an equally impressive 2023. He missed this past week due to injury, but he has allowed just 13 total pressures from 304 pass-blocking snaps this season.
Darrisaw has been excellent all season — allowing pressure on just 4.28% of his pass protection snaps is beyond impressive. He earned the honor ahead of Las Vegas Raiders LT Kolton Miller, who was on the second team.
Jefferson made the second team despite missing the last four weeks with a hamstring injury. He was joined on the second team by Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb. The Philadelphia Eagles’ A.J. Brown and the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill were on the first team.
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Jeremy Reaves underwent knee surgery Monday, officially ending his 2023 season.
Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves underwent season-ending knee surgery Monday, officially ending his 2023 season after just four games.
Reaves announced Sunday on X that he was undergoing surgery on Monday and his season was over. In the same post, Reaves thanked fans for their support, letting them know he appreciated them always being there for him and that he would be back.
Here’s his post from Sunday:
— Jeremy Reaves (@JR1ERA) October 23, 2023
On Monday, Reaves put out a follow-up post letting everyone know that the surgery went “great” and that the “climb back starts today.”
Thank you for the prayers, surgery went great. I'm in better shape than most, so all praise to God! The climb back starts today!!!
— Jeremy Reaves (@JR1ERA) October 23, 2023
Reaves injured his knee in Washington’s Week 4 Thursday night game against the Chicago Bears. The Commanders lost Reaves and Darrick Forrest (shoulder) during the game. While Forrest is expected to return at some point this season, Reaves suffered a partially torn ACL and was expected to seek multiple medical opinions.
This is a tough break for Reaves. The former undrafted free agent has been with Washington since 2018 and was named first-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl in 2022 as a special-teams standout. Reaves is a team captain and one of the more popular players on the team.
Reaves is an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
These Hall of Fame voters described New Orleans Saints sacks leader Cameron Jordan as someone likely to be inducted, but not yet a lock:
Is Cameron Jordan a future Hall of Famer? That’s something a lot of New Orleans Saints fans take for granted, but he isn’t in the clear just yet, despite having won the team’s official sacks record last season. Just ask the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters at the The 33rd Team: Vic Carucci, Paul Domowitch, Clark Judge and Barry Wilner, who surveyed a number of Hall of Fame candidates to share their take this offseason.
They describe Jordan as a special talent who is likely to reach enshrinement, but if his career ended today he wouldn’t be a lock for the Hall of Fame. Here’s their explanation:
“With 115.5 career sacks and at least 7.5 a season since his 2011 rookie year, Cam Jordan made the 2010s All-Decade team.
The New Orleans Saints rarely have been a defense-first club, particularly when Sean Payton was coaching, and Drew Brees was behind center.
‘It’s unusual for just one defensive player to stand out on a contending team built around its offense,’ Wilner notes. ‘Jordan would be that guy in New Orleans. He’s been as much a difference-making defender as most of his peers.’”
Jordan’s 115.5 career sacks and 8 Pro Bowl nods are impressive, but there are players who have logged more sacks than him and nearly as many Pro Bowl appearances, with more recognition on the Associated Press All-Pro lists, that are still waiting on their call from the Hall of Fame. Here are just some of them:
If Jordan can continue to bag 7.5 or more sacks per year and agree on an extension to close out his career with the Saints, he’ll likely have a strong enough resume for Hall of Fame induction. But that’s exactly the voters’ point. He hasn’t separated himself from his peers with Defensive Player of the Year awards or league-leading sack numbers. He’s had the bad luck to share his time in the NFL with rare talents like Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt. If Jordan is going to earn a bronze bust in Canton, it’ll be because he continued to meet his high standards of play after his rivals called it quits. He’s on the right track. He just needs to keep it going for a couple more years.
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