Tag: all pro

Demario Davis defying expectations and Father Time

At 34, linebacker Demario Davis was named to his 5th consecutive All Pro team. He is a true ageless wonder.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis is truly an ageless wonder. Davis turned 35 on Thursday and was named to his fifth consecutive All-Pro team on Friday. Since coming to New Orleans, he’s received more national acclaim for his play. The only year he hasn’t made an All-Pro team was his first year in New Orleans.

It’s really impressive when you consider his age. He played this entire year at 34 and was a second team All-Pro. Patrick Willis and Luke Kuechly are two of the most prominent linebackers of the generation. Both players retired before turning 30 years old, due to how grueling the position can be. Davis received his first All-Pro nod at 30 and has named to the All-Pro second team four consecutive years afterwards.

Davis has missed just one game since 2013. His mixture of durability and production makes his level of play so impressive. Over the last two years, Davis has been asked to blitz even more. He’s answered with 6.5 sacks each year, a career-high. Demario Davis’ five-year stretch has been impressive. When you realize he did it all in his 30’s as a linebacker, it truly becomes impressive.

Twitter reacts to Chiefs’ three All-Pro selections, L’Jarius Sneed snub

Users on Twitter shared their thoughts about the #Chiefs’ three All-Pro selections and L’Jarius Sneed’s inexplicable snub on Friday.

The Kansas City Chiefs saw three of their stars selected to the Associated Press 2023 All-Pro team on Friday ahead of the team’s playoff matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

Joe Thuney, Chris Jones, and Trent McDuffie were named to the prestigious list of the league’s top players, accomplishments that are commensurate with the exceptional seasons they put together.

One of Kansas City’s top contributors, veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, was inexplicably absent from the list of the league’s top players, though, and after being snubbed for the Pro Bowl and NFLPA All-Pro teams earlier in January, many fans were left shaking their heads when the awards were announced.

Social media platforms were buzzing after Friday’s AP All-Pro teams were announced, and users in Chiefs Kingdom didn’t hold back about their excitement for Thuney, Jones, and McDuffie, or their consternation about Sneed’s exclusion.

Check out some of the top reactions to the All-Pro selections and snubs from Twitter:

3 Chiefs players earn AP First-Team All-Pro selections for 2023

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:

Rashid Shaheed, Demario Davis named All-Pros by the Associated Press

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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LS Andrew DePaola makes second-team All-Pro

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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Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill named 2023 First-team All-Pro

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, Chris Jones earn NFLPA All-Pro honors

#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.

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.

Demario Davis, J.T. Gray recognized on Pro Football Focus 2023 All-Pro Teams

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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Chiefs DB Trent McDuffie makes appearance on PFF’s midseason All-Pro defense

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.

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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2 Vikings earn PFF All-Pro honors at halfway point

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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