1ST TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Patrick Mahomes / KC
RB: Josh Jacobs / LV
WR: Tyreek Hill / MIA
WR: Justin Jefferson /MIN
TE: Travis Kelce / KC
LT: Trent Williams / SF
LG: Joe Thuney / KC
OC: Jason Kelce / PHI
RG: Zack Martin / DAL
RT: Tristan Wirfs / TB
2ND TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Joe Burrow / CIN
RB: Christian McCaffrey / SF
WR: AJ Brown / PHI
WR: CeeDee Lamb / DAL
TE: George Kittle / SF
LT: Laremy Tunsil / HOU
LG: Landon Dickerson / PHI
OC: Frank Ragnow / DET
RG: Michael Onwenu / NE
RT: Lane Johnson / PHI
QB Analysis
Patrick Mahomes (1T), Joe Burrow (2T)
There was no debate at the top. Mahomes led the NFL in passing, touchdowns, yards per attempt, and passer rating for the AFC number one seed (for those who dropped back over 440 times). All of this in a year where he lost his number one wide receiver to a trade in the offseason. The number two spot required a bit more research and time. Burrow got the nod after a tough start to the season. His 35 passing touchdowns were second most in the league and he added five more on the ground. He was also without his number one receiver for almost a third of the season.
RB Analysis
Josh Jacobs (1T), Christian McCaffrey (2T)
On a six-win team that benched their starting quarterback at the end of the year, Jacobs rose to the occasion with a league-high 1,653 yards. Nobody else was within 100 yards. He also led the league with 90 missed forced tackles and 94 first downs. His contributions were not limited to the ground game, as he caught 53 of 61 targets for 400 yards and another three touchdowns. Jacobs was not penalized once all year. McCaffrey was traded to SF before week seven. The team proceeded to go 10-1 from that point. He ranked third in the NFL in yards from scrimmage and fumbled just once over the course of 314 touches and scored touchdowns as a runner, receiver, and passer.
WR Analysis
Tyreek Hill / Justin Jefferson (1T), AJ Brown / CeeDee Lamb (2T)
Jefferson (1,809) and Hill (1,710) now are both top 11 all time in single season receiving yards. The next most was almost 200 yards away this season. While they were both top three league wide in targets, they both finished top 13 in reception percentage. Hill did this while catching balls in four-plus games from the likes of Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson. Brown ranked top five in the league with an average of 6.4 yards after catch, yards per route run, passer rating when targeted, and touchdowns for the NFC’s number one seed. Lamb was the league’s most productive receiver from the slot, and he was playing with a backup quarterback for five games.
TE Analysis
Travis Kelce (1T), George Kittle (2T)
There was no debate for the top spot. Kelce’s 1,338 yards were fourth all time for the position. He now owns three of the top five spots. He also led the group with 12 touchdowns. Kittle scored 11 touchdowns, a career high, despite missing the first two games of the season and remains one of the best blockers at the position in the league.
OT Analysis
Trent Williams / Tristan Wirfs (1T), Laremy Tunsil / Lane Johnson (2T)
Williams missed three-plus games due to injury. SF went 2-1 in the games he missed and also lost the one he left early. They were 11-2 in the others he started and stayed in. He allowed just one sack (one of just eight tackles to do so) and remains, by far, the most dominant run blocker at the position in the NFL. Wirfs also missed three games, TB went 1-2 during that stretch. His five pressures allowed were the lowest in the NFL among tackles, nobody was near that number. Tunsil continued to remain the best pure pass protector in the league while Lane Johnson was the only tackle in the NFL that did not allow a sack all year among those that played over 600 snaps.
OG Analysis
Joe Thuney / Zack Martin (1T), Landon Dickerson / Michael Onwenu (2T)
On such a quick-pass attack KC deploys, the protection up the middle is vital. Thuney allowed just 15 pressures and was penalized just twice, lowest in the league at guard for those that played over 970 snaps. Martin remains the most balanced interior lineman in the league as he was the only guard that ended the year with no sacks allowed and just one penalty. Dickerson was a major force in PHI’s top five offense and Onwenu finally got to settle in at one position, responding with one sack and 14 pressures allowed.
OC Analysis
Jason Kelce (1T), Frank Ragnow (2T)
Kelce is still the leader of the best line in football and can reach areas that most guard cannot even get to laterally. He did not allow a single sack for the first time since 2018. Ragnow allowed one sack but no other QB hits for the rest of the year on what ended up being the surprise offense all year league wide.
1ST TEAM DEFENSE
EDGE: Nick Bosa / SF
EDGE: Myles Garrett / CLE
DL: Chris Jones / KC
DL: Quinnen Williams / NYJ
LB: Fred Warner / SF
LB: Bobby Wagner / LAR
LB: Demario Davis / NO
CB: Sauce Gardner / NYJ
CB: Jaire Alexander / GB
S: Minkah Fitzpatrick / PIT
S: Justin Simmons / DEN
2ND TEAM DEFENSE
EDGE: Micah Parsons / DAL
EDGE: Maxx Crosby / LV
DL: Dexter Lawrence / NYG
DL: Daron Payne / WAS
LB: TJ Edwards / PHI
LB: Roquan Smith / BAL
LB: Matt Milano / BUF
CB: James Bradberry / PHI
CB: Patrick Surtain / DEN
S: Quandre Diggs / SEA
S: Tashaun Gipson / SF
EDGE Analysis
Nick Bosa / Myles Garrett (1T), Micah Parsons / Maxx Crosby (2T)
Bosa led the NFL with 18.5 sacks and 49 QB hits. Garrett’s 25.6% pass rush win percentage was tops in the league with a wide margin. Swiss army knife Parsons lined up everywhere along the front seven, but 738 of them came on the front after just 390 a year ago. He finished with 13.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries including one returned for a touchdown. Maxx Crosby’s 22 TFL led the NFL, and he added a career high 12.5 sacks. He is the league’s top edge run defender.
DT Analysis
Chris Jones / Quinnen Williams (1T), Dexter Lawrence, Daron Payne (2T)
Could not go wrong stacking these four in any order. Jones led the group with 15.5 sacks and had the highest pass rush win percentage rate. His alignments are also all over the place as he won several different ways. Williams was second in sacks with 12 and QB hits with 28. Lawrence also hit the quarterback 28 times and Payne led the group with 18 TFL.
LB Analysis
Fred Warner / Bobby Wagner / Demario Davis (1T), TJ Edwards, Matt Milano, Roquan Smith (2Y)
Warner is the leader of the best defense in the NFL and allowed the third lowest completion percentage at the position. Wagner missed the least amount of tackles percentage wise, and Davis led the group with nine sacks. Edwards was the league’s most effective pass defender at the position, Roquan Smith completely turned around the BAL defense after being traded and Milano was top five in pressures and led the linebackers with three interceptions.
CB Analysis
Sauce Gardner / Jaire Alexander (1T), Patrick Surtain / James Bradberry (2T)
Gardner put together an all-time kind of rookie performance, leading the league in completion percentage against (45.2%) and passer rating (52.5). Alexander was penalized just twice and intercepted five passes. Surtain remains such a balanced run/pass weapon and Bradberry allowed the second fewest percentage of targets allowed and had the second most passes defensed.
S Analysis
Minkah Fitzpatrick / Justin Simmons (1T), Quandre Diggs / Tashaun Gipson (2T)
Fitzpatrick led the NFL safeties with six interceptions while continuing to line up and move around like a Queen chest piece. Simmons led the group with him with six interceptions as well in addition to forcing a group-high three fumbles. Diggs led the group in snaps played and allowed a league-low 47.6% of passes to be completed in addition to adding four interceptions. Gipson was the best tackler in the league, missing just 1.6% of his attempts and added five interceptions as well for the best defense in football.
1st TEAM SPECIALISTS
K: Daniel Carlson / LV
P: Johnny Hekker / CAR
KR: Keisan Nixon / GB
PR: Marcus Jones / NE
DEF: Jeremy Reaves / WAS
2ND TEAM SPECIALISTS
K: Jason Myers / SEA
P: Ryan Wright / MIN
KR: Kene Nwangwu / MIN
PR: Jaelon Dardon / CLE
DEF: George Odum / SF
SPT Analysis
Carlson made a league-high 11 field goals from 50+ and was perfect from 20-39 yards while Jason Myers missed just one extra point and ranked fifth in field goal percentage even though he had the fifth most attempts in the league. He was also a perfect 7/7 from 50+. Johnny Hekker was top three league wide in net yards per attempt, pinning the opposition inside the 20, return percentage, and fair catches. The only punter to do so. Wright had the best ratio of pinning opponents inside the 20 (33) to touchbacks (1). Nixon led the NFL in kick return yards and yards per return while adding a touchdown. He did all of this in a year where he didn’t see his second return until week 8. Nwangwu was a consistent force all year, finishing fourth in the NFL with 26.3 yards per return and added a touchdown. Jones had the lone punt return touchdown on the year, and it was a game winner. Darden didn’t muff one punt on 33 attempts, one of two players to do so that had more than 25 returns. Reaves and Odom finished 1-2 in special teams tackles.