The Associated Press released their NFL All-Pro teams today. Amongst the names, six players on the Green Bay Packers were recognized.
On the first team: Aaron Rodgers, David Bakhtiari, Corey Linsley and Davante Adams.
On the second team: Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith.
Only two selections were unanimous, receiving 50 out of 50 votes: Travis Kelce and Aaron Donald. Davante Adams received 49 out of 50. I have but only one request; I need the immediate contact information of the lone voter who thought Adams wasn’t one of the best three receivers in the NFL this year. I just want to talk to him or her….I just want to talk to them.
Cole Beasley is a fine receiver. Why do I bring this up? Some jokester thought Beasley warranted a first team vote. Could it be the same person who didn’t vote for Davante? I just want to talk to that person. Just a friendly conversation, that’s all.
Aaron Rodgers received 46 of a possible 50 first place votes. Rodgers is well on his way to earning his third career MVP award and played out of his damn mind this year. Honestly, was anyone else a bit surprised he received 46 of 50 votes? I thought Patrick Mahomes (two votes) and Josh Allen (two votes) would chew up more pieces of that pie but, it goes to show how truly dominant Rodgers was this season.
Perhaps I’m going the route of the old man yelling at clouds route, but Jaire Alexander being second team All-Pro instead of first team kind of irritated me.
Soak those numbers in and get back to me. It’s hard to argue against Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey, the two cornerbacks who were voted first team, but I’ll go to bat for Jaire seven days of the week. The dude consistently shutdown some of the best receivers in the game throughout the year and is a true lockdown cornerback. While we’re unsure if Alexander is the one who needs motivation or not, I can tell you after not being named first team, I wouldn’t want to be the wideout lined up across from him in the playoffs this year.
As for the others, David Bakhtiari made his 5th straight appearance as an All-Pro. The epitome of dominance and consistency at the offensive tackle spot, it’s a shame he won’t be suiting up for the playoffs due to knee injury suffered two weeks ago.
Corey Linsley was named a first-team All-Pro for the first time. If you want a perfect example as to why Pro Bowl voting is laughable, Linsley wasn’t even voted a Pro Bowler but makes first team All-Pro. It will be a massive offseason for the Packers as Linsley will be amongst the free agents they should do everything possible to bring back.
Finally for Green Bay, Za’Darius Smith was named to the second team. Last year Za’Darius started all 16 games, had 13.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 55 total tackles. This year, he started all 16 games, had 12.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 52 total tackles. Almost identical seasons, yet this year it has almost gone under the radar. He was the new shiny car last year being a big time free agent acquisition for the Packers and the green and gold nation lost its respective minds every time he made a play. He’s making the same plays this year, having a very similar impact and it seems to be getting less light shining on it. A well deserved second team honor for Z after another incredible season.
Let’s hope this is just the beginning of the accolades and awards the Packers rack up the rest of the way this year.
