Only one player was a unanimous choice for the NFL All-Pro team
Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is one of just four players to repeat as first-team All-Pros, and the only unanimous selection in 2017.
Brown received votes from all 50 media members who selected the Associated Press All-Pro team, which was announced Friday.
Only Brown, Rams punter Johnny Hekker, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner are repeat selections from 2016.
Antonio Brown led the NFL in receiving despite missing two games with an injury.
Business was certainly boomin' in 2017. pic.twitter.com/9AZ1rDJh5q
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 1, 2018
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady earned his third All-Pro selection. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is the first-team flex, while the Rams’ Todd Gurley is the first-team running back for the first time.
“Dang, that’s crazy. It means a lot, honestly,” Gurley said of the honor, reported ESPN. “It’s a blessing. I’ve got so much respect for everybody in this league, and to be in this position just means so much to me … I’ve been following people around the NFL my whole life, and to be considered as an All-Pro, man — God is good, honestly. Honestly.”
Brown and Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins are the selections at wide receiver, while the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski was voted the top tight end. For Gronkowski, the award triggered a $2.5 million incentive.
It’s official: Rob Gronkowski is a first-team All-Pro, earning him an extra $2.5M. His reaction, probably: pic.twitter.com/CfjfB3RM6w
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) January 5, 2018
On the offensive line, first team All-Pros include the Rams’ Andrew Whitworth (left tackle), the Eagles’ Lane Johnson (right tackle) and Jason Kelce (center), the Panthers’ Andrew Norwell (left guard) and the Steelers’ David DeCastro (right guard).
On defense, the Jaguars’ Calais Campbell and the Saints’ Cameron Jordan are the top edge rushers, while the Rams’ Donald and Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward are the interior linemen.
For Jordan, a seven-year veteran, it’s the first time he’s made All-Pro.
“I’m definitely trying to push myself to be better than I was the year previous,” Jordan said via ESPN. “I think I had a really good year last year. Of course, sack numbers won’t show that, but in terms of playing the run, in terms of getting after the passer I thought last year was one of my better years
Arizona’s Chandler Jones, Carolina’s Luke Kuechly and Seattle’s Wagner are the first-team All-Pro linebackers.
“When you get voted for these types of awards it shows you all the work you do in the offseason, the grinding, all the things you push through,” said Wagner, who earned his third All-Pro nod. “When you get this, when people say this is not AFC, NFC, this is the league, this is who we deem the best at their position in the league, that says a lot. …
“And you see the guys before you, the things they were able to accomplish, you’ve seen those things, and you want those things. It’s part of that mindset of wanting to be great and understanding what comes along with that, and wanting that kind of acknowledgment.”
The All-Pro cornerbacks are the Jags’ Jalen Ramsey and the Vikings’ Xavier Rhodes. The safeties are the Titans’ Kevin Byard and the Vikings’ Harrison Smith, while the Lions’ Darius Slay earned honors as a defensive back.
First team all-pro✊🏽…. true blessing🙏🏾
— Darius Slay (@bigplay24slay) January 5, 2018
On special teams the first-teamers are the Rams’ Greg Zuerlein (kicker), Hekker (punter) and Pharoh Cooper (kick returner), the Lions’ Jamal Agnew (punt returner) and the Cardinals’ Budda Baker (special teamer).
The Rams led all teams with six All-Pro selections. Brown, Gronkowski, Kuechly and Hekker all made it for the fourth time in their careers.
The second-team offense: quarterback, Carson Wentz, Philadelphia; running back, Bell; flex, Alvin Kamara, New Orleans; tight end, Travis Kelce, Kansas City; wide receivers, Julio Jones, Atlanta, and Adam Thielen, Minnesota; left tackle, David Bakhtiari, Green Bay; right tackle, Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City, and Daryl Williams, Carolina; left guard, Rodger Saffold, Los Angeles Rams; right guard, Zach Martin, Dallas; and center Alex Mack, Atlanta.
The second-team defense: edge rushers, Everson Griffen, Minnesota, and Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas; interior linemen, Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia, and Campbell; linebackers, Von Miller, Denver, C.J. Mosley, Baltimore, and Telvin Smith, Jacksonville; cornerbacks, Casey Hayward, Los Angles Chargers, and A.J. Bouye, Jacksonville; safeties, Earl Thomas, Seattle, and Micah Hyde, Buffalo; and defensive back, Rhodes.
The second-team special teams: placekicker, Justin Tucker, Baltimore; punter, Brett Kern, Tennessee; kick returner, Tyler Lockett, Seattle; punt returner, Cooper; and special teamer, Matthew Slater, New England.
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