There are generally fewer egregious All-Pro snubs than Pro Bowl snubs, which was the case again this season following the release of the AP All-Pro voting on Friday afternoon. Still, there are several positions where PFF would have differed based on play-by-play grading and charting statistics for every player in every game of the 2021 NFL regular season.
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All the players listed below were represented on PFF’s All-Pro team, which was released earlier this week.
C Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
Replacing: JASON KELCE, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Kelce — PFF’s third-highest graded center in 2021 — was excellent this season in the middle of Philadelphia’s offensive line, but Humphrey was simply better for Kansas City.
Humphrey’s 1.3% pressure rate allowed ranked second among centers with at least 250 pass-blocking snaps — behind only Rodney Hudson — and his 92.5 PFF run-blocking grade was the highest among centers since Kelce’s 95.5 run-blocking grade in 2017.
The Oklahoma product was left off the first- and second-team All-Pro teams at center despite that he had a strong case to be the best at the position in 2021.
CB A.J. Terrell, Atlanta Falcons
Replacing: TREVON DIGGS, DALLAS COWBOYS
Terrell managed to secure a second-team All-Pro spot at cornerback, but that doesn’t do his 2021 season justice. He received considerably fewer votes (eight) than the top-three cornerbacks: Diggs (33), Jalen Ramsey (32) and J.C. Jackson (25).
Terrell exists on the opposite end of the spectrum as Diggs, whose boom-or-bust play style was well documented by PFF’s Diante Lee. Diggs came away with the turnovers, which represent massive swings for the defense, but he also allowed a league-high 1,016 passing yards in 2021.
| Category | Trevon Diggs | A.J. Terrell |
| Receptions allowed | 55 | 29 |
| Yards allowed | 1,016 | 200 |
| Interceptions | 11 | 3 |
| Forced incompletions | 11 | 13 |
Terrell managed just three interceptions on the year, but he allowed just 29 receptions and 200 passing yards for the year, which translates to under two receptions and 12.5 receiving yards per game. Terrell's performance this season deserves a first-team All-Pro nod.
EDGE Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Replacing: EDGE ROBERT QUINN, CHICAGO BEARS
Sack production is always going to get rewarded during the end-of-season awards. In that respect, Quinn’s second-team All-Pro selection makes sense. His 18.5 NFL sacks were fewer than only first-team All-Pro T.J. Watt, and many of those sacks came from high-quality pass-rush reps. Nonetheless, those plays remain a small portion of Quinn’s entire 2021 season.
By PFF’s sack count — which only gives out full sacks and no half sacks if a player was involved in the play — Bosa’s 16 sacks were just two shy of Quinn (18). Bosa also won his matchups more often than Quinn did, as his 20.7% pass-rush win rate finished over five percentage points higher than Quinn’s over the course of the regular season.
A PFF run-defense grade that was over 10 points higher than Quinn’s in 2021 only adds to Bosa’s case for an All-Pro spot.
LG Ali Marpet, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Replacing: QUENTON NELSON, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Nelson stepped into the NFL as the league's best left guard, but in 2021, he was carried to a second-team All-Pro spot by name recognition in a down year.
| Category | Quenton Nelson | Ali Marpet |
| Snaps played | 767 (24th at LG) | 1,036 (11th at LG) |
| PFF run-blocking grade | 71.1 (12th at LG) | 86.9 (2nd at LG) |
| PFF pass-blocking grade | 62.0 (24th at LG) | 77.8 (5th at LG) |
Marpet played nearly 300 more snaps than Nelson and graded higher as a run blocker and pass protector. Marpet and Joel Bitonio were the only two players at the position who recorded top-five grades in both facets, and they were PFF’s two All-Pro selections at left guard.
S Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Replacing: S BUDDA BAKER, ARIZONA CARDINALS
Winfield made the leap from an impressive rookie season to become one of the NFL's best safeties in 2021. The second-year safety’s 85.6 PFF grade trailed only Kevin Byard at safety, but he received just one All-Pro vote.
Winfield’s 87.3 run-defense grade leads all safeties since he was drafted, and his coverage ability improved a ton this season. His 15.6% forced incompletion rate and 0.4 yards allowed per coverage snap were both top-10 marks among safeties who were targeted at least 25 times in 2021.
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