• Mahomes bests Burrow for top QB spot: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes earned the first-team quarterback despite Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s late-season push.
• Josh Jacobs claims All-Pro first-team honors at RB: Jacobs thrived during a tumultuous Las Vegas Raiders season, besting the Cleveland Browns‘ Nick Chubb for the top running back spot on PFF's All-Pro team.
• Five Philadelphia Eagles earn All-Pro spots: Center Jason Kelce, right tackle Lane Johnson, wide receiver A.J. Brown, linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback James Bradberry have helped lead the team to a No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Estimated reading time: 11 minutes
The NFL regular season is over and 14 teams will enter the playoffs. For the rest, attention turns to the NFL Draft and an offseason of reloading to go again next year. There is still a chance to stop and recognize the individual performances from the season that has just been.
Here is PFF’s All-Pro from the 2022 NFL regular season.
Note: This team is NOT just using the highest PFF grade at each position. Consideration has been given to role, supporting cast and consistency (one bad game in four is a significant negative even if the output of the four games is slightly higher than another player without the poor performance.)
Offense
QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Second Team: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Mahomes has been the best quarterback over the course of the season. In any given stretch, he was rivaled by Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts and Burrow, but Mahomes has been the one constant. His 91.3 overall PFF grade is more than 10 grading points higher than his mark last season and represents his fourth year above 90.0 in five full seasons.
RB Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
Second Team: Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
Jacobs had a career year in 2022. The former first-round draft pick led the league in rushing yards with 1,653 but also cleared 1,100 yards after contact and broke 90 tackles over the season — the second-most recorded in a single season since PFF has been tracking the data.
WR Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Second Team: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Hill remains the scariest receiver for opposing defenses to have to contend with. Despite losing his quarterback for a portion of the year, Hill led the league in explosive receptions (48) and averaged 3.2 yards per route run — the only receiver to clear 3.0 this year. His effect on the Miami offense was obvious even if his production eroded as his quarterback situation got worse.
Tua Tagovailoa hits Tyreek Hill for a 48-yard TD and Miami has made it a one-score game.
Tua has 367 passing yards and 4 TDs on the day.pic.twitter.com/q9usJvn0dO
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 18, 2022
WR Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Second Team: Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Jefferson is putting up record-breaking numbers over his young career thus far, as only Hill had more explosive receptions than Jefferson (47), who also finished second in the league in yards per route run. Despite teams knowing that Jefferson was the primary, and at times only, threat on the Vikings offense, most still could do little to slow him down.
TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Second Team: George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kelce is in a world of his own at the tight end position, which is made even more impressive by sharing the same wavelength with Mahomes — the best and most innovative passer in football. Kelce had over 400 receiving yards more than the next-highest mark among tight ends this year, moving the chains 29 times more than anyone else.
FLEX-O Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Second Team: A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
It took a few weeks for him to get going, but Adams showed late in the season that he is still arguably the game's best receiver, making a sequence of spectacular catches that few receivers can hope to emulate. Only Jefferson and Hill had more receiving yards over the season, and Adams led the league in receiving touchdowns (14)
LT Andrew Thomas, New York Giants
Second Team: Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Thomas was the NFL's most consistently excellent left tackle this season, racking up an 89.1 PFF grade over 1,049 snaps. He had just one below-average PFF pass-blocking grade all year, and that came against Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. Thomas registered just two penalties all season and surrendered 21 total pressures on over 600 pass-blocking snaps.
a dozen clips of #78 Andrew Thomas locking down the blindside against the Colts in the first half (plus a run play for fun).
Thomas' length, technique and athleticism all on display here. He's a true elite left tackle for the Giants. pic.twitter.com/nNjQlKxJGp
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) January 5, 2023
LG Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns
Second Team: Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs
Bitonio had a couple of average, or even below-average, performances this season, but when he was on his game, he was excellent. He allowed just one sack and 20 total pressures across 17 games and 1,172 snaps in total. He is one of only two guards to have an 80.0-plus PFF grade in both pass protection and run blocking.
C Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
Second Team: Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles
Other than size, Humphrey and Kelce are incredibly alike and very difficult to split for this All-Pro first team. Humphrey finishes the season narrowly ahead thanks to a 91.1 PFF run-blocking grade. He didn’t surrender a sack all season after giving up three in his rookie year.
RG Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons
Second Team: Michael Onwenu, New England Patriots
Atlanta’s offensive line was one of the surprise units of the season, and Lindstrom was a dominant force at right guard. Lindstrom’s 93.1 PFF run-blocking grade was the best among NFL offensive linemen regardless of position, and he allowed just nine total pressures in 17 games for the league’s most run-happy offense.
RT Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles
Second Team: Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Johnson allowed just nine pressures in 15 games before injury caused him to miss the final two weeks of the season. Johnson receives virtually no help from Philadelphia's scheme and is separated from Wirfs by a quarterback that does not have the fastest average time to throw in the NFL. Johnson did not surrender a sack or a hit all season.
Lane Johnson is a freak. And it's these subtleties that highlight it…
Watch how quickly he goes from 'horrible position, high pads, wide hands, no leverage' to 'Perfection' in 3 steps.
Recovering is a MAJOR aspect of playing OL. @BrandonThornNFL @BigDuke50 @LaneJohnson65 pic.twitter.com/Ry6Nh8HbLm
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) October 10, 2022
Defense
DI Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants
Second Team: Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
Lawrence was one of the most quietly dominant defenders in the league this season. While several interior linemen had career years, Lawrence was one of only a few that did not tail off or allow an injury to derail his production. He finished with 63 total pressures and 38 defensive stops — both new career highs.
DI Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Second Team: Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jones led all interior defenders with 77 total pressures this season, taking over Aaron Donald‘s mantle as the NFL's best interior pass-rusher. He also totaled 31 defensive stops to go with 15 sacks, as he even lined up and won as a true edge rusher on occasion.
EDGE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Second Team: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
There are three standout edge rushers in the league this season but only two of them get to be first-team All-Pros. Separating Garrett, Bosa and Parsons is incredibly tough, as they rank top three in some order in virtually every pass-rush metric from the edge available at PFF. Garrett is overlooked because the Browns weren’t good this season, but he has the highest PFF pass-rush win rate of the three (25.6%) as well as the highest PFF WAR figure. He also sacked the quarterback the same 18 times as Bosa while facing a tougher slate of opposing tackles.
EDGE Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
Second Team: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
Parsons elevated his game this season to another level as a full-time pass-rusher. He became one of the most devastating rushers in the league, handing Thomas and Christian Darrisaw their first sacks allowed in consecutive weeks. Parsons finished with 90 pressures — the most in the NFL — despite 64 snaps spent in coverage, at least 60 more than either Bosa or Garrett.
Micah Parsons' sack vs Andrew Thomas – one of the premier LTs this year by nearly any metric/evaluation.
With Thomas on an island, Parsons' stutter step forces him stationary, which gives Parsons a 2-way go. From there it's a race to corner & Parsons is just too quick. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/9S2Xq5wR3M
— John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 28, 2022
LB Bobby Wagner, Los Angeles Rams
Second Team: Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
Wagner playing as well as he did this season in his first year with a new team would be remarkable enough, but doing so given the injury disaster in Los Angeles and still looking like the best linebacker in the game is truly outstanding. Wagner has a 77.9-plus PFF grade in every facet of play.
LB T.J. Edwards, Philadelphia Eagles
Second Team: Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Edwards is one of the best stories in the NFL. An undrafted free agent from Wisconsin in 2019, Edwards has graded well in every opportunity he has been given since college. This season, he finished with 51 defensive stops and seven pass breakups while allowing a 76.4 passer rating 76.4 into his coverage.
CB Sauce Gardner, New York Jets
Second Team: Patrick Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Cornerback is one of the hardest positions in the league to succeed at right away. Therefore, Gardner finishing the year as the best corner in the game this season is almost beyond belief. He allowed just one touchdown all season — a communications breakdown in the Jets' secondary — and offset that with 14 pass breakups. He allowed just 45.2% of passes thrown into his coverage to be caught.
Sauce Gardner first career INT 🔒
pic.twitter.com/8IkWAy02hV— PFF (@PFF) October 9, 2022
CB Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
Second Team: Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers
Surtain was one of the stars of an outstanding Broncos defense that deserved more help from the other side of the ball this season. He had a rough game guarding Davante Adams in the middle of the season, but outside of that was virtually shut down, allowing an 82.9 passer rating into his coverage.
S Ryan Neal, Seattle Seahawks
Second Team: Tyrann Mathieu, New Orleans Saints
Neal was one of 2022's breakout defensive backs, finishing the season with an 86.5 overall PFF grade — more than 25 grading points higher than his previous career high. He totaled six pass breakups and 25 defensive stops, earning 79.5-plus grades in both run defense and coverage.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Second Team: Kamren Curl, Washington Commanders
Fitzpatrick is capable of game-changing plays, so his highlight reel stacks up with any safety in football. He doesn’t always play at that level, but when he does, he is an unquestioned All-Pro. This season, he generated six interceptions, four pass breakups and posted the best PFF coverage grade (83.3) of his career.
FLEX-D Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams
Second Team: James Bradberry, Philadelphia Eagles
Ramsey is, by far, the league's best cornerback in run support and the type of passing plays that teams use as an extension of the run game. His 91.8 PFF run defense grade is the best in the league, and he registered 27 defensive stops as well as two forced fumbles this season. Ramsey showed what he can do in coverage in the final week of the regular season against Seattle, picking off Geno Smith twice.
Put yesterday's performance in Jalen Ramsey's HOF resume. The Rams had nothing to play for and he balled TF out pic.twitter.com/yL646WlnOa
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 9, 2023
Special Teams
K Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
Second Team: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
Splitting Carlson and Tucker was incredibly difficult, as both players missed one extra point, one field goal from inside of 50 yards and multiple from beyond 50. Tucker asked to take a swing at multiple ludicrous-distance efforts this season, so Carlson just edges Tucker in PFF kicking grade (90.8).
P Tommy Townsend, Kansas City Chiefs
Second Team: A.J. Cole III, Las Vegas Raiders
Townsend has become a hang time monster among NFL punters, averaging a 4.7-second hangtime this season. He has been the best combination of punt distance, direction and hang time in the league.
ST Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders
Second Team: George Odum, San Francisco 49ers
Reaves played 373 snaps of special teams this season, featuring in five different phases. He had the best special teams grade in the league and made 17 total tackles.
RS Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers
Second Team: Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
His kick return touchdown owed as much to a total breakdown in Minnesota’s coverage unit as it did to anything special in the return, but Keisean Nixon has been ready to break one all season long. He has been dynamic any time he touches the ball.
Keisean Nixon, you are ridiculous!pic.twitter.com/gKUoKBC2Fp
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) January 1, 2023
LS Andrew DePaola, Minnesota Vikings
Second Team: Zach Wood, New Orleans Saints
PFF tracks accuracy on long snaps, and there has been no safer long snapper than DePaola, who had just four slightly off-target snaps all season.
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