As Wild Card weekend gets set to kick off on Saturday evening, the NFL gave us something to argue about to pass the time: Both the first- and second-team All-Pros were announced, and as is the case every year, there are quite a few big names who have every right to feel snubbed.
Of course, when you're talking about first-team All-Pros, you're by definition splitting hairs. Still, it's hard to escape the feeling that voters this year were in some cases beholden to reputation rather than actual on-field production. So we're here to correct the record, and to give some very deserving players their due.
(It should go without saying that we're honor-bound to follow the cardinal rule of this kind of content: For every player you claim as a snub, you need to also name which player you think deserved to be demoted.)
The NFL's biggest first-team All-Pro snubs this season
QB: Drake Maye, New England Patriots
This is essentially a preview of the eventual NFL MVP race, and as in that one, I believe the rightful winner should be Maye. Yes, Stafford is the league's passing leader, and yes, Maye's Patriots have faced a friendly schedule this season. But that doesn't mean that the latter hasn't been dealing with a higher degree of difficulty: Maye doesn't have Sean McVay making life easier for him (no disrespect to Josh McDaniel) and he doesn't have a no-doubt first-team All-Pro in Puka Nacua at wide receiver.
Plus, when you compare common opponents, Maye actually has substantially better numbers than Stafford does — hardly the be-all, end-all, but a useful data point that pushes back on the idea that Maye is simply running up the score against bad defenses. Maye's added value with his legs, as well as the work he's done to elevate his average group of pass-catchers, gives him the nod here in terms of overall value (whether that value came against worse competition or not).
WR: George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys
The first two receiver spots were set in stone between Nacua and Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba. By contrast, the third had some stiff competition, but I think the league got it wrong here.
Which isn't to take away from Chase, a superstar in his own right. But pretty much all of Next Gen Stats' over expectation numbers (catch rate, receiving yards and yards after catch) favor Pickens, while Nacua, Smith-Njigba and Stefon Diggs are the only wideouts to outdo the Cowboys star when it comes to EPA per route run. Chase soaked up more volume, but Pickens combined his tremendous efficiency with being a consistent downfield threat, I think that should give him the nod. Besides, the mitigating arguments (he has Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb helping him out) apply as well to Chase with Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins.
OT: Penei Sewell over Trent Williams
Health has always been the question mark for Williams, but he had been able to suit up for all of San Francisco's games until suffering a hamstring injury against the Bears that kept him out of the team's season finale against the Seahawks. And when he was out there, the 37-year-old proved that he's still among the league's very best, protecting Brock Purdy's blind side no matter how many times Kyle Shanahan left him on an island (and no matter how many different guards the Niners' revolving door left starting next to him).
Sewell is excellent as well, and his ability on the move is truly rare. But Williams is in a class of his own as a pass protector, even now, and I think he deserves credit for keeping this San Francisco offense afloat and in the playoffs while Detroit took a step back this season.
C: Creed Humphrey over Aaron Brewer
This feels more like a reputation award than anything else. Humphrey has been among the league's best pivots since entering the league in 2021, and he's certainly not the one to blame for the struggles that plagued Kansas City's offense (and in particular the run game) this season.
Still, the Chiefs simply could not run the ball at all this year, and it's hard to ignore that fact when you watch Brewer pin and pull and get on the edge to spring De'Von Achane for multiple big runs every week. With Miami's passing game hampered by injuries and general Tua-related dysfunction, this offense relied almost soley on its rushing attack, and that rushing attack delivered on a consistent basis — with Brewer at the tip of the spear. Miami's zone scheme simply doesn't work without a player with his unique skill set, and it deserved to be rewarded.
LB: Jack Campbell over Ernest Jones IV
How does arguably the best defense in the NFL not merit a single first-team All-Pro nod? While you can argue for several different Seahawks, I think Jones is the biggest snub: He hardly ever came off the field for Mike Macdonald's unit, and he was equally adept both against the run and the pass (53.7 passer rating against and five INTs). It's hard to imagine Seattle's scheme working as well without Jones blanketing the middle of the field, and he's simply a more versatile and athletic player than Campbell.
CB: Cooper DeJean over Christian Gonzalez (and Patrick Surtain II)
This is really no slight against DeJean, a tremendous player who's almost as important to Philly's defense as fellow first-team All-Pro corner Quinyon Mitchell. But I think the NFL should be more concerned with rewarding the best corners in football rather than simply focusing on slot players, and both Christian Gonzalez and Denver's Pat Surtain were sensational this season.
Gun to my head, I'm going with Gonzalez, who bested Surtain in most advanced stats like expected catch rate and passer rating against (and who remains an absolute menace against the run). The Broncos didn't rely quite as much on Surtain in man coverage, and other teams were able to look elsewhere more consistently in the pass game while neutralizing Surtain's impact a bit. Still, you really can't go wrong with either player.
S: Kevin Byard III over Derwin James
It might not appear at first glance as though James was as impactful this year as he was in 2024, with both his TFL and sack totals down a bit. But he remains one of the league's singular chess pieces, a linebacker in a safety's body whose ability to play against both the run and the pass (his 59.6 passer rating in coverage was a career best) is the skeleton key to unlocking how Chargers DC Jesse Minter was able to craft a top-10 unit out of a mediocre depth chart.
Byard is a good player, but Chicago's defense was substantially worse than L.A.'s this season, and he's not as versatile or impactful a player as James.