Selecting the 2021-22 NFL All-Pro Teams: Defense & Special Teams
Selecting the 2021-22 NFL All-Pro Teams: Defense & Special Teams
I'm back to finish assigning All-Pro selections
I hoped to publish my 2021 NFL offensive and defensive All-Pro selection articles before the Associated Press (AP) released their official teams. I met that deadline for the offense’s article, but I fell a little behind for the defense. You’ve probably seen several pieces or videos discussing the most surprising selections and biggest snubs. I won’t get into that today. We’ll remain focused on my teams and the reason I selected them.
All-Pro teams are important for several reasons. Outside of the pride factor, dozens of players have incentives in their contracts tied to All-Pro selections. They’re also a significant factor when presenting players for potential enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That’s why getting the teams “right” is extremely important.
I’ve included an honorable mention category for each position to give other great performances love and let readers know my general thought process.
I will eventually get around to reading your thoughts, complaints, and compliments if you leave them in the comment section below this post, but the easiest way to reach me is on Twitter @Sam_Teets33.
Defensive Selections
EDGE: Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
Second Team: Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
Honorable Mention: Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
Garrett should hear his name featured prominently in the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) discussion in the coming weeks. The former first overall pick from 2017 is still only 26 years old and already has 58.5 career sacks, a career-high 16 of which came in 2021. Garrett also set career-highs in tackles (51) and pressures (78).
We’ve constantly talked about Garrett ascending to the level of a perennial All-Pro and DPOY candidate since he entered the league. He’s earned back-to-back First-Team All-Pro selections from the AP, so I think we’re at that point. Now it’s just a matter of how much further Garrett can move the needle.
Crosby was Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) highest-graded edge rusher in 2021, followed closely by Garrett. The former fourth-round pick failed to hit ten sacks this year (he finished with eight), which is why he hasn’t gathered as much national attention as other sack artists. However, Crosby led all edge rushers with 101 pressures and 19 quarterback hits.
Crosby appeared in all 17 games, playing 926 snaps, the fourth-most among all edge rushers. Taking that into account, it’s not surprising he set a career-high with 56 tackles.
Bosa only played in two games last year, and you could tell he was eager to get back to football. The 24-year-old amassed four forced fumbles, 75 pressures (fourth-most among edge rushers), and 15.5 sacks.
It was a coin flip between Bosa and Crosby for the Second-Team All-Pro spot.
EDGE: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Second Team: Robert Quinn, Chicago Bears
Honorable Mention: Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
Watt tied Michael Strahan’s 2001 single-season sack record of 22.5 by bringing down Tyler Huntley. He could’ve held the title alone if not for a penalty and specific stat scoring rule. People can argue about the 17th game all they want; Watt only made 15 appearances this year. That means he averaged more sacks per game than Strahan did in 2001.
Watt played around 73% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps to amass 63 pressures and five forced fumbles. Some analysts might try to devalue Watt’s sacks as simply 23 plays in a full year. They must’ve not watched the end of Pittsburgh’s games against Cleveland and Seattle. The Steelers are in the playoffs largely thanks to Watt.
More thought went into picking the Second-Team edge rushers than any other position. The NFL is blessed with so many great sack artists right now. I knew going into this process I wanted Garrett and Watt as First-Team selections. That left two spots to split between Bosa, Crosby, Quinn, and Parsons (I listed him at edge given how great he was as a rusher this year).
A very thin line separated Bosa and Quinn. Parsons, who some will probably vote for Defensive Player of the Year, had a great year, but his production in the pass rush pales compared to the feats accomplished by Bosa and Quinn.
Quinn posted the highest “sack score” according to my friend at Bleacher Report and Trench Warfare (his newsletter you should check out), Brandon Thorn. He re-watched and charted every sack of the season, checking for sack difficulty and which pass rushing moves players deployed. According to Thorn, Quinn recorded the most “high quality” sacks.
You can find more on Thorn’s sack charting project (called True Sack Rate) here.
Despite Khalil Mack missing most of the season and Akiem Hicks not playing in eight games, Quinn amassed 18.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. He could even receive Comeback Player of the Year votes for rebounding after only posting two sacks in 15 games last season.
Interior Lineman: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
Second Team: Jonathan Allen, Washington Football Team
Honorable Mention: Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
Donald will once again be front and center in the Defensive Player of the Year race. He already has a record three DPOY awards under his belt and could break the tie with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt. Donald played over 1,000 defensive snaps this season for the first time in his career. No other interior defensive lineman or edge rusher played over 1,000.
Donald amassed 86 pressures, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and a career-high 84 tackles this year. He dominates the game in ways we’ve arguably never seen before and easily earned his seventh consecutive First-Team All-Pro nod.
Believers know we’ve waited on Allen to break out for years. It finally happened. The former 17th overall pick from 2017 showed out in his second season playing a larger snap count on the interior. Allen set career-highs with 67 pressures and nine sacks. He also had 62 tackles, which Simmons didn’t even hit despite playing 150 more snaps. Donald was the only interior defensive lineman to record more pressures in 2021.
Everyone expected Simmons to start rising into the elite echelon of defensive tackles after his explosive three-sack performance against the Rams on Sunday Night Football in Week 9. Simmons certainly put himself on the map, but his production tailed off late in the year. He ultimately finished the season with 54 tackles, 62 pressures, and 8.5 sacks.
Interior Lineman: Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Second Team: Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
Honorable Mention: Christian Wilkins, Miami Dolphins
Heyward is still one of the most underrated defenders in the NFL. His bull rush ranks among the best of the past decade, and he anchored a defensive line decimated by injuries this year. Heyward’s considerable push on the interior routinely created opportunities for Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt. It’s no coincidence that Pittsburgh has led the NFL in sacks each season since 2017, the first year Heyward was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro.
Heyward wrapped up 2021 with the second-highest PFF grade among interior defenders, only trailing Donald. No other interior defensive lineman had a grade over 85.0. Heyward’s grade also tied for fourth among all defenders (minimum 100 snaps). The heart of Pittsburgh’s defense amassed 89 tackles, nine passes defensed, an interception, 61 pressures, and ten sacks.
Kansas City did Jones a massive disservice by trying to play him as an edge rusher to start the year. The move never made much sense from the beginning, and its failure became even more apparent when Lamar Jackson put Jones in a blender with the read-option. Jones wasn’t fast enough to make an impact and sometimes failed to pursue either Jackson or the running back.
Moving Jones back inside was a massive boost for Kansas City’s defense. Jones returned to form at his native position, posting six games with five or more pressures after the move. In comparison, he only had one outing with over five pressures while playing defensive end. Jones finished the year with 27 tackles, 65 pressures, and nine sacks in 14 games.
Wilkins looked fairly disappointing in his first two years as a Dolphin, which stung my Clemson fandom. Luckily the 13th overall pick from 2019 found his rhythm this season. Despite only playing about 65% of Miami’s defensive snaps, Wilkins amassed career-highs across the board, including 89 tackles, 31 pressures, and 4.5 sacks.
Linebacker: De'Vondre Campbell, Green Bay Packers
Second Team: Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Honorable Mention: Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
Campbell was a revelation for Green Bay this year. The 28-year-old signed a cheap, one-year, $2 million contract in the offseason. The Packers probably wish they gave him a long-term deal for slightly more money because Campbell could command a significant raise this summer.
The fourth-round pick from 2016 was PFF’s highest-graded true linebacker (minimum 250 snaps). He stood out in coverage, allowing under seven yards per reception and about 5.4 yards per target. For comparison, last year’s Second-Team All-Pro Devin White allowed 8.5 yards per reception and 6.9 yards per target in 2021.
David only appeared in 12 games this season, which is a shame because he easily could’ve earned All-Pro honors from the AP if he saw more action. The 31-year-old recorded 97 tackles and two sacks in his roughly 788 snaps. He allowed the third-fewest yards per reception in his career (8.0).
Wagner finished third in the NFL with 170 tackles. The 31-year-old is still an exceptional player, but he’s trending in the wrong direction. Seattle asked a lot of its defensive leader this season. Perhaps too much. Wagner played over 1,100 snaps in 16 starts. He faced the third-most targets (87) of any linebacker and allowed the third-most yards in coverage.
Linebacker: Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
Second Team: Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints
Honorable Mention: Roquan Smith, Chicago Bears
Leonard is off to a historic start to his career. He made his third First-Team All-Pro appearance this season, and he was a Second-Team selection in 2019. The “Maniac” plays like a man possessed in the running game, and his size offers an obstacle to quarterbacks in the passing game.
Leonard failed to record a sack this season for the first time in his career. However, he led the NFL with eight forced fumbles. Defensive coaches will show his tape to their players this offseason because there’s no one better at putting their fist on the ball. Leonard also tallied 122 tackles, three fumble recoveries, eight passes defensed, and four interceptions.
Davis is still an elite option despite recently turning 33. He played over 1,000 snaps for the second straight year on his way to amassing 105 tackles and three sacks. The former third-round pick didn’t allow a touchdown in coverage despite facing 57 targets on 550 coverage snaps.
Smith was a Second-Team All-Pro last year. He didn’t play particularly well this season, but the former eighth overall pick had redeeming qualities. Smith didn’t allow a touchdown in coverage and held opponents to 20 or fewer receiving yards in ten games.
Linebacker: Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
Second Team: Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
Honorable Mention: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Cleveland Browns
I was very tempted to classify Parsons as an edge rusher and move on since that’s his dominant quality (he had 307 pass rushing snaps compared to 311 reps in run defense and 284 in coverage). However, the rookie sensation deserved a spot somewhere on these teams. After all, his 84 tackles, 67 pressures, and 13 sacks all ranked in the top ten for edge rushers.
As much as I criticize Parsons for his coverage, the Penn State product had an outstanding year in that area. He didn’t allow a touchdown despite facing 35 targets, and pass catchers only averaged 7.6 yards per reception against him. For reference, that average is the 105th lowest out of 127 linebackers with at least 100 snaps.
Warner wasn’t nearly as productive in coverage as in 2020, which was why the BYU product earned First-Team honors last season. Despite taking a massive step back toward average, Warner still played well in space. He totaled 137 tackles, including 79 solo tackles for the second consecutive year.
Owusu-Koramoah has the sensational versatility I believe Arizona wanted when they drafted Isaiah Simmons. JOK’s size (6'2", 221 lbs.) sometimes leads to problems finishing tackles and bottling up the running game, but he makes up for those issues by flying around the field with elite agility and awareness.
Cornerback: A.J. Terrell, Atlanta Falcons
Second Team: J.C. Jackson, New England Patriots
Honorable Mention: Casey Hayward Jr., Las Vegas Raiders
Terrell was a monster this year, having one of the cleanest seasons we’ve seen from a corner in recent history. The Clemson product played over 1,000 defensive snaps, including roughly 570 reps in coverage. He allowed 29 receptions on 66 targets for 200 yards and three touchdowns. To put that in perspective, Stephon Gilmore allowed over 600 yards in coverage the year he won Defensive Player of the Year.
Terrell allowed 6.9 yards per reception and pass catchers averaged 3.2 yards after the catch against him. In comparison, interception leader Trevon Diggs allowed 18.5 yards per reception and an average of 7.7 yards after the catch. Terrell finished the season with 16 passes defensed, including three interceptions, a sack, and 81 tackles.
Jackson is a ball magnet. He has 22 interceptions over the past three years and 25 interceptions in his four-year career. That’s more picks in his first four seasons than Marcus Peters amassed (22) when he earned two All-Pro selections with Kansas City.
However, Jackson isn’t a boom-or-bust corner hunting for turnovers at the risk of giving up big plays. He’s developed into a legitimate top cover option. This year, Jackson allowed 50 receptions on 98 targets for 635 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterbacks posted a passer rating below 48.0 when targeting the Patriots star.
Jackson posted 23 passes defensed, including eight interceptions, and scored a touchdown in 2021.
Hayward was an All-Pro-caliber cornerback during the peak of his powers in Green Bay and Los Angeles. He fell on hard times during his last season with the Chargers but recaptured some of his old magic in Las Vegas. Hayward played about 670 coverage snaps, allowing 30 receptions on 55 targets for 388 yards and two touchdowns.
Cornerback: Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams
Second Team: Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
Honorable Mention: Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals
So long as he doesn’t fall off a cliff, Ramsey should find his way to Canton, Ohio someday. The 27-year-old is still in his prime and just earned his third First-Team All-Pro selection. Ramsey recorded 16 passes defensed, including four interceptions, and 77 tackles this season. He posted PFF’s highest coverage grade and highest overall defensive grade among cornerbacks (minimum 200 snaps).
Ramsey faced 93 targets in 2021 (five fewer than Jackson and three fewer than Diggs). He allowed 59 receptions for 595 yards in coverage and three touchdowns. That’s the most yardage he’s allowed since joining the Rams, but Los Angeles moved Ramsey around a lot this year. He played fewer than 600 snaps at outside corner for the first time in his career, which accounts for his abnormal production.
Slay earned a First-Team All-Pro selection with Detroit in 2017. He was one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks at the time, but he fell off immediately before joining the Eagles. Slay allowed quarterbacks to complete about 67.3% of their throws against him for over 1,400 yards in 2019 and 2020 combined. Things took a turn for the better in 2021.
Slay returned to form in Philly this season. He played over 900 defensive snaps for the first time since 2017, allowing 44 receptions on 72 targets for 459 yards and three touchdowns. The 31-year-old tallied nine passes defensed, including three interceptions, and scored three defensive touchdowns (one pick-six, two fumble recoveries).
Awuzie only appeared in 14 games this season, but he was crucial for Cincinnati’s improving defense. The 26-year-old gave up 53 receptions for 522 yards and three touchdowns on 93 targets. That’s under ten yards per reception. Awuzie set or tied career-highs with 14 passes defensed and two interceptions.
Safety: Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans
Second Team: Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Honorable Mention: Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
Byard grabbed this spot early in the year and ran away with it. His play tailed off in his last eight games, but the 28-year-old was still easily PFF’s highest-graded safety (90.5). No other safety scored higher than 86.0.
Byard was a First-Team All-Pro in 2017 but dropped off the casual fan’s radar after leading the NFL in interceptions that year. He remained a borderline top-ten safety but hit a rut last year that could’ve spelled the beginning of the end. Instead, Byard rebounded by amassing 88 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles, 13 passes defensed, including five interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns.
The former third-round pick played over 1,000 snaps for the fifth consecutive season. He allowed 29 receptions on 48 targets for 337 yards and five touchdowns.
Winfield was PFF’s second-highest graded safety (85.6). He faced 32 targets, allowing 23 receptions for 215 yards and no touchdowns. The second-year pro tallied 88 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and six passes defensed, including two interceptions, on his way to stuffing that stat sheet.
Oddly enough, Winfield struggled finishing tackles this season, something he excelled at as a rookie. Even with those issues, Winfield’s propensity for finding the football was a massive boost to an injured Buccaneers secondary.
Hyde is always on the verge of making an All-Pro team or the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, he often comes up short because the league features many excellent safeties. Hyde tied a career-high with five interceptions this year. He allowed 18 receptions on 26 targets for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Safety: Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills
Second Team: Marcus Williams, New Orleans Saints
Honorable Mention: Jevon Holland/Harrison Smith
One of Buffalo’s safeties made my All-Pro teams so Bills fans can stop coming at me on Twitter about disrespecting their dynamic duo. Poyer tied a career-high with five interceptions this year. He also added 93 tackles and three sacks. The 30-year-old former seventh-round pick only allowed 13 receptions on 27 targets for 61 yards. He didn’t give up a touchdown.
Poyer allowed the seventh-fewest yards among safeties with at least 200 snaps and the fewest among players at his position with 12 or more targets.
Williams hasn’t earned All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors at any point during his career despite constantly walking the thin line between “very good” and “stud.” The 25-year-old had a strong case to make one of the teams this year.
In 672 coverage snaps, Williams allowed eight receptions on 16 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown. That’s 14 yards per reception, but that number isn’t alarming. Williams is the prototype deep safety, meaning he spends most of his time ten or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Almost any completions he gives up come past the sticks because that’s where he plays.
Williams rounded out the year with 74 tackles and eight passes defensed (two interceptions).
Holland, a rookie, and Smith, a 32-year-old in his tenth season, are on opposite sides of the mountain, but both played exceptionally well in 2021.
Holland tallied 69 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, ten passes defensed, and two interceptions. He surrendered 12 receptions on 22 targets for 208 yards and four touchdowns. The 196 lb. rookie played a surprisingly effective role in the running game, missing under ten percent of his tackle attempts.
Smith also stuffed the stat sheet, amassing 114 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, seven passes defensed, and an interception in 15 games. He played over 1,000 snaps for the fifth consecutive year and didn’t give up a touchdown in coverage for the third time in his career.
Defensive Back: Trevon Diggs, Dallas Cowboys
Second Team: Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Honorable Mention: Tyrann Mathieu/Denzel Ward
This was an extremely deep pool of candidates to choose from. Some people probably would’ve preferred to see a true slot defender in this spot, but I wanted to field a team with the best defensive performances this year. Diggs is a lightning rod on Twitter right now. However, I believe there’s value in what he offered Dallas.
I went back through each game’s play-by-play logs to check where Diggs’ interceptions occurred and if Dallas’ offense converted them to points. Including Diggs’ two pick-sixes, the second-year cornerback set the Cowboys up for drives resulting in 43 points. Two of his interceptions gave Dallas’ offense the ball inside their opponent’s 30-yard line.
Diggs can’t take all of the credit for these scores, but I think putting his results in this perspective mitigates the sting of his league-leading 1,016 yards (or league-leading 907 yards depending on where you look) allowed in coverage. Of course, everyone knows he finished the year with 21 passes defensed, including an NFL-best 11 interceptions.
It’s so good to see James back in action after he missed most of 2019 and all of 2020. The 25-year-old was arguably already the league’s best safety as a rookie, but injuries made fans wonder if he’d ever recapture that glory. James failed to match his rookie numbers this year, but he played well in a true Swiss army knife role.
James played 361 snaps in the box, 326 at traditional safety, and 224 in the slot. He allowed 35 receptions on 58 targets for 312 yards and two touchdowns. The Florida State product tallied 118 tackles, three forced fumbles, and five passes defensed, including two interceptions.
Speaking of Swiss army knives, Mathieu generated six turnovers this season (three interceptions and three fumble recoveries). Like James, Mathieu played over 200 snaps in each of the three main alignments safeties take. He gave up 367 yards and three touchdowns in coverage.
Ward also crossed my mind. This year, he played 15 games for the first time in his career and intercepted three passes while allowing 9.5 yards per reception. After surrendering 419 yards in coverage, Ward still hasn’t allowed over 500 yards in a single season during his four-year career.
Special Teams Selections
Kicker: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
Second Team: Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
Honorable Mention: Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles
I think everyone recognizes Tucker as the NFL’s best kicker. He led the league by making 94.6% of his field goals this year, including the record-setting 66-yard game-winner against Detroit. Tucker went a perfect 32 for 32 on extra points.
Carlson led the NFL in field goal attempts (43) and field goal makes (40), which translated to the fourth-best percentage (93.0%) among qualified kickers. Only Dustin Hopkins and Tucker made more field goals from 40 to 49 yards. Carlson’s three missed extra points were the greatest knock against his candidacy.
Punter: A.J. Cole, Las Vegas Raiders
Second Team: Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
Honorable Mention: Bryan Anger, Dallas Cowboys
Cole averaged a league-leading 50 yards per punt, had the fourth-longest punt of the year (71 yards), and had the fifth-highest net average. He probably has the league’s strongest leg, but Dickson dropped 40 punts inside opponents’ 20-yard lines on 83 attempts.
That means 48.2% of Dickson’s tries died inside the 20. Anger and Cole accomplished that feat about 36.9% and 43.8% percent of the time respectively.
Kick Returner: Andre Roberts, Los Angeles Chargers
Second Team: Braxton Berrios, New York Jets
Honorable Mention: Kene Nwangwu, Minnesota Vikings
Roberts averaged 27.3 yards per kick return, which ranked second among qualified returners behind Berrios’ 30.4. Both special teams stars scored a touchdown of over 100 yards, but Roberts had nine more returns. That created a 158-yard difference in their return totals.
Honestly, this was a coin flip. I could see it going either way.
Punt Returner: Jakeem Grant, Miami Dolphins
Second Team: Devin Duvernay, Baltimore Ravens
Honorable Mention: Brandon Powell, Los Angeles Rams
Duvernay finished second in the NFL with 360 punt return yards, while Grant ranked third with 309 yards. They both had 26 return attempts, but Grant reached the end zone once. That thin line separated the two return men for me, but I’m not opposed to flipping the selections.
Special Teamer: Ashton Dulin, Indianapolis Colts
Second Team: Troy Dye, Minnesota Vikings
Honorable Mention: J.T. Gray, New Orleans Saints
You’re still reading? Get help. Gray led special teams players with 15 solo tackles, but Dulin totaled 14 in 88 fewer reps. The Colts receiver also had PFF’s highest grade (90.8) among special teams players. Dye had the second-highest grade (90.7) and recorded nine solo tackles.