The NFL’s best players comprise our predicted All-Pro First-Team for the 2020 season.
Every year the Associated Press (AP) looks at the best players in the NFL and selects two All-Pro teams. These teams consist of the best players at their positions from a given season. NFL First-Team All-Pros receive top honors while Second-Team All-Pros fill the second squad. All-Pro teams often come into consideration when examining a player’s résumé for the Hall of Fame.
However, the All-Pro teams always generate controversy since deserving players get snubbed, and other media outlets, including Pro Football Focus, the Pro Football Writers Association, and Sporting News, pick their own All-Pro teams.
Today, we’ll try to create a discussion by predicting the AP First-Team All-Pro selections for the 2020 season.
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
The 2018 league MVP stayed close to Lamar Jackson in the MVP race last season until he missed two games with a dislocated knee cap. However, the Texas Tech product returned and battled his way back into the MVP conversation briefly.
Between Kansas City retaining most of its key players and Mahomes’ explosive arm, the Chiefs enter 2020 as Super Bowl favorites.
Running back: Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers
McCaffrey led the NFL with 403 touches, 2,392 yards from scrimmage, and 19 total touchdowns last season. He’s the league’s most versatile weapon and the best pass-catching back since Marshall Faulk. Keep in mind, McCaffrey succeeded last year despite playing with Kyle Allen, Will Grier, and an injured Cam Newton at quarterback.
Teddy Bridgewater’s arrival should open some new opportunities for McCaffrey, or at least make him face fewer stacked boxes.
Running back: Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns
After McCaffrey, the running back conversation gets crowded. Derrick Henry led the NFL in rushing yards last season, but Saquon Barkley is more versatile, and Ezekiel Elliott is more established with a better offensive line. Instead of picking between those three, I took Chubb. Cleveland spent the entire offseason fixing its offensive line, which bodes well for the third-year pro.
Chubb finished second in the league with 1,494 rushing yards last season. He was one of only four players inside the top-20 rushers to average at least five yards per carry. Chubb’s 11 rushes for 20 yards or more tied Lamar Jackson for the league-lead. The Georgia product also finished third in the NFL in yards from scrimmage. He’s a proven star, even if some fans don’t realize it yet.