With one week to go in the 2025 NFL season, I’m ready to name my first- and second-team All-Pros. There are a few races that are particularly tight, and my pick at running back changed after what I saw in Week 17, but nobody’s going to fly up the charts from out of nowhere to be a first-team All-Pro in Week 18. All these players already established themselves as elite performers long before the final week of the season.

This is my own All-Pro team based on the tape I’ve watched and the numbers I’ve crunched this season, as opposed to a prediction of who will actually be on those teams when they’re announced later in January. Different organizations name the teams in their own ways, so I’m just going to lean into my own format. I’m naming 11 players on each side of the ball, with three wideouts and three cornerbacks. I’m picking two offensive tackles and two guards without regard for which side of the line they play. And I’m willing to choose two safeties who play primarily in the box, in part because I’ve seen one of those safeties excel as something close to a true free safety role in years past and feel very confident he could play at a high level there if needed. I also have three special teams players.

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One big difference for this team versus the Pro Bowl teams that were just announced is that I really care about player availability. As good as he is, there’s no universe where I’m ever considering Joe Alt for this team, given that he played just four full games and a handful of snaps in two others this season. This is a roster designed to represent the most productive and impactful players of 2025 as opposed to the best guys on any individual snap.

Missing one or even two games over the course of a full season isn’t too harmful, but once players start missing three or more, we’re talking about a significant gap in their value compared with similarly productive players who have been on the field for the entire campaign. As players miss more and more time, the bar they need to hit in terms of dominating their competition rises. Keep that in mind if your favorite player doesn’t land where you expect here. Let’s begin at quarterback.

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Quarterback

When I did my deep dive into the MVP race several weeks ago, I started with a clear mind and no strong feelings. I was surprised to find that so many of the factors I considered favored Maye, and I left that analysis with the Patriots starter as my favorite unless (or perhaps until) Matthew Stafford clearly knocked him from the top of the rankings.

Since then, Maye’s Patriots lost 35-31 to the Bills on a day on which he threw for only 155 yards, although he did run for two touchdowns to help keep things close. Stafford’s Rams lost to the Seahawks in a game where the offense scored 37 points and the veteran QB threw for 457 yards on 49 attempts. He did that without Davante Adams, which made me lean a little more toward Stafford, who unquestionably has a more talented receiving corps with everyone healthy than Maye does in New England.

But Maye responded by producing the greatest game of the QBR era. Facing the Jets on Sunday, Maye went 19-of-21 for 256 yards and five touchdown passes, no picks and one sack before spending much of the second half on ice. If you’re concerned about the quality of opposition Maye has faced, well, beating the Jets won’t do much for you. But Total QBR is opponent adjusted, and Maye’s 99.8 mark is the best performance any quarterback has posted in a start going back through 2007. Seems pretty good to me.

Two other things popped up since writing that column that push me toward Maye. One is catch rate over expectation (CROE), a receiver stat from NFL Next Gen Stats. Using a model to estimate the likelihood of a ball being caught given the locations of the receiver and nearby defenders and various other factors, it can be a good way to begin estimating how much a receiver is doing in an offense relative to what an average receiver would do in the same attack. Typically, the best receivers in football rank among the league leaders in CROE and its sister stat, receiving yards over expectation (RYOE).

There are six receivers who have run 300 or more routes this season with a CROE at least 10% better than average. Two of them are the obvious first-team All-Pros in Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Jake Ferguson is fifth, and George Pickens is just outside of that top six, a testament to what Dak Prescott can do for you at quarterback. The other three guys in the top six are all Patriots. Kayshon Boutte (plus-23.5% CROE), Stefon Diggs (plus-15.8%) and Mack Hollins (plus-10.2%) are all running what would comfortably be the highest catch rates over expectation of their respective careers. Three receivers in the top six is a Maye stat.

A reader also sent in a question and asked how the two quarterbacks have fared in games against common opponents. Both Maye and Stafford have gone up against the NFC South (Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers and Falcons), the Ravens and the Titans. Here’s how they’ve played in those games:

I stand roughly where I did three weeks ago — with everyone else beyond the top two ruled out of the race. This is Maye vs. Stafford. Last time I wrote about them, I had a very slight lean toward the Patriots standout. Right now, with one week of regular-season football to go, Maye seems like the clear choice as MVP.

Second team: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

Running back

This isn’t an easy race to decide, either. Buffalo’s James Cook III leads the NFL in rushing, and it’s so much fun to watch his vision create running lanes other backs simply wouldn’t see at the second and third level. He has also fumbled six times, which erodes a lot of his impact. Derrick Henry just carried the Ravens to a critical victory, but he has fumbled four times, including critical fourth-quarter turnovers in losses to the Bills and Lions. Four is better than six, but the fumble against the Bills might cost the Ravens their playoff spot when things are said and done. Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, leads all backs in yards from scrimmage, but the Niners’ lead back is averaging 3.9 yards per carry, and that’s a tough pill to swallow when so many of the league’s best RBs are up over 5 yards per attempt this season.

For most of the season, the easy pick was Jonathan Taylor, who was off to a historic start as the Colts dominated early in the season. As the year wore on, both Taylor and the Colts’ offense cooled off. Taylor leads all running backs in yards after first contact (2.6 per rush) and touchdowns (20), and he ranks among the league leaders in just about everything. But he hasn’t been efficient as a receiver, and his consistency as a runner has faded under heavy volume down the stretch. Taylor generated 194 rush yards over expectation (RYOE) during the first eight games of the season but just 26 RYOE since then, per Next Gen Stats.

In a close race between a handful of backs, though, Robinson’s performance on Monday night was just enough to vault him ahead of the pack. He was already a viable selection heading into the game against the Rams, but going for 195 yards on the ground and scoring twice against one of the league’s best defenses was a statement performance for Robinson. It also restored him to the league lead in yards from scrimmage, where he holds a 186-yard advantage on McCaffrey across 51 fewer touches.

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I’m not sure any RB has been more fun to watch with the ball in his hands this season. The explosiveness and big-play ability Robinson exhibited at Texas had been surprisingly difficult to access during his first two seasons in the NFL, but Robinson has been able to reel off big plays throughout 2025. He and Taylor are the only players in the league with 80-plus-yard touchdown runs this season, and they each have two.

Robinson has been incredibly efficient as a receiver, which helped decide this race. The third-year back is averaging a league-best 2.1 yards per route run this season. The only player with more receptions and receiving yards is McCaffrey, who hasn’t been as efficient as a runner. The vast majority of that performance has come out of the backfield, where it’s even more difficult to produce receiver-level efficiency rates, given how often running backs are running checkdown routes that aren’t really part of the progression. Robinson has turned nearly 24% of his targets out of the backfield into first downs, the highest rate for any back over the past three seasons.

There are hiccups. Robinson has fumbled four times, which hurts his value with EPA-derived statistics. He has been really disappointing as a pass blocker this season, a project for the 23-year-old to work on this offseason. And Taylor has had fewer negatives. But Robinson has just been so spectacular and fun to watch that I find it difficult to pick anybody else.

Second team: Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

Wide receiver

If you’re sick of hearing me complain about how tough these races are, well, the top two spots at wide receiver were the easiest picks on the board. Smith-Njigba has been a one-man show for the Seahawks in the passing game this season, where the likes of Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed haven’t been able to make consistent impacts. Smith-Njigba currently has more than 44% of the receiving yards produced by the Seattle offense this season, the highest percentage since Brandon Marshall racked up more than 45% of Chicago’s market share at receiver in 2012.

Everybody knows the ball’s going to JSN. Nobody has shown any consistent ability to stop him throughout a game this year, though.

A special season from a special player. Nacua is the most efficient receiver in football, averaging a league-best 3.9 yards per route run. He leads the NFL in receiving yards over expectation (434) and is second in yards after catch over expectation behind the next guy on this list, per Next Gen Stats. Targets thrown to Nacua have generated 105.9 EPA — 19 EPA ahead of any other receiver in the league.

The only player with more EPA in a single receiving season in the Next Gen Stats era, ironically enough, is Cooper Kupp from his 2021 campaign with these Rams. Nacua’s behind only by virtue of missing a game-plus with an ankle injury, and he still has Week 18 to catch up. And none of this covers what Nacua does as a blocker, where he has been essential for the Rams.

The top two spots were gimmes. The third wideout spot, though, is a real competition. Stefon Diggs has been incredibly efficient, but he has run only 22 routes per game in New England. Drake London has missed too much time with injuries. Amon-Ra St. Brown has had uncharacteristic problems with drops throughout the season. Ja’Marr Chase has plenty of targets, but owing perhaps to inconsistent quarterback play, he is averaging just 11.2 yards per catch. Plus, his success rate and big-play rate are both down considerably from where they were a year ago.

So I went instead with Pickens, who has been the perfect fit for what the Cowboys needed as an outside receiver next to CeeDee Lamb for Dak Prescott. Pickens had consistently run higher-than-expected catch rates in Pittsburgh, but playing with subpar quarterbacks in run-first offenses, it was unclear whether all of that would translate to Dallas.

It did. Pickens’ expected catch rate rose, but so did his actual catch rate. Among wide receivers with 300-plus routes run this season, Pickens ranks sixth in the league in catch rate over expectation, third in receiving yards over expectation (trailing only my two other first-team All-Pros) and first in yards after catch over expectation (199 YACOE), per NGS. Generating loads of YACOE as a downfield receiver isn’t easy, and it’s a testament to how good Pickens has been at both bringing in contested catches and creating once he has the ball in his hands.

The only receivers generating more EPA per route run this year than Pickens are Nacua, Smith-Njigba and Diggs. Pickens has benefited from playing with Prescott, of course, but he has also been such an obvious and significant upgrade on the various wideouts the Cowboys have run out at the X spot over the past few seasons. It has been easy to question many of Jerry Jones’ trades over the past couple of years, but landing Pickens for third- and fifth-round picks was a coup for the Cowboys.

Second team: Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals; Nico Collins, Houston Texans; Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

Tight end

Another easy pick here. Would-be rivals such as Brock Bowers and George Kittle missed significant time with injuries, and McBride answered the bell week after week for the Cardinals. His 1,174 receiving yards place him more than 300 ahead of second-place Kyle Pitts Sr., and although that yardage figure obviously owes some sort of debt to a staggering 161 targets, McBride was able to get open enough to command that sort of target share and dropped just one ball all season.

The goal-line forcefield that seemed to pester McBride also disappeared after Kyler Murray‘s foot injury, as McBride’s 11 touchdowns are one away from doubling his prior career total of six, gathered across three seasons.

Second team: Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

Offensive tackle

The offensive line awards this year are trickier than ever before. In the introduction, I mentioned that player availability matters, and how I’m going to really find it difficult to include players who have missed more than a couple of games when others have been on the field for the entire season. I’ve applied that standard in the past, and it has hurt players such as Lane Johnson, who might be the best offensive lineman on the planet when he’s on the field but also usually misses a handful of games each season along the way.

Well, in 2025, just about every single offensive tackle who has a real case for being among the elite players at the position missed action. Chargers star Rashawn Slater missed the entire season with a ruptured patellar tendon, and teammate Joe Alt will end up missing 11 full games and most of two others with ankle injuries. Running through a few of the league’s top tackles and their snap percentages (and what that translates to in terms of missed games over a full season), you can see just how difficult it has been to get the best linemen onto the field this season:

If this were simply identifying the best linemen on any individual snap this season, I’d probably go with Andrew Thomas at left tackle and Johnson at right tackle. But if we’re picking the most productive or impactful tackles in the league over the full season, I can’t include them.

Of all the players to stay healthy for the entire season! (Well, almost.) Williams routinely misses a couple of games each year and plays for a 49ers team that has been ransacked by injuries all season, but the future Hall of Famer had been on the field for every game before suffering a hamstring injury on the Brock Purdy pick-six against the Bears on Sunday night. It’s unclear whether he’ll be able to return for the Week 18 divisional decider against the Seahawks.

Williams’ steady presence has been one of the reasons the 49ers have been able to survive despite all the injuries on offense this season. The Niners have had to play multiple starters at left guard next to him, and Williams spends more time on an island than most NFL tackles, but the 37-year-old still has the quickness and footwork to handle just about anybody in the league one-on-one. There were only two moments when Williams looked a step slow this season, and they were courtesy of superstars on the other side of the ball, via a Danielle Hunter spin move against the Texans and a Myles Garrett teleportation to the interior for a sack against the Browns.

I’m not sure there’s a more underrated offensive lineman in the league. Once a liability for the Broncos at left tackle, Bolles has rounded into form and consistently rates as one of the most reliable and effective pass blockers in the league. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Bolles has allowed just one sack all season. Just 6.2% of his one-on-one blocks have resulted in pressures, the second-lowest rate in the NFL. And Bolles is doing that playing in front of Bo Nix, who has a habit of extending plays and/or choosing to scramble to places no lineman can prepare to protect.

Bolles was 13th in the league in run block win rate among tackles who played the majority of their team’s snaps this season. The 33-year-old benefited from playing on one of the league’s best lines (and one of its healthiest before center Luke Wattenberg went down with a shoulder injury), but Bolles has been entirely capable of handling some of the best edge rushers in football this season. He has also missed a grand total of just seven snaps all season, and that’s a difference-maker.

Second team: Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders; Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills

Offensive guard

Nelson was an easy pick on the interior. As the focal point of Indy’s diverse rushing scheme, his ability to overwhelm opposing defensive linemen at the point of attack is valuable enough, but he also has been essential as a pulling guard to take out defenders at the second and even third levels of the defense at different points this season. The Colts didn’t have much trouble replacing Ryan Kelly and Will Fries when they signed with the Vikings this offseason; there’s no way Indy could have been as productive on the ground this season without Nelson.

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The most important and reliable part of Chicago’s resurgent run game this season, Thuney was every bit the player the Bears hoped to acquire when they sent a fourth-round pick to the Chiefs this offseason. He ranks fourth in the league in run block win rate and leads all guards in pass block win rate, all while continuing his habit of virtually never coming off the field. Thuney has missed just five snaps all season.

Thuney has the league’s lowest quick pressure rate and is one of two guards who played more than 400 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a single sack this season, per Next Gen Stats. The other one, of course, was Nelson.

Second team: Kevin Dotson, Los Angeles Rams; Tyler Smith, Dallas Cowboys

Center

Like Indianapolis’ offense with Nelson, the Dolphins’ rushing attack simply doesn’t work without Brewer’s ability to get on the edge for all of the pin/pull and other outside run concepts Miami wants to run. Watch Miami’s run game closely and you’ll see Brewer reaching defensive tackles on zone rushes with ease and blocking linebackers like Jamien Sherwood and Frankie Luvu for yards at a time. Here’s Brewer locking up Derwin James Jr. on a counter concept for a De’Von Achane 49-yard touchdown.

ACHANE IS GONE.

LACvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/HIVmB5BtyH

— NFL (@NFL) October 12, 2025

With Tyreek Hill out and Tua Tagovailoa‘s effectiveness waning before being benched, the Dolphins needed to rely on their run game to survive for much of the season. That run game ran through Brewer.

Second team: Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens

Edge rusher

The easiest pick on the entire roster. We’ll see if Garrett sets the single-season sack record against the Bengals next week, but even if he doesn’t get there, we’re witnessing one of the great seasons in NFL history by a defender at any position. Garrett’s going to lead the league in just about every meaningful pass rush category, especially after we adjust for the fact the Browns have faced the third-fewest pass attempts of any defense this season. He has thrown in 12 tackles for loss against the run, second most behind Maxx Crosby.

I’ll talk more about his season next week in my seasonlong awards column, but there isn’t much justification required here.

There’s a much bigger group of candidates for the second spot at edge rusher, even after Micah Parsons‘ torn ACL ended his chances of landing the first-team All-Pro nod. I kept finding reasons to lean toward Anderson, who has continued to improve across his three pro seasons. In 2025, his missed tackle rate improved past league-average, and he has set career highs in sacks (12) and knockdowns (23) with a game to go.

Anderson’s even better than those figures if we use the data from Next Gen Stats. He has turned 8.3% of his pass-rush snaps into quick pressures this season, trailing only Nik Bonitto and Abdul Carter. Anderson gets chipped or double-teamed more than either player, and I think he’s a little better against the run than Bonitto, who was Anderson’s closest competition here. According to the Next Gen Stats models, Anderson’s pressure rate is 6.5% better than what an average edge rusher would have accomplished in the same situations, which is the best mark in the league. He has also generated four turnovers with pressures this season, which is second behind Jared Verse.

Second team: Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos; Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions

Defensive tackle

Although Simmons missed two games and most of a third with a hamstring injury, he has been sufficiently dominant to qualify for All-Pro honors. He was a one-man pressure factory this season. Simmons leads all defensive tackles in pressure rate (13.5%), quick quarterback pressures (22), quick pressure rate (6.2%) and pressure rate against double-teams (11.2%) — all while playing on a team that didn’t have a significant second pass-rush threat to worry about elsewhere up front, especially after Dre’Mont Jones was traded to the Ravens at midseason. Simmons’ 16 tackles for loss lead all defensive tackles.

In terms of volume, though, nobody has been on quarterbacks more often this season than Allen. He leads all players with 45 quarterback knockdowns this season, seven hits ahead of Garrett. Even if that number’s a little inflated by some hits on quarterbacks as the ball’s on the way out, Allen leads all defensive tackles with 57 pressures, and his 14 quick pressures are third at the position behind Simmons and Chris Jones. (Yes, Jones is still great.)

Allen has a lot of help on what might be the league’s best defensive line, but if there’s one player up front the Broncos couldn’t afford to lose, it would be Allen. Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper are excellent at getting off quickly and going around the edge to squeeze opposing QBs, but Allen’s just completely unblockable at times on the interior, which helps funnel quarterbacks to those speedy edge rushers.

Second team: Kobie Turner, Los Angeles Rams; Leonard Williams, Seattle Seahawks

Linebacker

I’m not sure there are many 7-9 teams in league history with two first-team All-Pros, but Brewer and Brooks both deserve the recognition. No player has made a higher share of his team’s tackles this season than Brooks, who has 17.5% of Miami’s tackles. That’s the third-highest rate for any defender in any season since 2016, when Bobby Wagner made 19.5% of Seattle’s tackles.

Racking up tackles doesn’t mean much if you’re just on the field all the time for a bad defense and tackling guys 15 yards downfield, but Brooks has made 20 tackles short of the sticks on third and fourth down, the most of any player in the NFL. His 13 tackles for loss are second in the league among off-ball linebackers behind Eric Wilson, who is having the same sort of out-of-nowhere season we’ve seen from De’Vondre Campbell and Zack Baun in recent years and also deserved serious consideration. Brooks has produced stuffs for no gain or a loss on 5.6% of run plays, the highest rate in the league for any full-season linebacker. And Brooks has chipped in with 3.5 sacks as a blitzer.

Dumped by the Rams and traded away after six weeks by the Titans a year ago, Jones has been a perfect fit in Seattle under Mike Macdonald. He has picked off five passes this season, tying him with Devin Lloyd (who was just a hair behind Jones on my ballot) for the league lead among linebackers. Jones has allowed a 53.7 passer rating in coverage this season, the third-best mark in the league at any position. He has also made 16 tackles stopping players short of a third- or fourth-down conversion — tied for fourth in the NFL.

Second team: Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville Jaguars; Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions

Cornerback

This was another position where injuries had a real impact. For my money, the three best cornerbacks in football in terms of being able to line up against anybody and play either man or zone coverage while tackling well are Pat Surtain II of the Broncos, Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots and Devon Witherspoon of the Seahawks. But Surtain missed 3½ games with a pectoral injury, Gonzalez missed three games to start the year with a hamstring problem, and Witherspoon was out for five games during the first half with a recurring knee ailment.

They’ve all been great when they’ve been on the field this season, but missing that much time hurts when so many great players have been on the field all year. I have to leave Witherspoon off by virtue of missing so much action. Surtain had some trouble at times against the Colts and Chargers early in the season, and although he has been great since returning from the pectoral injury, penalties are still an issue for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (nine flags for 109 yards, including five pass interference calls). That’s just enough to bounce him down to the second team.

In terms of cumulative impact, I’d say Stingley has been the best cornerback in football in 2025. He has played all 16 games so far, which means something relative to the competition. Playing behind an elite pass rush helps, of course, but Stingley’s even great on extended plays and scramble drills. He has allowed a scarcely believable 49.4 passer rating in coverage this season, the best mark in football among full-time players. The Texans don’t play man as often as many other teams, but Stingley’s as good in his role as anybody in the league.

The Eagles, on the other hand, play man at the third-highest rate in the NFL. And Mitchell has already emerged as a shutdown guy on his side of the field. If you’ve watched Eagles games all season, you’ve probably noticed how often teams are going out of their way to target the guys who aren’t Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in coverage.

Most of the targets Mitchell sees are low-percentage prayers from quarterbacks. He’s allowing the third-best completion percentage (43.8%) on targets of any cornerback this season, trailing only Stingley and Donte Jackson, who earned a second-team nod. His 67.5% success rate in coverage is the best mark in the NFL among outside corners. And Mitchell also tackles better than the vast majority of starting corners, as his 6.3% missed tackle rate ranks 10th in the league at the position.

It was between Gonzalez and Surtain for the final spot on the first team, and I narrowly preferred the Patriots standout. The Pats have played less man than they did over the prior two seasons, and I’m not sure Gonzalez was even as good this year as he was during what was a wildly underrated 2024 campaign, but he was still comfortably playing at a star level.

Gonzalez has posted a 63.2% success rate in coverage this season, the fifth-best mark among regular starters. Targets in his direction have generated 7.2 fewer catches than expected, which is third in the league. He has also posted a better missed tackle rate than Surtain (who didn’t miss a single tackle in 2024) while taking six fewer penalties. It’s going to be fun watching Gonzalez battle for the title of best cornerback in the AFC with Stingley on an annual basis over the next few seasons.

Second team: Pat Surtain II, Denver Broncos; Donte Jackson, Los Angeles Chargers; Jaycee Horn, Carolina Panthers

Safety

What a nightmare for opposing offensive coordinators. James is an absolute menace around the line of scrimmage for Chargers DC Jesse Minter, where he’s capable of singlehandedly blowing up run plays and becomes a serious problem for teams as both a designed pass rusher and green dog blitzer. His sack (2) and TFL (6) totals are down from 2025, but James has intercepted three passes, including the Gardner Minshew pick that knocked the Chiefs out of the postseason in the AFC. James is allowing a career-best 59.6 passer rating in coverage, and his physicality dictates so much of what the Chargers can do schematically with light boxes against the run.

Hamilton’s versatility has been essential for the Ravens. Last year, the Ravens salvaged what had been a frustrating defense by moving Hamilton into a deep-lying role, and they fielded one of the best defenses in the NFL from that point forward. This year? With the defense struggling to start the season, coordinator Zach Orr moved Hamilton back into the box, where he has had a James-like impact around the line of scrimmage. You’re not really supposed to be able to play both of those roles at an All-Pro level. Hamilton does.

Watching him just shrug off offensive linemen who outweigh him by more than 100 pounds to make tackles on run plays is just remarkable. He hasn’t been in coverage as often as in years past, but Hamilton has been effective when called on to take on tight ends and slot receivers this season, too. His presence has been absolutely essential on a Ravens team that has faced uncertainty, inconsistent play and injuries from much of its front seven.

Second team: Jessie Bates III, Atlanta Falcons; Talanoa Hufanga, Denver Broncos

Kicker

Brandon Aubrey gets deserved plaudits as the league’s best kicker on a weekly basis, but Reichard has actually been slightly better this season per advanced metrics. He has attempted eight fewer field goals than Aubrey, but Reichard has gone 30-for-32, whereas Aubrey is 35-for-40. Even with the slightly reduced volume, Reichard has made 6.7 more field goals than expected (per NGS), compared with 6.5 for Aubrey, as his average field goal make has been from a yard further out. Reichard has also been perfect on extra points. Vikings fans endured about a decade of frustrating kickers, but Reichard has broken that trend.

Second team: Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys

Punter

Per the Puntalytics EPA-based model, Dickson has been the best punter in the league this season on a per-punt basis. The Sydney-born punter is only around the middle of the pack in terms of average gross and net yards per punt, but just 35.3% of his punts have been returnable this season, a figure only Mitch Wishnowsky of the Bills and Austin McNamara of the Jets have been able to top. Dickson’s ability to place his punts has made a difference there, as just 13.7% of his punts have gone to the middle of the field, the lowest rate in the league for regular punters.

The only real argument I can make against him is that the Seahawks just haven’t needed Dickson to punt all that often; he has averaged just 3.2 punts per game this season.

Second team: Austin McNamara, New York Jets

Returner

Dike has very high highs and very low lows. On one hand, he might be one of the worst blocking wide receivers on screens I’ve ever seen. On the other? He’s a spectacular return man.

Tennessee had truly wretched special teams in 2024, but the arrival of John Fassel and the selection of Dike in the fourth round has transformed the Titans’ return units. Dike leads all regular punt returners in yards per return (17.7) and is second behind Marcus Jones in punt return yards over expectation (Next Gen Stats). Both Dike and Jones took two punts to the house this season, but Dike gets the nod by virtue of his excellent work on kickoff returns, where he is second in the NFL behind KaVontae Turpin in kick return yards over expectation.

Second team: Marcus Jones, New England Patriots