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East Oregonian
Saturday, January 4, 2020
McCaffrey a double All-Pro pick
FIRST TEAM
By BARRY WILNER
AP Pro Football Writer
NEW YORK — Christian
McCaffrey’s versatility and superb
statistics helped him to a rare dou-
ble: The Carolina Panthers running
back has made The Associated
Press NFL All-Pro Team at two
positions.
McCaffrey rushed for 1,387
yards and 15 touchdowns while
catching a phenomenal 116 passes
for 1,005 yards and four TDs. He
became the third player in NFL his-
tory to fi nish with 1,000 yards rush-
ing and 1,000 yards receiving in the
same season, joining Hall of Famer
Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig,
who is on the senior ballot for the
hall this year.
That so impressed the 50 mem-
bers of a nationwide media panel
who regularly cover the NFL for
McCaffrey to be voted the fi rst-
team running back and the top fl ex
player. The fl ex position was cre-
ated in 2016 to reward players who
epitomize the way offense is now
played in pro football. Not one fi ts
that description better than McCaf-
frey, whose terrifi c season came for
a 5-11 team.
“It means a lot,’’ says McCaf-
frey, a third-year pro. ”It is a big
honor and that is something that
you don’t work hard for it, but when
it comes you are really grateful and
appreciative.”
McCaffrey’s achievement was
complemented by the unanimous
selections of New Orleans receiver
Michael Thomas and New England
cornerback Stephon Gilmore. It’s
the second straight season both
made the squad, Thomas doing it
with an NFL-record 149 catches,
Gilmore anchoring the league’s
top-ranked defense.
Ravens sensation Lamar Jack-
son, who in his second season led
Baltimore to a league-best 14-2
mark, was chosen as quarter-
back. Jackson and McCaffrey were
among 14 fi rst-time All-Pros.
Rams safety Eric Weddle, who
witnessed the jukes and jaunts of
Jackson fi rsthand in a 45-6 Ravens
romp.
“When you get on the fi eld and
you get to the speed of what they
run, it’s tough,’’ says Weddle, a
2019 NFL
ALL-PRO TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Lamar Jackson, Baltimore
Running Back — Christian McCaff rey,
Carolina
Flex — Christian McCaff rey, Carolina
Tight End — George Kittle, San Francisco
Wide Receivers — Michael Thomas, New
Orleans; DeAndre Hopkins, Houston
Left Tackle — Ronnie Stanley, Baltimore
Right Tackle — Ryan Ramczyk, New
Orleans
Left Guard — Quenton Nelson,
Indianapolis
Right Guard — Zack Martin, Dallas
Center — Jason Kelce, Philadelphia
DEFENSE
Edge Rushers — Chandler Jones, Arizona;
T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh
Interior Linemen — Aaron Donald, Los
Angeles Rams; Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh
Linebackers — Bobby Wagner, Seattle;
Demario Davis, New Orleans; Eric Kendricks,
Minnesota.
Cornerbacks — Stephon Gilmore, New
England; Tre’Davious White, Buff alo
Safeties — Jamal Adams, New York Jets;
Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh
Defensive Back — Marcus Peters, Balti-
more; Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City; and
Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker — Justin Tucker, Baltimore
Punter — Brett Kern, Tennessee
Kick Returner — Cordarrelle Patterson,
Chicago
Punt Returner — Deonte Harris, New
Orleans
Special Teamer — Matthew Slater, New
England
AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File
Carolina Panthers’ Christian McCaff rey runs during the second half of a Dec. 22, 2019, game against the India-
napolis Colts in Indianapolis. The Carolina running back has made The Associated Press NFL All-Pro Team at two
positions.
former All-Pro. ”I mean, some of
the plays I didn’t know who had
the ball because they run it so effi -
ciently. (Jackson) is one of a kind;
he’s pretty special.”
This special class includes sev-
eral multiple All-Pros: Rams DT
Aaron Donald and Seahawks LB
Bobby Wagner, each for a fi fth
time; Cowboys right guard Zack
Martin and Ravens kicker Justin
Tucker for a fourth time.
Bears kick returner Cordarrelle
Patterson made his third All-Pro
roster, as did Eagles center Jason
Kelce and Texans receiver DeAn-
dre Hopkins.
All-Pros for the second time
included Thomas, Gilmore, Cardi-
nals edge rusher Chandler Jones,
Steelers DT Cam Heyward, Patri-
ots special teamer Matthew Slater,
Colts left guard Quenton Nelson,
and Ravens defensive back Marcus
Peters, who shared that spot with
the teammate Marlon Humphrey
and the Chiefs’ Tyrann Mathieu
(second appearance).
Thomas, Gilmore, Nelson, Hop-
kins, Kelce, Martin, Donald, Wag-
ner and Tucker repeated from 2018.
The other newcomers were
Humphrey; 49ers tight end George
Kittle; Ravens left tackle Ronnie
Stanley; Saints right tackle Ryan
Ramczyk; Steelers edge rusher
T.J. Watt; Saints linebacker Dema-
rio Davis; Vikings LB Eric Kend-
ricks; Bills cornerback Tre’Davious
White; safeties Jamal Adams of the
Jets and Minkah Fitzpatrick of the
Steelers; Titans punter Brett Kern;
and Saints punt returner Deonte
Harris, the only rookie on the team.
“When you got here and peo-
ple start talking about All-Pro and
that’s the best of the best, you’re
like ‘Pro Bowl is cool, but I need to
get the best of the best.,’’ says Wag-
ner, who led the NFL in tackles
this season. “As you get older you
kind of understand how hard these
things are to get. And so you don’t
take any of them for granted and
are very grateful for your health,
grateful for your teammates. As
you get older you refl ect and you
appreciate things differently that
you might not have had when you
were young.”
Ramczyk once played Division
III college ball. Now look at him.
“It’s just pretty crazy that I was
at a little D-3 school and I’m like,
‘If I’m going to play this game, I’m
going to play to be the best I pos-
sibly can be,” he says, adding the
All-Pro designation is “pretty awe-
some. It’s pretty cool.”
Not surprisingly, Baltimore led
the All-Pro Team with fi ve selec-
tions, while New Orleans had four,
Baltimore and Pittsburgh each had
three. There were 16 AFC players
and 13 from the NFC.
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback — Russell Wilson, Seattle
Running Back — Derrick Henry,
Tennessee
Flex — Derrick Henry, Tennessee
Tight End — Travis Kelce, Kansas City
Wide Receivers — Julio Jones, Atlanta;
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay
Left Tackle — David Bakhtiari, Green Bay
Right Tackle — Mitchell Schwartz, Kan-
sas City
Left Guard — Joel Bitonio, Cleveland; Joe
Thuney, New England
Right Guard — Marshal Yanda, Baltimore
Center — Rodney Hudson, Oakland
DEFENSE
Edge Rushers — Shaq Barrett, Tampa Bay;
Cameron Jordan, New Orleans
Interior Linemen — Grady Jarrett,
Atlanta; DeForest Buckner, San Francisco
Linebackers — Luke Kuechly, Carolina;
Darius Leonard, Indianapolis; T.J. Watt,
Pittsburgh
Cornerbacks — Richard Sherman, San
Francisco; Marcus Peters, Baltimore
Safeties — Justin Simmons, Denver;
Tyrann Mathieu, Kansas City
SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker — Josh Lambo, Jacksonville
Punter — Tress Way, Washington
Kick Returner — Mecole Hardman, Kan-
sas City
Punt Returner — Diontae Johnson,
Pittsburgh
Special Teamer — Cordarrelle Patterson,
Chicago, and J.T. Gray, New Orleans
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