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NFL players will reportedly be able to vote for their own All-Pro team for the first time this winter.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL Players Association will have players vote for the “The Players’ All-Pro” team through Jan. 4. The results will be unveiled on Jan. 11.
Per Pelissero, players “can vote for players with the most impact in a given season at their own position and for those they line up against. For example, wide receivers will vote for fellow wide receivers and for cornerbacks as well.”
Traditionally, the All-Pro selections have been made by a collection of NFL media members, who also decide awards like the league MVP.
“For too long, we as NFL players have allowed everyone else to define the best of us,” NFLPA president J.C. Tretter wrote in an email to players. “That ends now.”
The players generally have their own unique take on the top players in the NFL.
Last season, they voted Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady as the top player in the league in NFL Network’s Top 100 series, followed by Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, Green Bay Packers quarterback and MVP Aaron Rodgers, Rams wideout Cooper Kupp and Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
Contrast that to Pro Football Focus, which had San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams at No. 1, followed by Donald, Kupp, Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin and then-Green Bay Packers wideout Davante Adams. Brady came in at No. 9 on PFF’s list.
That isn’t to say one list is correct and the other is wrong. But it is an indication that players tend to rank their peers differently than media members and analytics sites.
That should make “The Players’ All-Pro” selections a fascinating glimpse into the minds of the league’s players.