For the first time ever, the players have voted for their own All-Pro team and the Steelers have one representative on the inaugural list.
Minkah Fitzpatrick was voted as the best free safety in the 2022 NFL Players Association All-Pro team. Fitzpatrick finished the season in a four-way tie for the league lead with six interceptions. He also tallied 96 tackles, 11 passes defended and a touchdown on the very first pass the Steelers' defense saw this season.
Fitzpatrick played in 15 games this season, missing only two games due to a knee injury suffered in Week 5 and an appendectomy the day before the Week 10 win over the Saints.
On Tuesday, the NFLPA announced the upcoming release of the inaugural Players' All-Pro team. The reason?
"Every active NFL player had the opportunity to cast their vote to decide who is really the best at each position," the NFLPA stated. "We compete against each other all season long, watching hours and hours of film week after week after week, and yet we have never had an opportunity to truly use our expertise to select the best of us. We think it is important that players take the time to define ourselves, because so far, we have allowed everyone else to either pick or dilute our voices."
The AP All-Pro teams for the 2022 season have yet to be announced.
The guidelines of the voting process state that only active NFL players can vote and only get one vote. In addition, players cannot vote for themselves or for their own teammates, and players vote for the position group they play in and line up against. The example given by the NFLPA is that centers vote for the best center, nose tackle, interior defensive lineman and off-ball linebacker in the league.
Also, the NFLPA had various player leaders from each team nominate their two best special teams players (or "core teamers") for the ballot, stating they "wanted the locker rooms to decide who should represent their team in that position."
Another guideline for the voting process is players that missed five or more games as of Week 15 are not eligible to be selected. To the players, "being available counts."
So, T.J. Watt was not eligible to be selected to the NFLPA All-Pro team because he missed seven games due to a pectoral and knee injury.
THE 2022 PLAYERS’ ALL-PRO FIRST TEAM
• Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City)
• Running back: Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas)
• Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco)
• Wide Receiver (2): Justin Jefferson (Minnesota), Davante Adams (Las Vegas)
• Tight End: Travis Kelce (Kansas City)
• Left Tackle: Trent Williams (San Francisco)
• Left Guard: Joel Bitonio (Cleveland)
• Center: Jason Kelce (Philadelphia)
• Right Guard: Zack Martin (Dallas)
• Right Tackle: Lane Johnson (Philadelphia)
• Edge Rusher (2): Nick Bosa (San Francisco), Myles Garrett (Cleveland)
• Nose Tackle: Dexter Lawrence (New York Giants)
• Interior Defensive Lineman (2): Chris Jones (Kansas City), Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams)
• Off-Ball Linebacker (2): Fred Warner (San Francisco), Roquan Smith (Baltimore)
• Cornerback (2): Pat Surtain II (Denver), Darius Slay (Philadelphia)
• Free Safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh)
• Strong Safety: Derwin James Jr. (Los Angeles Chargers)
• Kick Returner: Cordarrelle Patterson (Atlanta)
• Punt Returner: KaVontae Turpin (Dallas)
• Core Teamer (2): Jeremy Reaves (Washington), Justin Hardee (New York Jets)
• Kicker: Jason Myers (Seattle)
• Punter: Tommy Townsend (Kansas City)
• Long snapper: Morgan Cox (Tennessee)
