Matthew Stafford has spent a career accumulating staggering numbers with more than 64,000 yards passing, more than 400 TD passes and a Super Bowl title.
One accolade he hadn’t achieved until this season was being named a first-team AP NFL All-Pro. Stafford was picked for the team on Saturday, ending the longest wait ever for a quarterback to get that honor for the first time.
Stafford just completed his 17th season in the NFL since being drafted first overall by Detroit in 2009, eclipsing Fran Tarkenton’s 15-year wait for his first All-Pro honor in 1975.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only two other players had waited 15 years or more for their first All-Pro selection with Stafford tying kicker Gary Anderson for the longest wait. Anderson was also named All-Pro in his 17th season in 1998 when he made all 35 field goal tries and 59 extra points in the regular season before missing a potential game-sealing kick that helped cost Minnesota in the NFC title game.
The All-Pro selection could also boost Stafford’s Hall of Fame case. No modern quarterback has ever made the Hall without getting one of these honors: first-team All-Pro; AP NFL MVP; AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year or Super Bowl MVP.
Stafford now has one and could add another when the MVP is announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 5. From 2013-23, the first-team All-Pro quarterback also won the MVP but that streak was snapped last year when Josh Allen won the MVP after Lamar Jackson was picked as the All-Pro.
Stafford got 31 of the 50 first-place votes from the same panel that picks MVP with New England’s Drake Maye getting 18 and Allen one. Stafford was named on 49 ballots with 18 second-place votes, while Maye was on 47 ballots with 29 second-place votes.
The 37-year-old Stafford was the old man on an All-Pro team that had a strong youthful bent with 22-year-old slot cornerback Cooper DeJean the youngest on the squad. Twelve other of the 31 players to get first-team honors are 25 or younger, with 12 more others between ages 26 and 29.
The only other thirtysomething besides Stafford were edge rusher Myles Garrett, who turned 30 late last month; 32-year-old safety Kevin Byard; 33-year-old offensive linemen Garett Bolles and Joe Thuney; and 34-year-old fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Broncos lead the way
The AFC’s top-seeded Denver Broncos also had the most All-Pros.
Denver had a franchise record-tying four first-team selections — double the total of the next highest team — with offensive linemen Garett Bolles and Quinn Meinerz; defensive tackle Zach Allen and special teams standout Devon Key getting picked.
The only other seasons when the Broncos had four first-team selections were 1977 when the team made its first Super Bowl and 1996.
Among the other playoff teams with multiple first-teamers were the Rams with Stafford joined by prolific receiver Puka Nacua; San Francisco’ with its backfield of Christian McCaffrey (all purpose) and fullback Juszczyk; Houston led by defenders Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr.; and Chicago with left guard Joe Thuney and safety Kevin Byard.
The Eagles got second-year cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and second-year slot cornerback DeJean on the first team. It marked the seventh team that a team had its top two picks from a draft class earn first-team All-Pro honors within their first two NFL seasons, with Indianapolis the last to do it when Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard made it as rookies in 2018.
Three of the nine teams with multiple first-team All-Pros came from teams that missed the playoffs, including three-win Tennessee getting defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and rookie punt returner Chimere Dike getting picked. Detroit had right tackle Penei Sewell and linebacker Jack Campbell; while Baltimore had safety Kyle Hamilton and punter Jordan Stout.
Five teams had no first or second-team selections with the Carolina Panthers the only playoff team without one after winning the NFC South with an 8-9 record. The other four also had losing records with Las Vegas, the New York Jets, Tampa Bay and Washington getting shut out.
Patriots shut out on first team
The New England Patriots finished tied for the best record in the NFL with Denver and Seattle but had no first-team All-Pros to show for it.
The Patriots became the first team since the AP began awarding All-Pro honors in 1940 to win at least 14 games in a season and have no first-team picks.
New England did have two second-team selections with Maye getting the spot at quarterback and Marcus Jones at punt returner.
The Patriots came close to an All-Pro shutout in 2016 after winning 14 games but Matthew Slater made it as the special teams player. That New England team went on to win the Super Bowl.
Rare rookie makes All-Pro
Dike was the only rookie to earn first-team All-Pro honors this season after averaging 17.3 yards per punt return with two touchdowns.
He became the fourth rookie since 2000 to earn All-Pro honors with the three others among the best in the league at their positions.
Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers pulled it off last season, with Sauce Gardner doing it in 2022 and Micah Parsons in 2021.
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