Seahawks get two First-Team All Pros but should have had more
By Lee Vowell
The Seahawks had two players named AP First-Team All-Pro on Friday and one to the second-team. But Seattle should have had more.
Seahawks players Michael Dickson and Bobby Wagner were named by the Associated Press as First-Team All-Pros. Both deserved the recognition. Dickson might be the best punter in the NFL for the next 10 years. To me, Wagner has been the best linebacker in football for several seasons running.
Left tackle Duane Brown was named to the second-team. Brown is the anchor of the Seattle line and has been invaluable at making his teammates better by helping teach correct technique in practice. Thankfully, Brown is under contract in Seattle through 2021.
But the way AP goes about structuring its All-Pro teams is weird and wrong. In many ways, Seahawks that could have been first- or second-team were pushed out by making room for some players who made both the first and second teams. Confusing? Yes.
For instance, voters simply seem ignorant of the greatness of Jarran Reed this season. Seattle’s defensive tackle had 10.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. He should have at least made the second team. But J.J. Watt was clearly so good in voters’ minds that Watt made the first-team as an edge rusher and the second-team as an interior lineman.
I am not making the argument that Reed is better than Watt. He isn’t. But the last time I checked Watt is just one person and not two so it seems logical that he should only take one place on an All-Pro team. Watt’s place on second-team means Reed had no chance as Reed was going up against the same person twice. That is weird.
Watt also hurt Frank Clark having a shot at edge rusher. Clark finished with the fifth most sacks in the league at defensive end with 13. If Watt is an interior lineman in reality as he is listed on the AP second team, then Clark moves up to fourth in sacks. But like Reed, Clark was battling two Watts and not one.
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Maybe the AP will fix this and open up spots for more players because Watt wasn’t the only player to be named to both the first and second teams. Safety Derwin James of the Chargers and receiver Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs also earned two spots. If not for those two players taking up four spots maybe Tyler Lockett could have made the second-team as a receiver? It is just a thought.