Sports

NFL All-Pro teams: The players who defined the 2025 season

Everyone wants to be recognized as the best in their line of work – even football players.

The annual All-Pro teams are a way for the best players of a given season to be honored for what they did over 18 weeks in the National Football League’s regular season. This isn’t just for clicks; All-Pro honors can impact contract payouts every year. Down the line, it will come up as some players have cases to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

This year saw some remarkable performances by many players on both sides of the ball. Myles Garrett’s dominant hands broke the NFL single-season sack record. For much of the year, it looked like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Puka Nacua could threaten the single-season receiving yardage record.

For most positions, multiple players are be honored for their accomplishments. Others will only have two players named like quarterback, running back and tight end. Those positions could see some changes from the status quo over recent years due to injuries and young, rising stars.

There’s also a new position: all-purpose. This can be awarded to a running back, fullback, wide receiver or tight end.

The Associated Press 2025 NFL All-Pro balloting are selected by a national panel of 50 media members.

In what could be a preview of the NFL MVP vote, Matthew Stafford got 31 first-place votes to beat out Drake Maye (18) for at the quarterback spot. Josh Allen, last year’s MVP, got the other first place vote.

Garrett, Nacua and Smith-Ngijba were the only unanimous selections who received all 50 first-place votes.

2026 NFL All-Pro teams

Quarterback

  • First team: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
  • Second team: Drake Maye, New England

Running back

  • First team: Bijan Robinson, Atlanta
  • Second team: James Cook, Buffalo

Fullback

  • First team: Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
  • Second team: Patrick Ricard, Baltimore

Wide receiver

  • First team: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle; Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati
  • Second team: George Pickens, Dallas; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit; Chris Olave, New Orleans

Tight end

  • First team: Trey McBride, Arizona
  • Second team: Kyle Pitts, Atlanta

All-purpose

  • First team: Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco
  • Second team: Bijan Robinson, Atlanta

Offensive tackle

  • First team: Garrett Bolles, Denver, Penei Sewell, Detroit
  • Second team: Trent Williams, San Francisco, Darnell Wright, Chicago

Guard

  • First team: Joe Thuney, Chicago, Quinn Meinerz, Denver
  • Second team: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis, Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta

Center

  • First team: Creed Humphrey, Kansas City
  • Second team: Aaron Brewer, Miami

Edge rusher

  • First team: Myles Garrett, Cleveland, Will Anderson Jr., Houston; Micah Parsons, Green Bay
  • Second team: Brian Burns, New York Giants; Danielle Hunter, Houston; Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit

Interior defensive lineman

  • First team: Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee; Zach Allen, Denver
  • Second team: Leonard Williams, Seattle; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh

Linebacker

  • First team: Jack Campbell, Detroit; Jordyn Brooks, Miami
  • Second team: Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville; Ernest Jones IV, Seattle

Cornerback

  • First team: Derek Stingley Jr., Houston; Quinyon Mitchell, Philadelphia
  • Second team: Patrick Surtain II, Denver; Devon Witherspoon, Seattle

Slot cornerback

  • First team: Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia
  • Second team: Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers

Safety

  • First team: Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore; Kevin Byard, Chicago
  • Second team: Jessie Bates III, Atlanta; *-Talanoa Hufanga, Denver; *-Xavier McKinney, Green Bay (*tied for second-team sport)

Kicker

  • First team: Will Reichard, Minnesota
  • Second team: Brandon Aubrey, Dallas

Punter

  • First team: Jordan Stout, Baltimore
  • Second team: Michael Dickson, Seattle

Kick returner

  • First team: Ray Davis, Buffalo
  • Second team: Kavontae Turpin, Dallas

Punt returner

  • First team: Chimera Dike, Tennessee
  • Second team: Marcus Jones, New England

Special teamer

  • First team: Devon Key, Denver
  • Second team: Del’Shawn Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers

Long snapper

  • First team: Ross Matiscik, Jacksonville
  • Second team: Andrew DePaola, Minnesota
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