Seven members of the New England Patriots were named to the 2016 NFL All Pro roster. While ST Matthew Slater was the only one named to the First Team, QB Tom Brady, RT Marcus Cannon, LB Dont’a Hightower, CB Malcolm Butler, FS Devin McCourty, and ST Nate Ebner were all named to the Second Team.
While we could discuss whether Brady should have been named First Team ahead of Falcons QB Matt Ryan, or whether Ebner should have received more than votes than Slater, I don’t know if anyone can really complain about the players that were named.
And that begs the question: were any Patriots players snubbed from the All Pro squad? Or did the voters do a pretty good job in their creation of the team?
LT Nate Solder had a great season and is back to performing like a top 10 offensive tackle, but it’s hard to argue that he was one of the top couple of left tackles in the NFL.
RB LeGarrette Blount led the league in rushing touchdowns, but no one would argue that he was better than Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott, Cardinals RB David Johnson, or Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell.
WR Julian Edelman had a career-best year, but he’s not even close to the discussion for top receivers.
DT Alan Branch was the most consistent non-Hightower member of the defensive front seven, but his lack of production on passing downs fairly eliminates him from the discussion. The endless rotation of starters at edge defender, linebacker, and #2 cornerback removes most other Patriots defenders from contention.
Last year, we could point to QB Tom Brady and S Patrick Chung as possible All Pro snubs. Honestly, I can’t think of a single Patriots player that was snubbed this year. Can you?