The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are two of the favorites to win this season’s Super Bowl, and both organizations have the respect of players from around the league.
Kansas City and San Francisco both had four players named to their first All-Pro Team as voted on by the players.
Patrick Mahomes was named All-Pro at QB, and he was joined by tight end Travis Kelce, interior defensive lineman Chris Jones and punter Tommy Townsend.
49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was named an All-Pro, as well as left tackle Trent Williams, edge rusher Nick Bosa and off-ball linebacker Fred Warner.
It’s impossible to argue against any of those choices. Mahomes led the NFL with 5,250 passing yard and had a career-best completion percentage (67.1 percent). Kelce had career-highs in receptions (110) and touchdowns (12) and finished the regular season with 1,338 receiving yards.
Jones was graded by Pro Football Focus as the best interior defensive lineman (92.0) in a tie with Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants. Townsend had 53 punts for an average of 50.4 yards. He also has the most swag of any NFL punter.
Juszczyk is a versatile fullback who wasn’t asked to do much after the 49ers traded for Christian McCaffrey, but he is still seen as an incredibly valuable asset. Per PFF, Williams grades as the best tackle in football and Warner the fourth-best linebacker.
Bosa is expected to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He finished the regular season with a league-best 18.5 sacks and 48 QB hits while adding 19 tackles for loss.
Per Oddschecker, Kansas City is the current favorite to win Super Bowl LVII at +360. San Francisco has the best odds in the NFC at +500.
Eighteen teams are represented in the players’ All-Pro Team. Among playoff teams, the Bills, Bengals, Dolphins and Buccaneers are the only teams not accounted for on the players’ list. The biggest snubs are Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner and Packers kick returner Keisean Nixon.
Hill had 119 catches, 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns for Miami. He ranked second this season in both receptions and yards.
As a rookie, Gardner led the NFL with 20 pass deflections. He added two interceptions and was graded as the top cornerback in football by PFF.
Nixon led the NFL in kick return yards with 1,009, including the longest return for a touchdown in the NFL this season at 105 yards.
