Shutdown Corner’s 2015 NFL All-Pro team: Panthers dominate again
Big surprise: Cam Newton is the quarterback on Shutdown Corner’s NFL All-Pro team for the 2015 season.
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Newton has done it all this year, leading the Carolina Panthers to a 15-1 season while likely securing an NFL MVP trophy. If he does win MVP, he’ll be the first quarterback (and sixth player overall) to win a Heisman Trophy and Associated Press NFL MVP award.
Newton isn’t the only Panthers player who had a remarkable season. In our All-Pro voting, three other Panthers made the first team.
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The All-Pro team was voted on by five Yahoo NFL writers — Frank Schwab, Eric Edholm, Shalise Manza Young, Jay Busbee and Charles Robinson. To reflect the various scheme differences in the NFL, there are 12 offensive players and 12 defensive players. Ties were broken on a rotating basis among the five writers. The full voting results and an explanation are below:
Here are the voting results, with the first-team members in bold:
OFFENSE
QB: Cam Newton (4), Carson Palmer (1)
Palmer and Tom Brady would have been fine choices, but it’s hard to argue against Newton, who does it all for the Panthers. Carolina scored 500 points this season, which led the NFL.
RB: Adrian Peterson (5), Doug Martin (4), Todd Gurley (1)
The top two rushers in the NFL almost swept the vote, with Gurley picking up one vote. Peterson earned his third rushing title. Martin gained 1,454 rushing yards after rushing for fewer than 1,000 the past two years combined.
WR: Antonio Brown (5), Julio Jones (5), DeAndre Hopkins (3), Odell Beckham (2)
Jones and Brown are now second and fourth on the NFL’s all-time single-season receiving yards list. Each crossed the 1,800-yard mark this year. Hopkins put up more than 1,500 yards despite playing with four different starting quarterbacks.
TE: Rob Gronkowski (5)
Gronkowski was also a unanimous pick last season on Shutdown Corner’s All-Pro team.
OT: Joe Thomas (5), Tyron Smith (2), Andrew Whitworth (2), Joe Staley (1)
Thomas was a unanimous pick, as he toils away for a bad Browns team. Smith and Whitworth tied for the other spot, and both had outstanding years.
OG: Mike Iupati (2), Marshal Yanda (2), Richie Incognito (2), Zack Martin (2), David DeCastro (1), Josh Sitton (1)
Guard was the closest vote, with nobody getting more than two first-team votes. The consistently outstanding Yanda got the nod, as did Iupati, who was a great free-agent signing for the Arizona Cardinals. Incognito had a remarkable year for the Bills after being out of football all last season.
C: Ryan Kalil (4), Travis Frederick (1)
The Panthers had a very good offensive line this season and it was anchored by Kalil, the best center in the game right now.
DEFENSE
DE: J.J. Watt (5), Ezekiel Ansah (2), Mike Daniels (1), Olivier Vernon (1), Fletcher Cox (1)
Watt was an easy pick, and he has a good shot to win another defensive player of the year award. Ansah won a tough battle to get the second end spot, and his 14.5 sacks were the difference.
DT: Aaron Donald (4), Geno Atkins (3), Kawann Short (2), Calais Campbell
Donald is a remarkable player, one who some say rivals Watt as the NFL’s best on defense. Atkins had a great bounce-back season, finding his old form for the AFC North champion Bengals.
ILB: Luke Kuechly (5), Derrick Johnson (2), Clay Matthews (2), NaVorro Bowman (1)
Kuechly is clearly the best inside linebacker in football, and it’s not close. Johnson rebounded very well from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in the 2014 opener. To make the All-Pro team after that injury is quite a comeback story at age 33.
OLB: Khalil Mack (5), Von Miller (4), Thomas Davis (1)
Mack had 15 sacks, but he’s not one-dimensional. He helps the Raiders defense in every way and looks like a future defensive player of the year. Miller had a great season rushing the passer for the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
CB: Josh Norman (5), Patrick Peterson (4), Chris Harris (1)
Norman was a unanimous pick, and rightfully so. Peterson was also great, shadowing the opponent’s best receiver most weeks and usually shutting them down.
S: Tyrann Mathieu (4), Reshad Jones (2), Harrison Smith (2), Charles Woodson (2)
Mathieu could have also been considered at cornerback, which tells you how great and versatile he is. His season-ending injury is a big blow for the Cardinals. The Dolphins were disappointing but Jones had a fantastic year, filling up the stat sheet every week.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K: Stephen Gostkowski (5)
It’s amazing, and almost unfair, that the Super Bowl champions also have one of the best kickers ever. Gostkowski was 33-of-36 on field-goal attempts, his third straight season at better than 90 percent. He also didn’t miss an extra point this season, hitting all 52 despite the new rules.
P: Johnny Hekker (3), Sam Koch (1), Pat McAfee (1)
Hekker led the NFL in net average, gross average and punts downed inside the 20.
RET: Tyler Lockett (3), Dwayne Harris (1), Darren Sproles (1)
Lockett was a great pick for the Seahawks, as the rookie averaged 25.8 yards per kickoff return and 9.5 yards per punt return. He and Harris were the only two players to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown this season.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
