Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Khalil Mack took home some hardware Wednesday, in the form of defensive player of the year honors from the Professional Football Writers of America.
The Raiders are being recognized as one of the better teams in the AFC despite not making the playoffs.
Oakland counted five spots of the Professional Football Writers of America, with Khalil Mack being the first player ever to make the squad as both defensive end and outside linebacker.
The Raiders led all AFC teams with five All-AFC selections, counting Mack as two, while the Patriots had four AFC honorees.
Taiwan Jones made the list as kick returner, Rodney Hudson at Center, and Latavius Murray at running back.
Mack was also voted All-NFL at end and linebacker.
Neither Gabe Jackson or Brandon Scherff made the final vote for the All-NFL team, though they got my vote. I considered Scherff one of the most impactful players in the league and credit him as a large reason that Washington was able to turn things around despite playing in a weak conference.
Robert Griffin never had as many clean pockets.
I also gave David Amerson the nod at All-AFC corner, though I may have been the lone vote there. He isn’t a household name, but might be the best waiver claim of the last 20 years.
Amerson finished 2015 second in the NFL with 25 passes defensed and also picked four passes. He was a force, and was deserving in my mind.
Cam Newton was my All-NFL quarterback with Julio Jones and Antonio Brown on the outside sans Todd Gurley and Adrian Peterson in the backfield.
Charles Woodson and Eric Berry got the nod at safety on my ballot, and in total, seven Raiders made my ballot including special team leaders Sebastian Janikowski and Marquette King.
Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard William, both of the New York Jets, led at defensive tackle — the Jets use an odd front, so scrutinize if you must. AFC Linebackers Justin Houston and Von Miller were my outside linebackers, while Whitney Mercilus gets the middle.
The balloting has finished, and the results of the 2015 PFWA vote will be rolled out every day this week, including rookie of the year and executives of the year.
Offense
QB – Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
RB – Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
WR – Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers*; Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
TE – Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots*
C – Ryan Kalil, Carolina Panthers
G – Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens*
T – Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys*; Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns#
Defense
DE – Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders; J.J. Watt, Houston Texans***
DT – Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals; Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams
OLB – Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders; Von Miller, Denver Broncos*
MLB – Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers#
CB – Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers; Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals
S – Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs; Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona Cardinals
Special Teams
PK – Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
P – Johnny Hekker, St. Louis Rams
KR – Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings
PR – Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles*
ST – Justin Bethel, Arizona Cardinals
* – repeat selection from 2014
# – consecutive selections in 2013, 2014 and 2015
*** – consecutive selections in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
Offense
QB – Tom Brady, New England Patriots*
RB – Chris Ivory, New York Jets; Latavius Murray, Oakland Raiders
WR – Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers#; DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans
TE – Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots*
C – (tie) Rodney Hudson, Oakland Raiders; Alex Mack, Cleveland Browns
G – David DeCastro, Pittsburgh Steelers; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens*
T –Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns#; Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals*
Defense
DE – Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders; J.J. Watt, Houston Texans***
DT – Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals; Ndamukong Suh, Miami Dolphins
OLB – Kahlil Mack, Oakland Raiders; Von Miller, Denver Broncos#
ILB – Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
CB – Chris Harris Jr., Denver Broncos*; Marcus Peters, Kansas City Chiefs
S – Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs; Reggie Nelson, Cincinnati Bengals
Special Teams
PK – Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
P – Sam Koch, Baltimore Ravens
KR – Taiwan Jones, Oakland Raiders
PR – Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins
ST – Matthew Slater, New England Patriots**
* – repeat selection from 2014
# – consecutive selections in 2013, 2014 and 2015
*** – consecutive selections in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
** – consecutive selections in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
Offense
QB – Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
RB – Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
WR – Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants; Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
TE – Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers*
C – Ryan Kalil, Carolina Panthers
G – Zach Martin, Dallas Cowboys*; Josh Sitton, Green Bay Packers#
T – Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys*; Trent Williams, Washington Redskins
Defense
DE – Ezekiel Ansah, Detroit Lions; Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks
DT – Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams; Kawann Short, Carolina Panthers
OLB – Thomas Davis, Carolina Panthers; Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
MLB – Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers#
CB – Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers; Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals
S – Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona Cardinals; Earl Thomas, Seattle Seahawks***
Special Teams
PK – Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys*
P – Johnny Hekker, St. Louis Rams#
KR – Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings
PR – Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles*
ST – Justin Bethel, Arizona Cardinals#
* – repeat selection from 2014
# – consecutive selections in 2013, 2014 and 2015
*** – consecutive selections in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
Jason Leskiw is SFBay’s Oakland Raiders beat writer and member of the Professional Football Writers of America. Follow @SFBay and @LeskiwSFBay on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of the Oakland Raiders.
Last modified January 20, 2016 12:59 am
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