Today is the start of our 2025 NFL All-Pro Team with selections on offense. Over the next two days, we will give our choices for defense and special teams.
QB: Matthew Stafford, LAR
Season stats: 65.0% | 4,707 YDS | 46 TD | 8 INT | 109.2 rating
As was the case last season, our All-Pro selection at quarterback is different than our MVP winner, but Stafford certainly had the pure passing numbers in a career year to win both. Although playing for Sean McVay and throwing to a receiving group with Puka Nacua and Davante Adams made him the envy of almost every signal-caller in the league, Stafford become the seventh quarterback in NFL history to throw for 46+ touchdowns in a season—and he routinely diced up opponents when locked in.
RB: James Cook III, BUF
Season stats: 309 CAR | 1,621 YDS | 12 TD | 5.2 YPC | — | 33 REC | 291 YDS | 2 TD
In a trying year for the Buffalo offense in terms of the pass-catchers not making a huge difference, Cook was the constant alongside Josh Allen—proving he can handle a heavier workload with career-highs in carries (309), rushing yards (1,621), touches (342), and total yards (1,912). There are a handful of running backs worth of placement here, but Cook earned his first career rushing title and helped get the Bills into the postseason with plenty of standout performances.
FB: Kyle Juszczyk, SF
Season stats: 2 CAR | -3 YDS | -1.5 YPC | — | 24 REC | 213 YDS | 2 TD
Juszczyk’s time in San Francisco seemed it might have been coming to an end when they released him last March, but the split only lasted a few days—with a return being best for both sides. As the Niners dealt with injuries all around on offense, the backfield of Christian McCaffrey and Juszczyk was as good as ever, and that included weekly involvement for the versatile fullback when Mac Jones was under center.
WR: Puka Nacua, LAR
Season stats: 129 REC | 1,715 YDS | 10 TD | 13.3 AVG | — | 10 CAR | 105 YDS | 1 TD
After dealing with injuries last season on the heels of a historic rookie campaign, Nacua reestablished himself as a superstar and took his game to another level in 2025. The new career leader in receiving yards per game (95.3), Nacua led the NFL in receptions (129) and receiving yards per game (107.2) this year, and he paired highlight plays with rare toughness and grit for the position. Whether he was sharing the field with Davante Adams or being funneled targets when Adams missed time late in the year, Nacua appeared unstoppable with lines of 13/170/1, 7/167/2, 9/181, and 12/225/2 highlighting his season.
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, SEA
Season stats: 119 REC | 1,793 YDS | 10 TD | 15.1 AVG | — | 7 CAR | 36 YDS
A quiet game in late November (with Seattle not needing to throw in a shutout win over Minnesota) knocked Smith-Njigba off his historic yardage pace, but he still led the NFL in receiving (1,793) and had an unbelievable 80/1,313/7 line across his first 11 games—which put him on 2,000-yard watch through Thanksgiving. Following a Year 2 breakout, JSN bloomed into a clear superstar as perhaps the toughest player to cover in the league this season, and Jameson Williams was the only other player to have 11.0 yards per target with 100+ total targets on the season.
WR: Ja’Marr Chase, CIN
Season stats: 125 REC | 1,412 YDS | 8 TD | 11.3 AVG | — | 3 CAR | 14 YDS
It wasn’t quite the typical campaign for Chase with career-lows in yards per reception (11.3) and yards per target (7.6), but he still had the second-highest receiving yards per game in his career (88.3) as Joe Burrow missed most of the season. The peak for Chase was when he went for a 16/161/1 line on 23 targets from Joe Flacco in a primetime win over the Steelers, and that the middle point of a five-game run where he averaged 10.0 receptions, 113.4 receiving yards, and had four touchdowns with Burrow out of the lineup. George Pickens having a couple of down games late in the year was enough to give Chase the third spot at wide receiver.
All Purpose: Christian McCaffrey, SF
Season stats: 311 CAR | 1,202 YDS | 10 TD | 3.9 YPC | — | 102 REC | 924 YDS | 7 TD
We are assuming the new “All Purpose” position was created with players like McCaffrey in mind, so it’s only fitting that the former NFL Offensive Player of the Year is the first to earn the honor (as was the case for the AP All-Pro Team). As the 49ers dealt with injuries all around him this year, McCaffrey stayed healthy in a complete workhorse role—turning a career-high 413 touches into 2,126 total yards (the third time he’s reached 2,000+ total yards) and 17 touchdowns. San Francisco not being able to run the ball like they typically do under Kyle Shanahan led to McCaffrey reaching 100 receptions for his first time with the team, and he had an insane 119 first downs converted as a runner and receiver.
TE: Trey McBride, ARI
Season stats: 126 REC | 1,239 YDS | 11 TD | 9.8 AVG
Injuries to George Kittle and Brock Bowers left limited competition for McBride as the All-Pro selection at tight end, but he didn’t leave any doubt with a single-season record in receptions (126) for the position and career-high 11 touchdowns as the centerpiece for Arizona. Through his first three seasons, McBride being limited to six receiving touchdowns was really the only knock about him, so the increased touchdown success firmly puts him among the game’s best at tight end.
LT: Andrew Thomas, NYG
Thomas is the only difference we have compared to the AP All-Pro selections on the offensive line, but he reminded everyone that he is an absolute wall on the blindside when on the field (he missed the first two and final two games). The presence of Thomas is a huge reason for the Giants having improved pass protection for a rookie quarterback in Jaxson Dart, and the run blocking was also boosted as Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr. churned out tough yardage. From a big-picture perspective, it’s not a coincidence that New York’s offense was better in 2022 and 2025 as the lone two seasons where Thomas has played more than 10 games under the current regime.
LG: Joe Thuney, CHI
The Chiefs made a difficult decision to trade Joe Thuney in the offseason, and Chicago wisely jumped at the opportunity to add an All-Pro at guard to anchor a remade interior offensive line for them under Ben Johnson. A creative run scheme from Johnson allowed Thuney to showcase his talent even more than he did with New England or Kansas City, and he also provided leadership on a very young offense as a four-time Super Bowl champion.
C: Creed Humphrey, KC
Humphrey didn’t have Joe Thuney to his left this season while the Chiefs saw their run of dominance in the AFC come to an end, but that shouldn’t take away from another standout year for the 26-year-old. With star right guard Trey Smith missing a handful of games, Humphrey still led an interior that held up extremely well in pass protection and would convert in short-yardage situations; and perhaps the most impressive part of Humphrey’s season was how Kingsley Suamataia—after a shaky rookie campaign at left tackle—immediately became a very good option at left guard.
RG: Quinn Meinerz, DEN
Bo Nix doesn’t get close to enough credit for boosting the offensive line for Denver (look at the sack numbers before and after he got there), but Meinerz was again the best player up front for them. Even though the rushing production still isn’t what the Broncos would like it to be, the story was different when J.K. Dobbins (foot) was healthy—and Meinerz helped create rushing lanes that weren’t always fully taken advantage of. Plus, the toughness of Meinerz set the tone for Denver as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
RT: Penei Sewell, DET
Detroit didn’t have the season they wanted, but the offense was still a top-five unit—and Sewell’s play remained elite at right tackle. In addition to keeping Jared Goff clean and springing Jahmyr Gibbs to the second level, Sewell was only called for one holding penalty with a tremendous combination of skill and athleticism at 335 pounds. It’ll be interesting to see whether the team decides to put him on the blindside if Taylor Decker retires, but Sewell should be a top protector and run blocker for years to come.