Chris Simms' NFL Regular-Season All-22 Team
I didn’t start studying game film so I could be an NFL quarterback or a Bleacher Report analyst.
I started because that’s all I knew.
My home away from home growing up? The headquarters of the mid-'80s to early-'90s New York Giants. I was surrounded by some of the brightest minds to ever piece a game plan together—Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Nick Saban, Al Groh, Romeo Crennel and so on. I had access to some graduate-level football-ology before grade school began.
I also had access to Mark Bavaro. And Jumbo Elliott. And Hall of Famers like Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor. So when I piece an end-of-season All-22 team together like this, I’m not just drawing on the football I saw from 2016. I’m remembering the star players I played catch with and got Gatorade for. The traits they exhibited on a football field are some of the same ones you’ll find on this list; I just recognize them earlier because I was there.
Last but not least, there’s my dad. Phil worked so hard that I was exposed to film study through a quarterback’s eyes long before I ever knew I wanted to be one. And through that, my mind began to mesh scheme and traits and talent, all without realizing I’d be doing the same thing as an adult and writing down my findings for you.
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
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I didn’t think Aaron Rodgers could do anything to top his Hail Mary-filled season of 2015.
How wrong I was. Rodgers deserves the NFL’s MVP for the quarterbacking clinic he put on this year. There’s no one I’d rather have as the quarterback of my All-22 all-star team.
Let’s review the basics for the uninitiated: Rodgers carried Mike McCarthy’s offense to the playoffs, despite glaring deficiencies in a few key areas. For starters, the Packers had no true running back once semi-effective starter Eddie Lacy hit injured reserve in October. And his receivers didn’t start separating for two months after that.
How did No. 12 respond? With a 40-touchdown season, that’s how. He called Green Bay’s six-game winning streak and made it happen. He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever seen behind center.
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
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Too young to remember all of Bo Jackson’s jaw-dropping plays?
Well, you’re in luck. The Dallas Cowboys drafted the closest thing to Bo I’ve ever seen in shoulder pads. Television broadcasts don’t do his speed and strength justice.
Then you rewind Ezekiel Elliott’s game film and just soak it all in. The 60-yard run right up the middle of the Bengals defense in Week 5. The 83-yard screen-play touchdown five weeks later in Pittsburgh. Elliott has Bo’s same glide; it looks so effortless, but he leaves some of the NFL’s fastest guys behind.
He’s the NFL rushing champion with 318 more yards than the next-best guy. And he’s 21 years old. Buckle in for a decade of Bo 2.0.
RB: David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
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Calling David Johnson just a running back is a grave understatement.
Arizona’s multipurpose ball-carrier didn’t just take handoffs from Carson Palmer in 2016. He lined up at Larry Fitzgerald’s spot on the field and ran routes as if he were No. 11 himself. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
So I feel confident calling Johnson the best all-around running back in football. Think about his season from a statistical standpoint: No. 31 went for over 1,200 yards rushing and also hauled 80 passes in. That’s only three fewer catches than Julio Jones had.
Behind a less-than-stellar offensive line, Johnson eclipsed 2,000 total yards. He was out of this world.
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RB: LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots
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People will wonder why Le’Veon Bell missed out on my final All-22 squad.
Those same people should check out LeGarrette Blount’s touchdown totals. New England’s power back deserves some love for his 18 end-zone trips in 2016.
For my money, Blount is the best power back in the AFC. Only Ezekiel Elliott rivals his between-the-tackles skills; Blount always finds a way to lower his pads and gain two or three extra yards. When Tom Brady is your quarterback, extra yardage makes it extra-super difficult to get New England’s offense off the field.
He’s not just a straight-ahead runner, though. Blount is deceptively quick and decisive; he’ll cut laterally if it means more north-south yards in another hole. And as we’ve seen over and over again, the 250-pounder will also leap over a defender or two.
WR: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
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Every NFL pundit was asking the same question last September.
Here’s their answer: There’s nothing wrong with Odell Beckham Jr. His raw emotion should be applauded because—and I know this is a shock—he’s the only guy on Big Blue’s 53-man roster capable of winning a football game himself.
We should’ve focused less on OBJ’s kicking-net proposal and more on the touchdown that caused that celebration. That Eli Manning’s pass only traveled about 10 yards in the air. Beckham Jr. took that ball 66 in total, bursting four or five Ravens to cap a 222-yard day back in Week 6.
Weeks later, he did it again on the same play. He disrespected Joe Haden on a crossing route in Cleveland. He hauled in a left-handed touchdown against the Lions. We’re watching the start of an all-time great career.
WR: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
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Move over, Dante Hall.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a new "X-Factor" on the team. His name is Tyreek Hill, and he’s the fastest man in the AFC. We’re about to watch him torch through the playoffs like a flamethrower.
With Hill in town, Andy Reid’s uber-conservative offensive playbook went out the window. He’s not just an electric returner who racked up nearly 1,000 yards on special teams and three amazing touchdowns.
He’s a receiver (six touchdown catches) who forced Alex Smith to throw deep. And he’s a running back (three rushing touchdowns) who turned the corner against Denver and Tennessee—two solid defenses—and never looked back.
Take away those 12 scores and where is Kansas City? Probably not the No. 2 seed.
TE: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
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Travis Kelce did things this past season that would make Rob Gronkowski blush.
No, seriously. His ability to create mismatches across a secondary is only bested by the guy up in New England. And the Chiefs’ star has proved to be more valuable as a route-runner and yards-after-catch receiver than Gronk will ever be.
Case in point: Kelce’s 80-yard touchdown from Week 16. It wasn’t sprung on a post across the middle or a seam route down the rail—two traditional tight end plays. It was a bubble screen; the kind Julio Jones or Antonio Brown would take that distance. Kelce is officially in that league.
OL: Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys
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Tampa Bay star Gerald McCoy entered Dallas on a four-week tear of top defensive tackle play.
That hot streak didn’t hit five games. Because, like any interior lineman who squares off against Dallas, he had to face Zack Martin for 60 long minutes. We didn’t hear McCoy’s name once.
Martin is the best offensive lineman in football, hands down and case closed. His quickness to fill gaps in protection kept Dak Prescott upright for what felt like weeks on end. And of course, his job as a pulling guard was the real lynchpin behind so many big Ezekiel Elliott runs.
There’s not a weakness to his game. Martin is the personification of All-22—a guy who I couldn’t wait to watch on film.
OL: David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers
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With his supporting cast, Aaron Rodgers needed more time than your average quarterback to make downfield throws.
David Bakhtiari supplied it. The left tackle evolved into the league’s best pass protector in 2016, and that made him an incredible asset whenever No. 12 needed to buy time to help receivers get open.
Which, as it turns out, was a lot. Bakhtiari has incredible length and reach; he gets his hands on incoming pass-rushers early in the play and redirects them. He was also stout against bull-rushers for a guy with such an athletic build.
OL: Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans
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Mike Mularkey gave Tennessee’s offense its name. But Taylor Lewan made it happen.
Tennessee’s left tackle was "Exotic Smashmouth" personified. He was rough and tumble enough to mix up with some of the league’s most gifted freaks (Jadeveon Clowney, Von Miller, Justin Houston, etc.). He was also "exotic" enough to pull out in front of DeMarco Murray and become a 315-pound charging fullback. No one wanted a piece of him.
Add those two traits together and you have the centerpiece for the AFC's most physically punishing offense. Tennessee doesn’t need much tinkering on offense because it knows Lewan is in place.
OL: Kelechi Osemele, Oakland Raiders
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He’s mean.
He’s nasty.
And he plays through the echo of the whistle.
Is there any more Raiders lineman out there than Kelechi Osemele? Oakland was wise to open its checkbook to import the physically imposing ex-Raven last March. He’s keyed a major mental shift in the way the Silver and Black handle trench-football warfare.
Remember: Oakland’s line was already one of the top pass-blocking ones before his arrival. But Osemele’s nastiness served his new team well in its newfound power-run game, where top defenses like the Denver Broncos found themselves outmatched when he pulled out in front of Latavius Murray.
Eventually, that attitude wore off on Oakland’s four other linemen and boom! Playoffs, for the first time in 14 seasons.
DL: Trey Flowers, New England Patriots
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A pass-rushing vacuum formed when Bill Belichick shipped Jamie Collins off.
Trey Flowers filled that empty space and then some. He’s now New England’s go-to pass-rusher; the versatility of a slightly poorer man’s Michael Bennett crossed with the sheer power of Richard Seymour. I don’t make either comparison lightly.
Both traits make the Arkansas product perfect for Belichick and coordinator Matt Patricia's multiple-front scheme. One week, the Patriots could roll out a 4-3 alignment featuring Flowers as a run-stuffer. Another could feature him as a 3-4 end. Another still could feature him as a standup rusher right over the center.
New England knows what it's doing on defense this year. And that’s because Belichick knows what he’s doing with his key cog.
DL: Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans
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I don’t care what his sack numbers are.
I know what Jadeveon Clowney’s film says. And it says he’s the next NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
He’s the best player I’ve seen on film all year for two reasons.
First off, he totally debunked the one knock draft experts had on him coming out of South Carolina. Anyone who still believes effort and motor are Clowney’s main problems needs to watch what he did against the Colts this year. He contained Andrew Luck in the pocket by using one of Luck’s linemen as a human shield.
Secondly, there was no J.J. Watt to draw attention his way. Yet there was never a week where No. 90 didn’t show up in the backfield to destroy a running back or hurry a passer.
DL: Damon Harrison, New York Giants
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I love giving guys like "Snacks" some end-of-season All-22 love.
It’s well-deserved, too. Big Blue’s defense skyrocketed from dead last in football to No. 10 overall (and No. 8 against the run). You’re looking at the reason why; Damon Harrison was a beast of an anchor for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s group.
I knew Harrison could eat up blocks and stuff runs from his time doing it for New York’s other team. I didn’t know how good of a pass-rusher he was until 10 weeks in. Cincinnati could not prevent Harrison from collapsing Andy Dalton’s pocket all night.
Spags’ defense is at its best when he can rush four guys. With skills against the run and pass, Harrison makes all that other dominant stuff possible.
DL: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
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Wait for it.
Wait for it.
A game-changing Khalil Mack play always felt right around the corner in 2016. Think about it: Oakland’s star pass-rusher forced five fumbles, ran an interception back for a touchdown and—oh yeah!—tallied 11 sacks.
I haven’t even listed Mack’s greatest asset yet: his unblockable run defense. No one set the edge quite like No. 52; almost 20 percent of his 73 tackles this season went for a loss. Just let that statistic sink in for a minute and you’ll realize what Mack did all season long.
LB: Vic Beasley , Atlanta Falcons
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All hail the NFL’s sack leader and the most improved player in professional football.
It almost didn’t happen for Vic Beasley. After a disappointing rookie campaign, Atlanta was toying with moving the Clemson product to middle linebacker this summer. Instead, Atlanta doubled down on the eighth overall pick, bringing in veteran Dwight Freeney to show him the way.
When it clicked for No. 44, it really clicked. Only Von Miller showcased a faster first step than Beasley did. When he mastered one move, Freeney would show him another and another until…15.5 sacks happened.
LB: Von Miller, Denver Broncos
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When I look at Von Miller, I see Lawrence Taylor.
I see the same hip flexibility that turned the corner against the great '80s offensive lines in Washington and Chicago. I see my dad’s former teammate whenever the ball was snapped and Miller aligned his jump just right. And I certainly see L.T. whenever Miller came crashing down undetected on a quarterback’s blind side (13.5 sacks in 2016).
There’s more to Miller’s game, though.
It's tough to understand just how skilled No. 58 was in downfield coverage until you watch the film; he ran step-for-step with Atlanta speedster Tevin Coleman in Week 5. And he's somehow underrated in defending the run. There is no recipe for success against the Broncos on 3rd-and-1 because Miller cut around blocks right at him and darted down the line of scrimmage on runs away from him.
LB: Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys
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Just call him "Seanny Hustle."
Coordinator Rod Marinelli couldn’t dream up a better linebacker. Sean Lee flocked to the football—so important in Dallas' effort-driven scheme—and proved what he could do with almost a full season of clean health.
His impact was noticable on almost every down. Lee notched 145 combined tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, for starters. And he also flashed in coverage, running step-for-step with an athlete like Washington's freaky Jordan Reed. Did I mention he made 145 tackles?
We all took notice in 2016. How could the Pro Bowl miss him?
DB: Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos
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No one has more pick-sixes since 2009 than my all-season All-22 team’s top cornerback.
Aqib Talib is fast, long and athletic. But his preparation provides separation; Talib knows exactly when to break off his coverage and on a route in his area. Just ask Andrew Luck how smart this veteran is after their Week 2 rendezvous.
Talib took Martellus Bennett as a box cornerback one week. The next featured him out wide on Tyreek Hill. Denver’s top cover man didn’t simply play up to his Pro Bowl standard in 2016. He surpassed it, playing a multifaceted role in coverage that no other cornerback did or could.
DB: A.J. Bouye, Houston Texans
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He entered the season as a no-name CB4.
He’ll exit it as Houston’s top cornerback. Given the depth coordinator Romeo Crennel has amassed there, that’s saying something.
A.J. Bouye’s play speaks for itself. Only two teams tried testing him in 2016—the Broncos targeted him 10 times to no great success, and the Bengals were even worse. The rest of the NFL knew better than to mess with No. 21 through the air.
What about on the ground? Bouye stood out there, too. The kid was third on Houston’s stacked defense in tackles (63), for crying out loud. He’s a star, plain and simple.
DB: Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs
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Last year, I wasn’t sure if Eric Berry was even the best guy in his own secondary.
I’ll just shut up now. Berry turned a Comeback Player of the Year campaign into a Defensive Player of the Year-worthy one in the span of just one offseason. It’s wild to think he was receiving cancer treatments just a year and some change ago.
Kansas City needed nonconventional points (not from the offense) for stretches of 2016. That was Berry’s specialty; he won the Chiefs games against the Panthers and Falcons with big interception returns. And he prevented a handful of scoring runs by making one-on-one tackles from his safety spot.
DB: Landon Collins, New York Giants
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Landon Collins entered his first professional offseason on a mission to slim down.
With a year under his looser-fitting belt, the Alabama product didn’t need to think. He could play instinctually and rely on his new gear’s worth of speed. That’s how he became the Giants’ defensive MVP.
That weaving pick-six he pulled off in London? All instinct and athleticism. Same goes for the rest of the month, as No. 21 hauled in three picks over three weeks.
We knew Collins could be an asset as an in-the-box stuffing safety (125 tackles). We now know he’s a top-five center fielder-type, too.
Regular Season All-22 Team
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QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
RB: Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
RB: David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
RB: LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots
WR: Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants
WR: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
TE: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
OL: Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys
OL: David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers
OL: Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans
OL: Kelechi Osemele, Oakland Raiders
DL: Trey Flowers, New England Patriots
DL: Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans
DL: Damon Harrison, New York Giants
DL: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders
LB: Vic Beasley , Atlanta Falcons
LB: Von Miller, Denver Broncos
LB: Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys
DB: Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos
DB: A.J. Bouye, Houston Texans
DB: Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs
DB: Landon Collins, New York Giants
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