co-authored by John Shirley

Sports Info Solutions provided updates on the Total Points leaders at various intervals throughout the season. Now with the regular season in the books, SIS would like to provide the complete All-Total Points Team for the full 2019 season.

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Quarterback — Aaron Rodgers

Likely the most controversial pick among the Total Points All-Pros, Aaron Rodgers maintained his spot atop of the quarterback leaderboard despite a shaky Week 17 performance (thanks in part to Lamar Jackson resting with homefield already clinched). 

The reasons Rodgers still looks great by Total Points despite rating poorly in a number of other advanced metrics have been discussed at length a number of times this season, but it’s worth hitting the cliff notes one more time. Rodgers was the best quarterback in the league at avoiding interceptable passes in 2019. Runner-up Dak Prescott, on the other hand, was among the worst, losing three times as much value to interceptable passes as Rodgers. Additionally, Rodgers gained more value than any other quarterback in the NFL on dropped passes. Rodgers isn’t the same quarterback he was five years ago, but he still put together a very strong campaign in 2019.

Second Team — Patrick Mahomes

Running Back — Christian McCaffrey

The pick at running back is far less controversial. The first half of McCaffrey’s season was good enough to have some wondering if he could be the first running back to win MVP since Adrian Peterson did so in 2012. And while the MVP talk faded down the stretch, McCaffrey still finished the season 12 Total Points clear of the next best back, Austin Ekeler.

In total, McCaffrey racked up 2,392 yards from scrimmage, 19 total touchdowns, and was only the third player in NFL history to put up 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season.  He did most of his damage as a receiver, catching 116 passes and earning 40 Total Points, far and away the most of any back in the league.

Second Team — Austin Ekeler

Wide Receiver — Michael Thomas, Chris Godwin, Jarvis Landry

Michael Thomas finishing at the top of the leaderboard doesn’t require much of an explanation. Thomas led the league in receiving yards with 1,725 and broke the all-time NFL record for catches in a season with 149. But Thomas was more than just a volume monster. While he did get a ridiculous 184 targets, he also turned them into catches at a higher clip than any other receiver in the league (81%) and only dropped three passes on the season, or 1.6% of his targets. On the season, Saints quarterbacks had a passer rating of 122.0 when targeting Thomas.

Coming in just behind Thomas and taking the second spot on the Total Points All-Pro team is the Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin. On the season, Godwin hauled in 86 catches on only 91 catchable targets, gained 1,333 yards and scored nine touchdowns, all while receiving only 22.5% of his team’s total targets. While Godwin is known more as a deep threat, he still managed to lead the league in yards after the catch.

The third wide receiver on the list is Jarvis Landry. While his overall numbers weren’t eye-popping, Landry was a force on third down in 2019, catching all 19 of his catchable targets, and turning 15 of them into first down conversions. Overall, Landry’s 17 Receiving Points Earned on third down was the fourth highest in the league. 

Second Team — DeVante Parker, Julio Jones, Allen Robinson

Tight End — George Kittle

Kittle was not only the leader among tight ends, but also the leader among all pass-catchers in 2019. While his 46 Receiving Points Earned did rank first among tight ends, he also racked up an additional 14 as a run blocker (tied for second among tight ends) and three more as a pass blocker (tied for third among tight ends). As was the case in his breakout campaign last season Kittle was a beast after the catch, trailing only Chris Godwin overall and leading all tight ends in yards after the catch.

Second Team — Travis Kelce

Offensive Line — Andrew Whitworth, Orlando Brown Jr., Zack Martin, Joe Thuney, Erik McCoy

Heavily represented in both the first and second teams is the Ravens offensive line which was a crucial part of the league’s most dynamic offense. The Ravens’ line as a whole had the lowest Blown Block Rate in the league at a rate of about seven percent. Orlando Brown Jr., specifically, was only charged with a blown block on 15 of 1,063 snaps, a rate of 1.4%. Zack Martin, Joe Thuney, and Andrew Whitworth all also ranked in the top 10 in blown block rate among linemen with at least 750 snaps.

Second Team — Matt Feller, Ronnie Stanley, Quinton Spain, Marshal Yanda, Austin Reiter

Interior Defensive Line — Aaron Donald, Cameron Heyward

It comes as no surprise that Aaron Donald makes our All-Total Points team. He has rated as the best interior defensive lineman by a large margin every year since Total Points was created in 2016. Even though Donald’s 2019 was a “down year”, he still racked up 2.5 more sacks and over 20 more pressures than any other interior lineman. Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward slightly edged out Fletcher Cox for the other First Team spot by a single point. 

Second Team — Fletcher Cox, Shelby Harris

Edge — T.J. Watt, Shaquil Barrett 

T.J. Watt rated as the Total Points leader among all defensive players this past season. He accomplished this by being the second-highest rated player in Pass Rush Total Points and also a top 15 run defender. The only player to rate higher in Pass Rush Total Points was his fellow First Team EDGE Shaquil Barrett. Barrett led the league with 19.5 sacks, while also forcing six fumbles and intercepting a pass. 

It should be noted that 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa made an impressive push towards the top of the Edge leaderboard after not starting the first two weeks of the season. Bosa finished six Total Points behind Barrett for the second Edge spot on the First Team, but did finish as the overall leader among defensive rookies.

Second Team — Nick Bosa, Chandler Jones

Linebacker — Lavonte David, Darius Leonard

Lavonte David rated as the second-highest overall defender, behind only T.J. Watt. David was impressive in both coverage and against the run this season. When targeted in coverage he only allowed 3.6 yards per target. Against designed runs, he racked up 58 tackles and had an ATD+ of 128—which means when he made a tackle it was 28% closer to the line of scrimmage than we would expect based on where he lined up. 

While David rated highly due to his consistency against the pass and run, Darius Leonard rated as the second-highest off-ball linebacker due to his big plays. Leonard had 5 sacks and 5 interceptions on only 52 pass rushes and 32 targets respectively.

Second Team — Jamie Collins, Fred Warner

Cornerback — Tre’Davious White, Marlon Humphrey

Bills corner Tre’Davious White had an amazing season, as his six interceptions tied for the league lead and he did not allow a single touchdown on his 81 targets. This production resulted in White being the league leader in Coverage Total Points. While the top corner spot on the All-Total Points team easily went to White, Marlon Humphrey over Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore might be a little surprising. However, Humphrey rated as a similar coverage defender—he trailed Gilmore by a single point—and rated as a better run defender by six points than Gilmore.  

Second Team — Casey Hayward, Stephon Gilmore

Safety — Harrison Smith, Malcolm Jenkins

When it comes to Total Points, Harrison Smith shows a similar sustained dominance at safety to Aaron Donald among defensive linemen. Smith has rated as the best at his position for the third consecutive season. He was targeted 23 times this past season and allowed a completion percentage of only 47.8%, yielded 3.2 yards per target, intercepted three passes, and allowed zero touchdowns. Against designed runs he racked up 33 tackles and had an ATD+ of 128. 

Malcolm Jenkins rated as the second-best safety due to his high level of performance and versatility. He allowed a completion percentage of only 55.6% and no touchdowns on his 45 targets. He also had the second-most pass rushes and total pressures of any safety. 

Second Team – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Jamal Adams

Defensive Back — Justin Simmons

The defensive back position on the All-Total Points team goes to the highest rated corner or safety who didn’t make the First Team at his position. This honor goes to Justin Simmons of the Broncos. Simmons actually rated as the second-best safety in Coverage Total Points, but was edged out by Jenkins’s all-around versatility as a pass rusher and run defender. In coverage this season, Simmons was targeted 35 times but only allowed 3.9 yards per target, intercepted 4 passes, and had 11 pass breakups. He was also solid against designed runs, with 43 tackles and an ATD+ of 122. 

Second Team — Marcus Peters

Kicker — Justin Tucker

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see Justin Tucker at the top of a kicking leaderboard. After missing out on the top spot in 2018 for the first time, Tucker reclaimed his throne by going 28 of 29 overall on field goals and hitting 56 of 58 extra points. Tucker was perfect on the season from inside of 40 yards, with his lone miss coming from 40-plus.

Second Team — Josh Lambo

Punter — Tress Way

Tress Way’s impressive punting season resulted in a league-leading 19 Total Points and 49.6-yard average. He also had 30 punts inside the opponent’s 20, with only four touchbacks. Based on SIS’s Expected Field Position Plus/Minus metric for punters, Way’s punts on average created 2.8 yards of extra field position.

Second Team — Brett Kern