CLEVELAND — The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) announced its first-ever Players' All-Pro Team on Wednesday.
The Cleveland Browns were well represented on the inaugural list, with defensive end Myles Garrett and left guard Joel Bitonio receiving the honors.
The Players' All-Pro Team is comprised of 29 of the league's top performers across 23 different positions.
“Players compete against each other all season long, watching hours and hours of film week after week; and yet, we have never had an opportunity to truly use our expertise to select the best of us,” NFLPA President JC Tretter said. “We think it is important that players take the time to define ourselves, because so far, we have allowed everyone else to either pick or dilute our voices.”
Despite finishing 7-10 overall in the 2022-23 season, Garrett recorded a historic season, amassing 16 sacks for the second consecutive season. Garrett's 16 sacks are tied with Haason Reddick of the Philadelphia Eagles for the second most in the NFL this season.
Bitonio helped lead the way for Cleveland to rank sixth in NFL rushing this season. Among many awards, the Nevada product was also named to the Pro Bowl for the fifth consecutive year. The offensive tackle ranks second among all guards in the NFL, with an 86.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
The guidelines for voting were based on the following:
- Only active NFL players were eligible to vote, and each player could only vote once.
- Players could not vote for themselves or for their teammates.
- If a player missed five or more games as of Week 15 of the season, they were ineligible for a spot on the team.
- Players voted for the position group they play in and line up against on the field. For example, centers could vote for: the best center, the best nose tackle, the best interior defensive lineman and the best off-ball linebacker in the league.
- For the special teams (or “core teamers”) category, various player leaders from each locker room nominated their two top players for the ballot.
In the future weeks, the NFLPA will release a list of the top five players that were voted on.