Pat McAfee makes PFF’s All-Pro team as the NFL’s best punter

The AP All-Pro teams have not yet been announced for the 2016 NFL season, but Pro Football Focus released their All-Pro team based on their grades for the season, and Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee was named the first-team punter.

Here’s what PFF wrote about McAfee:

There are few punters that can rival Pat McAfee’s control of the ball when punting. His ability to maximize hang time, distance, and still control the direction of the punt puts him at the top of our grades—and that’s without factoring in his work as a kickoff specialist for the Colts.

McAfee had another terrific season, and he should be named the first-team punter on the AP team too. He ranked first in the league with 49.3 yards per punt, a new career high, and he was third in the league in net yards per punt with 42.7 (which was 0.1 yard per punt off of his career high). He had 19 punts pinned inside the 20 yard line, nine touchbacks, and he didn’t have a punt returned for a touchdown off of him. And while PFF said they didn’t factor in his other work, McAfee also excels as the Colts’ kickoff specialist and field goal holder.

McAfee was the only Colts player to get first-team honors from PFF, but wide receiver T.Y. Hilton also made it as the second-team flex player. He ranked fifth among wide receivers this year, which was good for him being the honorable mention receiver, and he finished second behind David Johnson for the flex spot. And considering the season Johnson had, that’s not a bad thing for Hilton. Like McAfee, Hilton also had a career year, setting new highs in receptions (91) and yards (1,448) along with six touchdowns, and he ranked first in the league in receiving yards.

McAfee and Hilton had phenomenal seasons, but they weren’t the only ones that PFF liked from the Colts. Quarterback Andrew Luck was the fourth-highest graded player at his position this year, behind only Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers. That’s some terrific company, and so while only two quarterbacks made the All-Pro team, that doesn’t mean Luck wasn’t phenomenal as well. The Colts may have stunk as a team this year, but there were at least some players that PFF was impressed with this year - and for good reason.