OFFENSE:
QB – Jordan Love, SF
The default answer at this point. He’s made some really bad turnovers and is actually just 1-2 as the starter this season but, he also shows glimpses of what made him arguably the best QB in the NFL for the last half of last season. He also has been aggressive and despite a below average completion percentage, he is averaging 7.7 yards per throw and almost 300 yards per game. It’s not all pretty but he’s definitely the all league QB.
RB – Derrick Henry, Hou
The guy is a menace. He has 8 total TDs is averaging 6 yards per carry and is once again leading the NFL in rushing. He’s the exception to the rule.
RB – David Montgomery, GB
Well GM TH clearly knows how to draft running backs as he picked both of these guys. Montgomery is the best runner at making people miss in the hole in the NFL. He falls forward better than anyone and is a short yardage superstar. His success rate as a runner is as high as there is in the NFL and while his YPC will never wow you, it’s because that’s not what he’s there to do. But he’s one of the best in the league at doing his job. While we can argue about their merits, he’s also the 4th rated RB in PFF rankings this season.
TE – Isaiah Likely, Hou
This one was insanely close. Goedert had one insanely monster game where he absolutely went off and it moved the needle way up but Likely’s elite run blocking got him the grade here. This one is between Likely and Goedert currently and might come down to whatever voters value more, blocking or pass catching. Goedert has fallen off so far this season as a blocker, missing as many blocks as he’s made on the edge in the games I’ve watched, but he’s put up over 300 yards in just 4 games. Very tough call.
WR – Justin Jefferson, GB
He’s a superstar that shows up every single week, and makes the entire offense better. Jefferson not only has put up 450 yards to be 3rd in the NFL, he’s also drawing flags by the dozen in games. He carries that offense at times and is the epitome of elite.
WR – CeeDee Lamb, SF
See above. Lamb is 9th in the NFL in yards and while he and Dak haven’t been on the same page as often this season, there are times that the entire offense seems to hinge on whether AB Goat can get single coverage. When he does, or he gets the ball in space, he’s as dangerous as any player in the NFL.
WR – Rashid Shaheed, Hou
I doubt this one sticks all season, as I can’t see Shaheed continuing to outproduce Amon Ra St Brown or even Aiyuk and Samuel on his own team, but he’s been a walking one play TD drive this season. Shaheed has 25 targets through 4 weeks and is averaging over 10 yards per target. On top of that he also has 77 punt return yards, 25 rushing yards, and 108 kickoff return yards to round it out. Will Shaheed stay as the #3 WR by years’ end, almost no shot, but through 4 games he’s been very dynamic.
FLEX – Dallas Goedert, GB
This is how I get Goedert on the team with 300 receiving yards. This is going to be a very tight race with St. Brown, Diontae Johnson, both Houston/SF WRs out there, etc. But through 4 games Goedert is on a 1000 yard pace as a TE. If he keeps that up, no way he stays off the starting offense.
LT – Jordan Mailata, LAC
This one is actually closer than you might think, as Bernard Raimann is coming into his own on the left side. That said, Mailata’s ability to displace people is incredible. As he ranks 3rd in PFF grade, and 8th in ESPN pass block win rate. He’s a star.
LG – Landon Dickerson, LAC
This one was a bit closer than I expected as well as Teven Jenkins gave Dickerson a bit of a run for his money. However, Jenkins inconsistency and missing some snaps gave Dickerson the edge. He’s had more bad losses this year than any in his career thus far though and while his overall body of work is good, he’s given up a massive 15 pressures through 4 weeks. This looked like a lock before the season, if that pace keeps up, Jenkins could move in and steal this all league spot.
C – Tyler Linderbaum, GB
This is another one that’s much closer than I thought it would be but through ZERO fault of Linderbaum’s. He’s played at a potentially All Pro level through 5 games but Tyler Biadasz has played really good football for the Commanders as well and is in this conversation. Linderbaum has been elite as a run blocker and very good in pass pro so far, being the #1 rated cernter in pass block win rate through 4 weeks through ESPN’s metrics. The thing is Biadasz is rated 4th there and actually has a higher PFF pass block win rate. Linderbaum gets the edge due to the fact he’s elite in the run game and Biadasz has been good and not great there but it shows how awesome Biadasz has played that he’s even in this conversation.
RG – James Daniels, SF
He’s been so damn good to start this season, it’s a huge bummer that he got hurt because it was by far the best year of his career. Daniels was killing it on the inside zone run and had truly seemed to find his stride there, placing second in ESPN run block win rate AND as the top rated guard by PFF. The injury is a huge blow.
RT – Zach Tom, SF
He’s a star. Tom is one of the most consistent offensive linemen in the NFL. He can run block block pass protect at a high level and he seems to understand leverage at a high level. He’s been an impressive and integral part of the offensive line in GB and is their best OL.
FIRST 5 WEEKS ALL LEAGUE OFFENSE:
QB – Love, SF
RB – Henry, HOU
RB – Montgomery, GB
TE – Likely, HOU
WR – Jefferson, GB
WR – Lamb, GB
WR – Shaheed, HOU
Flex – Goedert, GB
LT – Mailata, LAC
LG – Dickerson, LAC
C – Linderbaum, GB
RG – Daniels, SF
RT – Tom, SF
DEFENSE:
Defensive Tackle: Christian Wilkins, HOU
The Texans spent a fortune to bring in Wilkins and have him anchor a disruptive front, and that’s exactly what he’s done through 5 games. He did just hurt his foot this week but we don’t know how bad it is. Through 5 weeks though he’s been electric. Wilkins is 9th in PFF grade, placing at 75 or higher in both run grade and pass rush grade, and he looks it on tape, piling up an impressive 246 snaps as well. He’s also 5th in run stop rate per ESPN grades and 4th in pass rush grade. He’s a star.
Defensive Tackle: Zach Sieler, LAC
I’m a little biased here because I absolutely love Sieler, and he’s been awesome so far this season. He’s 17th in ESPN pass rush win rate through 4 weeks (no 5th week updated yet but it’ll go up after he dominated this week) as he’s not put up 16 pressures this season. He’s one of the better and most disruptive interior players in the league against the pass and he’s solid as a run player.
DL: Zach Allen, SF
I don’t know where to put Allen. Is he interior, is he edge? Idk but as a hybrid he deserves to be SOMEWHERE on this list so I’m simply going to put him here. While his run defense this year has been mediocre at best, he’s been getting hurries and pressures at an obscene rate. His intensity on the defensive front is palpable. The dude has freaking 29 pressures through 5 weeks. That is out of control. Now I’ll say he’s had some issues in run D this year, but 29 pressures is top 5 in the NFL. He has to be on this list.
Edge: Carl Graderson, GB
This dude seems to have leveled up this year. Granderson if you watch the Saints seems to be everywhere. He signed a new contract extension and then immediately balled out. He has 22 pressures and 3 sacks through 4 weeks but on top of that he’s also been pretty decent against the run and has also picked up 15 tackles. He’s been really good so far this season.
Edge: Brian Burns, SF
Rousseau is on his tail but Burns has been better to start the year. He has 17 pressures through 5 games, lower than Rousseau but he has a crazy 5 batted balls this season. He also has 15 tackles and has been winning as a pass rusher with frequency as he’s 6th in pass rush win rate as his wins are just quicker than Rousseau’s. He has the “Edge” right now.
LINEBACKER: Jermiah Owusu-Koramoah, LAC
He’s so fun to watch. Watching JOK play is like watching someone shot out of a cannon when he gets going. He flies sideline to sideline and is one of the rare off ball linebackers that at times feels like he can take over a game. He’s got 39 tackles, including 6 for loss so far this season, and while he hasn’t been as big of a big play guy this year, his coverage skills are as good as anyone in the NFL from the LB position, giving up a passer rating against of just 61.6. He’s also gotten stronger in 2024, having missed just 2 tackles all year. He’s awesome. He also has two forced turnovers through 5 weeks.
LINEBACKER: Logan Wilson, HOU
I thought Wilson was pretty mediocre last season. While he put up decent counting stats, I didn’t feel like he made nearly as many plays. He changed that in 2024. Wilson has been a machine out there, putting up at least 9 tackles in every single game. On top of it, he’s been blitzing more, and has 5 QB hits and a forced fumble while improving his coverage skills, allowing just 65 yards in coverage through 5 games, an impressive number. He’s been REALLY good through 5 weeks.
LINEBACKER: Frankie Luvu, HOU
This one is going to be a tough race between a lot of guys. Including another Houston LB in Pete Werner. Henry To’o To’o has improved by leaps and bounds this past season as well, giving GB another dog in the fight. However, Luvu is a freaking playmaker and one of the best blitzing LBs in the NFL. He has 3 sacks and 10 pressures through 5 weeks as well as 37 tackles, and his best season so far in coverage, allowing just 43 yards in coverage through 5 games and missing only 2 tackles. He’s improved.
CORNERBACK: Patrick Surtain, LAC
Well I had mentioned I thought Surtain was good, but maybe not great anymore and he responded with two interceptions and a TD as he dominated week 5. He’s given up just 78 yards in coverage this season and hasn’t missed a tackle. Yeah he’s elite.
CORNERBACK: Jaylon Johnson, SF
He’s maybe the best shutdown cornerback in the NFL today. Johnson has a passer rating against when targeted of just 33 this season while playing plus run defense. He’s given up just 5 completions as the nearest defender per next gen stats, and just 9 total completions, including 4 that were in deep off coverage. He’s as sticky as there is in the NFL today.
NICKEL: Trent McDuffie, GB
He’s the NFL’s feistiest corner. McDuffie is simply good at everything. He hasn’t been totally lockdown this year but he’s been really darn good. Through 4 weeks he’s given up a little bit with 10 catches for 92 yards, but that’s still really darn good. Especially considering he’s also added 4 pressures as a blitzer. I will say this, he’s been good but there are guys on his tail here which shows how many good corners are in this division. He hasn’t been as big of a playmaker and he’s letting guys creep up on him and has 3 penalties that have led to first downs.
Zyon McCollum has played outstanding football in 2024 allowing fewer than half the passes against him to be complete. Christian Gonzalez is rounding into form after a couple of weeks where he started slow – he can steal this spot without question and has looked great the past two games. Some young guys have jumped up as well, including rookies Kool Aid-McKinstry and Quinyon Mitchell. And even Isaac Yiadom has been a solid under the radar signing by SF.
SAFETY: Xavier McKinney, LAC
He’s been the best player in the secondary this season for any team. He has 6 turnovers through 5 weeks including a pick in every single game. On top of that the guy has only missed one tackle all season and as the closest defender has only given up 3 catches and 43 yards. For our league he’s the DPOY without there being a vote.
SAFETY: Tyrann Mathieu, HOU
He’s been outstanding for the Texans and the real life Saints through 4 games and seems to have found a mini fountain of youth. Mathieu has forced three turnovers this year and while he did give up a big play in the pass game, he’s been flying all over the field for a good Saints defense. His grasp on this spot is definitely not safe though as younger ascending players are coming for him but he’s a playmaker who has been making a LOT of plays early on in the season.
FIRST 5 WEEKS ALL LEAGUE DEFENSE:
DT: Wilkins, HOU
DT: Sieler, LAC
DL: Allen, SF
EDGE: Granderson, GB
EDGE: Burns, SF
LB: Owusu-Koramoah, LAC
LB: Wilson, HOU
LB: Luvu, HOU
CB: Surtain, LAC
CB: Johnson, SF
N: McDuffie, GB
S: McKinney, LAC
S: Mathieu, HOU
