Meet the 2022 NFL All-State team for Alabama
All-State is a high school accolade. But it also can be applied to the NFL if all the players on the team come from the same state, such as AL.com’s NFL All-State team for the 2022 season. All the selections played football at Alabama high schools and colleges.
The team was chosen from the more than 150 players with Alabama football roots who appeared during the NFL’s 2022 regular season.
The players with Alabama roots in the NFL are not evenly distributed by position, though. The state’s roster is heavy with top-notch defensive linemen, cornerbacks, wide receivers and running backs and light on offensive linemen and edge rushers.
In fact, the NFL All-State team is one guard short. Only one player with Alabama football roots saw significant playing time at guard in 2022. While Landon Dickerson earned Pro Bowl recognition as the Philadelphia Eagles’ left guard, he had no suitable match for the other guard spot on the All-State line.
Here’s the NFL All-State team for Alabama for this season:
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
In his second full season as a starter, the former Alabama standout led the Eagles to the NFC championship and a near-miss in Super Bowl LVII, where Philadelphia lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35. In the Super Bowl, Hurts had the second game in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns – and he had the other one during the regular season. During the regular season, Hurts completed 306-of-460 passes for 3,701 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions and ran for 760 yards and 13 touchdowns on 165 carries. He had three more TD passes and five more TD runs in the postseason. Hurts was picked for the Pro Bowl, made second-team on The Associated Press’ All-Pro team, was the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-NFC quarterback and finished second in the balloting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
Running back: Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
The former Alabama standout led the NFL in rushing and swept through the end-of-season honors at the position as a Pro Bowler, AP and NFL Players Association All-Pro and PFWA All-NFL selection. Jacobs ran for 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns on 340 carries and caught 53 passes for 400 yards to lead the NFL in yards from scrimmage, too. He also had the longest run in the NFL during the 2022 season, when he burst 86 yards up the middle to end Las Vegas’ 40-34 overtime victory against the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 27.
Wide receiver: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
The former West Alabama standout caught 119 passes for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns. Hill finished second in the NFL in receptions and receiving yards as he set franchise records for both statistics in his first season with the Dolphins. Seventy-seven of Hill’s receptions produced first downs, which ranked third among pass-catchers in 2022. Hill was Pro Bowler, an AP All-Pro and a PFWA All-NFL and All-AFC pick.
Wide receiver: Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
The former Alabama standout had 75 receptions for 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns. Waddle’s average of 18.1 yards per reception ranked as the best in the NFL during the 2022 season even though Miami played most of three games with its third-string quarterback.
Wide receiver: Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
Traded to the Browns in the offseason, the former Alabama All-American had 78 receptions for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns. While posting the fifth-most receiving yards in a season in franchise history, Cooper led players from Alabama high schools and colleges in touchdown receptions in 2022.
Tight end: Gerald Everett, Los Angeles Chargers
In his first season with the Chargers, Everett reached career highs with 58 receptions for 555 yards. He also caught four touchdown passes. Everett entered the NFL in 2017 from South Alabama, where he played for two seasons after spending one year at UAB.
Center: Bradley Bozeman, Carolina Panthers
The former Handley High School and Alabama standout did not start the first six games of the season. When he entered the lineup, the Panthers had a 1-5 record, but went 6-5 with Bozeman at center. After averaging 90.3 rushing yards per game without Bozeman, the Panthers averaged 151.6 with him. Bozeman also ranked sixth among the NFL’s centers in ESPN’s pass-block win rate.
Guard: Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia Eagles
The former Alabama All-American helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII in his second season as Philadelphia’s left guard. Dickerson finished first in run-block win rate and second in pass-block win rate among NFL guards in ESPN’s analytics. He also received his first Pro Bowl recognition.
Offensive tackle: Tytus Howard, Houston Texans
The former Monroe County High School quarterback continued to develop with his most complete season since the Texans made him the first first-round pick from Alabama State during the 2019 NFL Draft. Houston’s right tackle, Howard also stepped inside to play guard in a pinch for the Texans this season. Howard allowed three sacks in 2022, the fewest among the tackles with Alabama football roots, and he finished sixth among tackles in ESPN’s pass-block win rate.
Offensive tackle: Braden Smith, Indianapolis Colts
The former Auburn All-American finished fourth in pass-block win rate and fifth in run-block win rate in ESPN Analytics’ ratings of the league’s offensive tackles last season. He did not rate as highly in 2022 as the Colts won only one of their final 11 games and used three starting quarterbacks. But Smith still scored the highest grade from Pro Football Focus among the tackles with Alabama football roots.
DEFENSE
Defensive lineman: Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
The former Wenonah High School standout and Alabama All-American finished seventh in the AP Defensive Player of the Year voting as he received Pro Bowl, AP All-Pro and PFWA All-NFL and All-AFC recognition for his 2022 performance. Williams led players with Alabama football roots by registering 12 sacks this season. He also tied his career high with 55 tackles and recorded career highs with 12 tackles for loss and 28 quarterback hits. Williams ranked fourth in the NFL in quarterback hits in 2022.
Defensive lineman: Daron Payne, Washington Commanders
The former Shades Valley High School and Alabama standout earned his first Pro Bowl invitation and made the PFWA’s All-NFC team as he recorded 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits in the 2022 season. Each ranked as a career high for Payne, and his tackle-for-loss number ranked fourth-best in the NFL.
Defensive lineman: Jonathan Allen, Washington Commanders
The former Alabama All-American earned his second straight Pro Bowl invitation as he had 65 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits. Allen finished ninth in the NFL in tackles for loss in 2022.
Edge: Za’Darius Smith, Minnesota Vikings
From Greenville High School, Smith earned his third Pro Bowl invitation in his first season with the Vikings. After playing only one game in 2021, Smith rebounded with 44 tackles, 10 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 24 quarterback hits.
Edge: Josh Allen, Jacksonville Jaguars
The former Abbeville High School wide receiver helped the Jaguars surge into the playoffs with 57 tackles, seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 22 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Jacksonville secured its postseason position by beating the Tennessee Titans 20-16 in the final game of the regular season when Allen returned a recovered fumble 37 yards for a touchdown with 2:51 to play to lift Jacksonville to victory.
Inside linebacker: C.J. Mosley, New York Jets
The former Theodore High School standout and Alabama All-American made 158 tackles as he earned Pro Bowl recognition for the fifth time in his career. He also was a second-team selection in the AP All-Pro choices.
Inside linebacker: Rashaan Evans, Atlanta Falcons
The former Auburn High School standout and Alabama All-American recorded a career-high 159 tackles in his first season with the Falcons. Evans’ tackle total ranked seventh in the NFL.
Cornerback: Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
The former Alabama All-American became recognized as one of the NFL’s best in the secondary in his second season. Surtain’s end-of-season honors included the Pro Bowl, All-Pro by The Associated Press and NFLPA and All-NFL and All-AFC by the Pro Football Writers of America. Surtain had 60 tackles and two interceptions in 2022.
Cornerback: James Bradberry, Philadelphia Eagles
The former Pleasant Grove High School and Samford standout helped the Eagles reach Super Bowl LVII after being released as a salary-cap casualty by the New York Giants in May. Bradberry earned second-team All-Pro recognition by the AP as he made 44 tackles, intercepted three passes (returning one for a touchdown) and broke up 14 more. Opposing quarterbacks had a passing-efficiency rating of 51.6 when throwing against Bradberry.
Safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
The former Alabama All-American finished tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions in 2022. Fitzpatrick also made 96 tackles as he put his name on all the major end-of-season all-star lists – Pro Bowl, AP and NFLPA All-Pro and PFWA All-NFL and All-AFC.
Safety: Kareem Jackson, Denver Broncos
The former Alabama standout continued to be a force in his 13th NFL season as he registered a career-high 94 tackles.
SPECIALISTS
Kicker: Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
The former Auburn standout set an NFL single-season record by making 11 field goals of 50-or-more yards in 2022. Carlson made 34-of-37 field-goal attempts and scored 137 points to earn first-team All-Pro recognition from The Associated Press and All-NFL and All-AFC selection by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Punter: JK Scott, Los Angeles Chargers
In his first season with the Chargers, the former Alabama All-American averaged 43.6 yards with a 41.1-yard net on 73 punts. Los Angeles yielded 58 punt-return yards in 2022, the fewest in NFL by 79 yards.
Long snapper: Josh Harris, Los Angeles Chargers
The former Auburn standout went to the Pro Bowl as the NFC long snapper in his 10th NFL season in 2021. After joining the Chargers as a free agent in the offseason, Harris received votes for the AP All-Pro team in his 11th.
Return specialist: Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
The former Enterprise High School and Troy standout made a splash as rookie in 2022 and was the punt returner on the AP All-Pro and PFWA All-NFL teams. Jones led the NFL with 362 yards and a 12.5-yard average on 29 punt returns. He also returned 27 kickoffs for a 23.9-yard average. Jones had the longest punt return in the NFL when he went 84 yards to score with five seconds left in the Patriots’ 10-3 victory over the New York Jets on Nov. 20.
Special-teamer: Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders
The former South Alabama standout got every end-of-season honor as a special-teamer. He was selected for the Pro Bowl, the AP and NFLPA All-Pro teams and the PFWA’s All-NFL squad.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.