Colts Pat McAfee, T.Y. Hilton Named to PFF 2016 NFL All-Pro Team

According Pro Football Focus, both Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee and wide receiver (flex) T.Y. Hilton were named to the popular advanced grades/stats web site’s 2016 NFL All-Pro Team:

Punter

First team: Pat McAfee, Indianapolis Colts

Second team: Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams

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.

Wide receivers

Honorable mention: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts, 87.3 (No. 5)

Flex

First team: David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals, 83.2 (No. 4 RB)

Second team: T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts, 87.3 (No. 5 WR)

Regarding McAfee, the Pro Bowl punter for the Colts leads the league in gross punting average at 49.3 yards per punt (a career high) and is 3rd in average net yards per punt at 42.7 net yards per punt.

The 8th-year veteran also handles kicks offs for the Colts, as well as holding duties for legendary placekicker Adam Vinatieri–as a ‘Swiss army knife’ of sorts for Indianapolis’ special teams units.

Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) celebrates his touchdown in the first half of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, making his 3rd straight Pro Bowl appearance, Hilton won the NFL’s receiving title with 1,448 total receiving yards (a career high) in addition to his team-leading 91 receptions (also a career high) to go along with 6 touchdown receptions.

He finished the season as Pro Football Focus’ 5th best graded receiver with a +87.3 grade overall and fills in nicely as their 2nd All-Pro team’s ‘flex’ player behind Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson.

While’s he’s always been highly regarded as a dangerous deep threat, Hilton consistently moved the chains all season for the Colts, as he had the 2nd most first downs among all league receivers with 66 total first downs.

Both McAfee and Hilton had career seasons for the Colts and remain among some of the best players at their respective positions in all of football. Hopefully, that continues to be the case going forward for the Colts in 2017.