Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and cornerback Sauce Gardner were named Associated Press First-Team All-Pro Friday.
Gardner led all cornerbacks by receiving 43 of the 50 first-team votes and 136 total points. The AP began a new voting process this season where a first-team vote was worth three points and a second-team vote was worth one point.
Gardner led the league with 20 passes defended and also recorded 75 tackles and two interceptions.
Gardner becomes the first rookie cornerback to be named to the All-Pro First Team since Ronnie Lott in 1981.
“That’s a big deal to me,” Gardner told the AP when learning of that fact. “It was one of my goals before training camp. It’s something I pray for. I worked so hard for it. It’s a true blessing for sure.”
Here’s the Jets' Sauce Gardner learning from @robmaaddi that he was the first rookie cornerback named a first-team NFL All-Pro since Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott in 1981: pic.twitter.com/SeiyUI53DZ
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) January 13, 2023
Wiliams finished second in voting among interior defensive linemen with 94 points and 22 first-team votes. Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs led the way with 49 first-team votes and 148 points.
Williams finished with 12 sacks this season, second-most among interior defensive linemen behind Jones’ 15.5. Williams added 55 tackles and 12 tackles for a loss in a season where he went from a great defensive tackle to an elite one and will soon be paid as such.
“I tell my wife my goals every day so she can keep me accountable and make sure I do the right thing and it was become a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro,” Williams told the AP. “To get this news, all the work I put in has paid off and I gotta continue to do the same thing.”
Quinnen Williams’ reaction to becoming an AP NFL All-Pro first-teamer?
“That’s dope bro, for sure!”
Here’s the moment @robmaaddi informed Williams he’d been selected: pic.twitter.com/akpmaEMchf
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) January 13, 2023
Along with their two First-Team selections, linebacker C.J. Mosley was also named to the Second Team.
Mosley finished 5th in voting with 42 points, including nine first-place votes. Mosley was behind Fred Warner of the 49ers, Roquan Smith of the Ravens, Matt Milano of the Bills and Bobby Wagner of the Rams.
Mosley’s 158 tackles this season ranked 9th in the league. He was one of only ten players with at least 150 tackles. He added one sack, one interception, five tackles for a loss and seven passes defended.
