A successful first season — or half of one anyway — with the Ravens continues to bring honors for inside linebacker Roquan Smith.
The 25-year-old was voted to the 2022 Pro Football Writers of America All-AFC team after finishing third in the NFL in tackles (169). Smith also finished third on the Ravens in both tackles (86) and tackles for a loss (seven) despite playing in just nine regular-season games for Baltimore after being acquired from Chicago in Week 9.
The 6-foot-1, 232-pound linebacker also made his first Pro Bowl and was an Associated Press first-team All-Pro selection for the first time in his career after being a second-team All-Pro selection in each of the previous two seasons. Earlier this month, Smith was voted 2022 Ravens MVP by local reporters and won the Butkus Award, which is given to the NFL’s top linebacker.
Smith’s elite play led an impressive second-half turnaround for the Ravens defense and prompted general manager Eric DeCosta to sign him to a five-year, $100 million contract that included $45 million fully guaranteed and $60 million in total guarantees. He’ll now be expected to lead the Baltimore defense in 2023 and beyond.
Despite five other Ravens players — tight end Mark Andrews, return specialist Devin Duvernay, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, fullback Patrick Ricard, and kicker Justin Tucker — being selected to this year’s Pro Bowl last month, Smith was the lone Baltimore player to be voted to the PFWA All-AFC team. No Ravens players were named to the group’s All-NFL team after Andrews, Duvernay, and Tucker made it last season.
The PFWA has selected an All-NFL team since 1966 and all-conference teams since 1992.
Below are this year’s selections as voted by the membership of the PFWA:
2022 PFWA ALL-NFL TEAM
Offense
QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns*; Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
WR – Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins; Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles*
G – Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns#; Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys*
T – Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers*
Defense
DE – Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers*; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns#
DT – Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs; Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
OLB – Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys*; Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Eagles
MLB – Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
CB – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, New York Jets (r); Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
S – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers; Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Special Teams
PK – Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
P – Tommy Townsend, Kansas City Chiefs
KR – Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers
PR – Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
ST – Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders
(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22
2022 PFWA ALL-AFC TEAM
Offense
QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Nick Chubb, Cleveland Browns&; Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
WR – Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders; Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins#
TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs*
G – Joel Bitonio, Cleveland Browns#; Joe Thuney, Kansas City Chiefs
T – Terron Armstead, Miami Dolphins; Laremy Tunsil, Houston Texans
Defense
DE – Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders*; Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns#
DT – Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs#; Quinnen Williams, New York Jets
OLB – Matthew Judon, New England Patriots*; Alex Highsmith, Pittsburgh Steelers/Matt Milano, Buffalo Bills (tie)
MLB – Roquan Smith, Baltimore Ravens
CB – Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, New York Jets (r); Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
S – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Special Teams
PK – Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
P – Tommy Townsend, Kansas City Chiefs
KR – Nyheim Hines, Buffalo Bills
PR – Marcus Jones, New England Patriots
ST – Justin Hardee, New York Jets
(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22
& – consecutive selections from 2019-22
2022 PFWA ALL-NFC TEAM
Offense
QB – Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
RB – Saquon Barkley, New York Giants; Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
WR – A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles; Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
TE – George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers*
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles*
G – Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons; Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys*
T – Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers#
Defense
DE – Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers*; Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers
DT – Dexter Lawrence, New York Giants; Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia Eagles/Daron Payne, Washington Commanders (tie)
OLB – Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys*; Haason Reddick, Philadelphia Eagles
MLB – Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers
CB – Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers; Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
S – C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles; Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Special Teams
PK – Jason Myers, Seattle Seahawks
P – Johnny Hekker, Carolina Panthers
KR – Keisean Nixon, Green Bay Packers
PR – Kalif Raymond, Detroit Lions
ST – Jeremy Reaves, Washington Commanders
(r) – rookie
* – repeat selection from 2021
# – consecutive selections from 2020-22
