Former Gators Punter Tommy Townsend Named to First Player-Voted All-Pro Team
Former Florida Gators and current Kansas City Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend earned the first All-Pro honors of his three-year NFL career on Wednesday.
While he wasn't named an All-Pro by traditional standards, his recognition was meaningful nonetheless. Townsend was named to the first-ever NFLPA All-Pro First-Team, with only active players filling out the ballot.
“Players compete against each other all season long, watching hours and hours of film week after week; and yet, we have never had an opportunity to truly use our expertise to select the best of us,” NFLPA President JC Tretter said in a release. “We think it is important that players take the time to define ourselves, because so far, we have allowed everyone else to either pick or dilute our voices.”
Despite signing with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after four years at UF, Townsend was rather immediately locked into Kansas City's starting punter role. 15-year veteran and two-time Pro Bowl punter Dustin Colquitt was released two days after Townsend agreed to join the Chiefs.
He never looked back after taking the gig, claiming PFWA All-Rookie Team honors in 2020 and a spot in the upcoming 2023 Pro Bowl Games before the NFLPA All-Pro team was revealed.
Townsend produced career-highs in yards per punt (50.4), net yards per punt (45.6), longest punt (76) and punts pinned inside the 20-yard line (22) in 2022, across 17 games. All but his number of punts inside the 20 ranked top three among the league's punters this regular season, with his net average being the best in the NFL.
With those statistics, Townsend is undoubtedly a candidate to make the official, 2022 Associated Press All-Pro team that will be unveiled in the near future.
You can find the first NFLPA All-Pro Team in its entirety below.
Offense
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City)
Running back: Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas)
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco)
Wide Receiver (2): Justin Jefferson (Minnesota), Davante Adams (Las Vegas)
Tight End: Travis Kelce (Kansas City)
Left Tackle: Trent Williams (San Francisco)
Left Guard: Joel Bitonio (Cleveland)
Center: Jason Kelce (Philadelphia)
Right Guard: Zack Martin (Dallas)
Right Tackle: Lane Johnson (Philadelphia)
Defense
Edge Rusher (2): Nick Bosa (San Francisco), Myles Garrett (Cleveland)
Nose Tackle: Dexter Lawrence (New York Giants)
Interior Defensive Lineman (2): Chris Jones (Kansas City), Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams)
Off-Ball Linebacker (2): Fred Warner (San Francisco), Roquan Smith (Baltimore)
Cornerback (2): Pat Surtain II (Denver), Darius Slay (Philadelphia)
Free Safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh)
Strong Safety: Derwin James Jr. (Los Angeles Chargers)
Special teams
Kick Returner: Cordarrelle Patterson (Atlanta)
Punt Returner: KaVontae Turpin (Dallas)
Core Teamer (2): Jeremy Reaves (Washington), Justin Hardee (New York Jets)
Kicker: Jason Myers (Seattle)
Punter: Tommy Townsend (Kansas City)
Long snapper: Morgan Cox (Tennessee)
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