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Sooners in the NFL: League-Leading Four Oklahoma Alumni Land AP All-Pro Accolades

The Sooners always seem to have offensive linemen on the list, but this year two wide receivers also made the NFL's most prestigious all-star team.
John E. Hoover|
Sooners in the NFL: League-Leading Four Oklahoma Alumni Land AP All-Pro Accolades
Sooners in the NFL: League-Leading Four Oklahoma Alumni Land AP All-Pro Accolades

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Oklahoma Sooners

Is Oklahoma All-Pro U?

That’s the question about the Sooners’ latest NFL designation, as the 2023 Associated Press All-Pro team was announced on Friday and included four Sooners on the first and second teams.

Mainstay offensive tackles Trent Williams of San Francisco and Lane Johnson of Philadelphia are back on the AP All-Pro team this season, and are joined by Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and Denver wideout/punt returner Marvin Mims. Williams and Lamb earned first-team honors, while Johnson and Mims are second-team.

That ties Notre Dame for the most All-Pro players in the NFL this season, although the Irish reached four with an asterisk — Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey didn’t play football for the Irish but did play soccer and was accorded first-team All-Pro.

Notre Dame also landed Rams running back Kyren Williams (second team), Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton (first team) and Dallas offensive guard Zack Martin (first team).

OU had five players earn All-Pro honors last season: Lamb, Johnson, Williams, quarterback Jalen Hurts and center Creed Humphrey.

Lamb was second-team All-Pro last year, when he caught 107 passes for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns. But he took his game to another level this year with Dallas-records of 135 receptions, 1,749 yards and 12 TDs. Lamb has also now made three consecutive Pro Bowls. Lamb played for the Sooners from 2017-2019.

In his rookie season with the Broncos, Mims caught just 22 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown, but made a big impact on special teams, returning 19 punts for 312 yards — a 16.4-yard average. He also returned 15 kickoffs for 397 yards — a 26.5-yard average — and scored on a 99-yard touchdown. He ranked fifth in the league with 709 combined return yards and was top-10 in both punt and kickoff return yards. Mims played at Oklahoma from 2020-2022.

Williams has landed an All-Pro spot almost every year since 2013, and this is his third straight first-team AP All-Pro accolade with the 49ers, who boast the NFL’s No. 2 overall offense and No. 2 scoring offense. Williams, who has made 11 straight Pro Bowls, played for the Sooners from 2006-09.

Johnson’s first All-Pro honor was from Pro Football Focus in 2014. He’s now landed on the AP All-Pro team four times, including twice on the first team with the Eagles. He’s also been accorded five Pro Bowls. Johnson played at OU from 2010-12.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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