There wasn’t a lot for Chicago Bears fans to be positive about this season, but one bright spot that NFL writers took notice of was second-year right guard Kyle Long.
Long, who was named to his second straight Pro Bowl when the rosters were revealed last week, also received five votes for the Associated Press All-Pro team on Friday. Long was the only Bear to receive votes, and he finished in fourth place at the position. Marshal Yanda of the Baltimore Ravens and Zach Martin of the Dallas Cowboys were the two-leading vote getters, with Josh Sitton of the Green Bay Packers finishing just outside the top two spots with 22 votes.
While there were plenty of surprises on the list (Houston Texans star J.J. Watt wasn’t a consensus pick at defensive end, because five voters slotted him as a defensive tackle instead), one surprise was that Willie Young didn’t get any votes at the defensive end position. He led the Bears with 10 sacks this season, and despite going down in Week 16 with a torn Achilles, he was arguably the best player on the team’s defense all season long.
Former Bears kick returner Devin Hester finished in third place in that category, trailing Adam Jones of the Cincinnati Bengals and Darren Sproles of the Philadelphia Eagles for All-Pro honors.
