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With the regular season concluded, the NFL awards will be rolling out over the coming weeks and month.
The guys at Pro Football Focus have released their 2016 NFL All-Pro teams, which includes several Bengals being recognized. Among them is Kevin Zeitler, who earned second-team All-Pro honors at right guard.
Second team: Kevin Zeitler, Cincinnati Bengals, 87.1 (No. 7 Guard)
Kevin Zeitler makes the second team for the Bengals thanks to a solid season of well-balanced play.
Zeitler, who just wrapped up his fifth NFL season, started every game at right guard for the third time in his career and played every snap this season. He has missed just eight of a possible 84 games over his first five seasons. Zeitler is about to hit free agency and will be one of, if not the best offensive lineman on the market, so expect him to become a very rich man soon. Hopefully, he becomes a very rich man while remaining with the Bengals.
The only other Bengals player to garner first or second-team honors was Alex Erickson, who made it as a second-team kickoff returner.
Second team: Alex Erickson, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati’s Alex Erickson just edges his way onto the second team, averaging 27.9 yards per return.
Erickson, who just finished his rookie season, became one of the NFL’s best return men almost as soon as walked onto an NFL field. He led the NFL in preseason punt returns with a 30.8-yard punt return average (six attempts), including an 80-yarder for a touchdown in his preseason debut against the Vikings.
His big performance in the preseason earned him a spot over incumbent veteran Brandon Tate, and Erickson went on to average 27.9 yards per kickoff return and 7.0 yards per punt return. Erickson led the NFL this season in kick return yardage and ranked second in kick return yards per attempt.
Andrew Whitworth was named an honorable mention at left tackle thanks to his 91.3 PFF grade, the second-highest of any offensive tackle. He started every game this season, 15 of which coming at left tackle. He also started Week 16 at left guard. Interestingly, PFF’s No. 3 ranked OT received second team honors over Whitworth.
Also earning an honorable mention was Vontaze Burfict, who earned an 87.6 PFF grade, good for seventh-best among linebackers. He finished 2016 with 101 tackles, two sacks, eight pass deflections, and two interceptions in just 11 games.
Expect to hear these guys mentioned more in various awards and honors in the coming weeks. They’ve all done more than enough to earn national recognition for their performances in 2016.