By Bob Condotta
The Seattle Times
Seahawks middle linebacker Bobby Wagner was named to the Associated Press All-Pro first team on Friday while free safety Earl Thomas and kickoff returner Tyler Lockett were named to the second team.
The team is selected in a vote of 50 national media members who cover the NFL and is typically considered the most prestigious of the various post-season all-star teams (the NFL considers the AP awards as its official post-season honors).
It is the third time in four years Wagner has been named to the first team — he was also honored in 2014 and 2016. He was also named to the second team in 2015.
Wagner received 40 votes, second among linebackers to the 41 of Arizona’s Chandler Jones, and is one of just four players to repeat as a first team pick — the others are Rams punter Johnny Hekker and defensive lineman Aaron Donald and Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.
it is the fifth time Thomas has been named to the team — he was a first-team pick in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and a second-teamer in 2011 and this year. Thomas received 11 votes, third among safeties behind the 45 of Minnesota’s Harrison Smith and 12 of Tennessee’s Kevin Byard.
It is the third time Lockett has made it — he was a first team pick as a return specialist in 2015, and a second team pick as a kickoff returner in 2016 and this year. Lockett received six votes behind the 42 of the Rams’ Pharoh Cooper.
Wagner made the team after a season in which he has been considered as a candidate for Defensive Player of the Year honors, though a late-season hamstring injury may have put a dent in those hopes.
“When you get voted for these types of award it shows you all the work you do in the offseason, the grinding, all the things you push through … when you get this, when people say this is not AFC, NFC, this is the league, this is who we deem the best at their position in the league, that says a lot,” Wagner told The Associated Press. “And you see the guys before you, the things they were able to accomplish, you’ve seen those things and you want those things. It’s part of that mindset of wanting to be great and understanding what comes along with that, and wanting that kind of acknowledgment.”
Despite missing parts of two games late in the year with the injury, Wagner finished seventh in the NFL in tackles with 133, setting a Seahawks’ team record by making 100 or more tackles in six straight seasons (and having done so in every season in his career).
Thomas tied for the team lead in interceptions with two, including a 78-yarder against Houston.
Lockett averaged 25.6 yards per kickoff returner with a 99-yarder for a touchdown against Arizona in the regular season finale. He had the second-highest average among those with more than 20 attempts (Lockett had 949 yards on 37 attempts).
It is the sixth straight year the Seahawks have had at least one player named to the first team, and the Seahawks have had at least one player named to the first or second team in every season since Pete Carroll became coach in 2010.
Seattle’s team record for first-team honorees is four, which happened in both 2005 (running back Shaun Alexander, offensive linemen Steve Hutchinson and Walter Jones and fullback Mack Strong) and 2012 (center Max Unger, running back Marshawn Lynch, cornerback Richard Sherman and Thomas).
Three other Seahawks received votes — Russell Wilson got one at quarterback to finish third behind the 47 of Tom Brady and two of Carson Wentz, while Doug Baldwin got one vote at flex receiver and K.J. Wright one at linebacker. Thomas also got one vote at defensive back.
