The reigning Super Bowl Champions compiled an NFL-best 14-2 record this season on their way to the top seed in the AFC playoff picture, and three major players behind that success – tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill and safety Tyrann Mathieu - were honored with Associated Press First Team All-Pro honors on Friday.
Kelce was one of just two unanimous selections to the First Team, joining Los Angeles Rams' defensive tackle Aaron Donald, after completing perhaps the best season at the position in NFL history.
Kelce tallied 1,416 receiving yards – a single-season record by a tight end – while hauling in a franchise-best 105 receptions for a career-most 11 touchdowns. Kelce finished second in the league in receiving yards this season, trailing only Buffalo Bills' wide receiver and fellow First Team selection Stefon Diggs.
This marks the third First Team nod of Kelce's career (2016, '18), continuing a stretch of unprecedented success that includes becoming the only tight end in NFL history to record five-straight 1,000-yard campaigns.
Hill earned the third First-Team nod of his career on Friday following a stellar campaign that included touchdowns in 12 of his 15 games played. His 15 receiving scores ranked second in the NFL and matched a single-season franchise record while his 17 overall scores made him just the 11th non-running back since 1950 to score that many times in a single season.
He racked up 1,276 yards through the air in 2020, including 13 games with at least 50 receiving yards.
Mathieu, meanwhile, earned First Team honors for the second-consecutive season (and third time overall in his career) after ranking third in the NFL with six interceptions. Mathieu recorded nine passes defensed, three tackles-for-loss, a fumble recovery and a touchdown as the leader of the 10th-ranked scoring defense in the league.
The Chiefs also featured two representatives on the Second Team in quarterback Patrick Mahomes and defensive tackle Chris Jones.
Mahomes amassed another brilliant season in 2020, becoming one of just five players in NFL history to throw for 4,700+ yards and 38+ touchdowns multiple times during a career. New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees is the only player in league history to do that more than twice, making Mahomes' accomplishment of joining that group through only three seasons as a starter all the more remarkable.
The reigning Super Bowl MVP led the NFL in average passing yards-per-game (316) and was one of only two starting quarterbacks in the NFL to throw a touchdown pass in every single game that he played. He finished the 2020 season ranking second in the NFL in passing yards (4,740), fourth in passing touchdowns (38) and third in passer rating (108.2) in just 15 contests.
On the other side of the ball, Jones led the Chiefs in pressures (60), quarterback hits (28) and sacks (7.5). His 60 pressures ranked 11th among all players, according to Pro Football Focus, and fifth among defensive tackles.
All five players had a critical role in Kansas City's march to a 14-win record in 2020, and now with the postseason finally here, they're just getting started.
