Danielle Hunter and Harrison Smith have picked up some additional postseason hardware.
The defensive end and safety were named to the Pro Bowl in December and were named as Second-Team All-Pro selections **earlier this month**.
The **defensive duo were recognized** by the Pro Football Writers of America on Tuesday morning as Hunter was named to the All-NFL and All-NFC teams, while Smith was honored as a member of the All-NFC team.
Hunter, who finished 2018 tied for fourth in the NFL with a career-high 14.5 sacks, earned his first All-Pro honor following his fourth NFL season. The 24-year-old defensive end led the Vikings in sacks for the second time in his career (12.5 in 2016).The 2018 season was his second season as a full-time starter.
Hunter earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 3.5 sacks and scoring a defensive touchdown (32-yard fumble return) against Detroit in Week 9. The LSU product was voted into the Pro Bowl, the first of his career. For 2018, Hunter posted 72 tackles (51 solo), 21 tackles for loss (second in NFL) and 19 quarterback hits while starting all 16 games for the Mike Zimmer-led Vikings.
Smith, the two-time All-Pro, finished the 2018 season tied for the team lead with three interceptions and also had two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, nine tackles for loss (tied for first in NFL by a DB), 3.0 sacks (tied for third in NFL by a DB) and 84 tackles (67 solo).
The four-time Pro Bowler became the first player to record three interceptions and 3.0 sacks in a single season since Landon Collins and Ryan Shazier in 2016. Smith was tied for the most interceptions on the Vikings and finished as the second leading tackler. The former Notre Dame standout is the first Vikings safety to be named AP All-Pro in back-to-back seasons since Joey Browner received the honor in 1987-88.
2018 PFWA ALL-NFL TEAM
Offense QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys; Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams_
WR – DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans; Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons, and Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints (tie)
TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles
G – Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys&; Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
T – David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers; Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City Chiefs
Defense _DE – Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings; J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
DT – Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles; Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams&
OLB – Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears; Von Miller, Denver Broncos+
MLB – Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks#
CB – Kyle Fuller, Chicago Bears; Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots
S – Eddie Jackson, Chicago Bears; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Special Teams PK – Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
P – Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
KR – Andre Roberts, New York Jets
PR – Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears
ST – Adrian Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers
* - repeat selection from 2017
# - consecutive selections from 2016-18 & - consecutive selections from 2015-18 + - consecutive selections from 2014-18
2018 PFWA ALL-AFC TEAM
Offense QB – Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB – Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans; Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos WR – DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans; Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs TE – Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
C – Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers
G – Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts; Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens
T – Taylor Lewan, Tennessee Titans; Mitchell Schwartz, Kansas City Chiefs Defense DE – Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns; J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
DT – Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals; Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs
OLB – Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts; Von Miller, Denver Broncos&
ILB – C.J. Mosley, Baltimore Ravens
CB – Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots; Xavien Howard, Miami Dolphins S – Jamal Adams, New York Jets; Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Special Teams PK – Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens#
P – Brett Kern, Tennessee Titans*
KR – Andre Roberts, New York Jets
PR – Andre Roberts, New York Jets
ST – Adrian Phillips, Los Angeles Chargers
* - repeat selection from 2017
# - consecutive selections from 2016-18 & - consecutive selections from 2013-18
2018 PFWA ALL-NFC TEAM
Offense QB – Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
RB – Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys; Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams_
WR –Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons&; Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints_
TE – George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
C – Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles_
G – Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia Eagles; Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys&
T – Terron Armstead, New Orleans Saints; David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers
Defense DE – Cameron Jordan, New Orleans Saints; Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings, and DeMarcus Lawrence, Dallas Cowboys_ (tie)
DT – Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia Eagles; Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams&
OLB – Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins; Khalil Mack, Chicago Bears
MLB – Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
CB – Kyle Fuller, Chicago Bears; Byron Jones, Dallas Cowboys
S – Eddie Jackson, Chicago Bears; Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings*
Special Teams PK – Aldrick Rosas, New York Giants
P – Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
KR – Richie James, San Francisco 49ers
PR – Tarik Cohen, Chicago Bears
ST – Cory Littleton, Los Angeles Rams
* - repeat selection from 2017
# - consecutive selections from 2015-18 & - consecutive selections from 2014-18
In addition to the honors from PFWA, Hunter was honored by Sporting News as he was named to the website's 2018 NFL All-Pro Team.
