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Fullback: Jerome Felton (MIN)

The biggest competition Felton faced in this division was from his own teammate Rhett Ellison, who actually finished the year with a better run-blocking grade. Ellison only missed out because of a lack of playing time.

Running Back: Adrian Peterson (MIN)

Was there ever any doubt that our co-MVP would be the starter here? Every team he’s been eligible for so far he’s made, thanks to a stunning year where he carried his Vikings into the postseason.

Tight End: Kyle Rudolph (MIN)

Found the end zone nine times even with some erratic quarterback play. He’s not a world beater yet, but he is extremely competent in everything that is asked of him.

Tackles: Matt Kalil (MIN) and Phil Loadholt (MIN)

Kalil was a no brainer. He came into the league as a guy who was expected to shutdown pass rushers and in Year 1 he’s largely done that. The second spot was between Loadholt and Gosder Cherlius. Ultimately, we wanted a tackle that gets some significant push in the run game. There are few better than Loadholt in that regard.

Center: John Sullivan (MIN)

You may be surprised to know this, but there isn’t a better center in football than John Sullivan right now. He finished the year with our best grade and is coming off his second consecutive excellent campaign.

Linebackers: Lance Briggs (CHI), Brad Jones (GB) and Erin Henderson (MIN)

Briggs had himself a fine year, ending up third overall in our outside linebacker rankings with some top notch work in coverage. In the middle, Jones is the best we can manage, as he is coming off a surprisingly impressive year after moving to an inside linebacker spot. Our last choice came down to Henderson and his teammate Chad Greenway. While we’re not overly comfortable with Henderson in coverage, his work in the run game and tackling (he missed three tackles compared to 15 of Greenway) earned the selection.

Cornerbacks: Charles Tillman (CHI) and Antoine Winfield (MIN)

Two of our Top 5 cornerbacks in 2012, with Casey Hayward, Tim Jennings and others unlucky to miss out. It may seem odd having Winfield in this team given that Hayward was a First Team All-Pro over him. While Hayward is the top dog in the slot, Winfield plays every down and makes an impact on all of them. No such controversy with Tillman who added some underrated work in coverage to his plethora of forced fumbles.

Safeties: Morgan Burnett (GB) and Harrison Smith (MIN)

Over in Minnesota, Smith was a huge part of that revamped defense, showing some tremendous instincts in coverage even if his tackling was a little suspect at times.

Kicker: Blair Walsh (MIN)

When you go 10 for 10 on field goals of 50 yards or more you’re doing something right.

Returner: Marcus Sherels (MIN)

Picked up good yardage on his kick returns and was a danger when fielding punts.

80 PurplePride 84 wrote:I'll never get PFF's infatuation with Henderson. There's no way he was better than Greenway this year.

Demi wrote:Greenway was also on the field a lot more. Including nickel and dime situations where I'm pretty sure Henderson is sitting on the bench. Greenway had a lot more chances to blow his coverages then Henderson.

S197 wrote: I think Henderson eventually got back his spot at nickel from Brinkley but it wasn't until well into the season.