Dexter Lawrence voted first-team All-Pro by the players

Dexter Lawrence makes his first All-Pro team

New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has been named a first-team All-Pro player for 2022 by his peers. For the first time, thanks to a vote by the NFLPA, NFL players themselves have been allowed to vote on a ballot. The player ballots were cast in addition to the traditional ballots cast by sports writers.

The AP has several guidelines for how the players were allowed to fill out their ballots. To start, only active players were allowed to vote, and then weren’t allowed to vote for themselves or their teammates. Likewise, players who missed five (or more) games were ineligible to receive votes.

Lawrence has always flashed potential thanks to his size, power, and athleticism, but was never quite able to consistently put it all together before this year.

However, he finally added the element of consistent technique to his game under the tutelage of Defensive Line Coach Andre Patterson. And thanks to his durability and production (68 tackles, 7 for a loss, 7.5 sacks, 28 QB hits, 2 forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed) this season, Lawrence is making his first All Pro team. Perhaps more impressively, Lawrence was voted the best nose tackle in the NFL by the opponents who faced him, not his own teammates.

He is joined on the defensive line by edge rushers Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers) and Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), and Chris Jones (Kansas City Chiefs), Aaron Donald (Los Angeles Rams) at interior defensive line.