Bang: there’s some well-deserved recognition for Demario Davis from the Associated Press, who selected the New Orleans Saints linebacker as a member of the 2022 All-Pro second team on Friday. It’s the third year in a row for Davis to make the second team, and this is his fourth consecutive All-Pro honor after making the first team in 2019. He was also finally recognized as a Pro Bowler for the first time in his career this season.
Davis was the only Saints player to be on the field for all 1,132 defensive snaps in 2022 (though safety Tyrann Mathieu came close with 1,129 snaps), finishing the year with a team-leading 109 combined tackles (54 solo, 10 tackles for loss). He was also credited with 6.5 sacks and 8 quarterback hits, plus a fumble recovery, an interception, and 6 passes defensed. Not bad for someone who just celebrated his 34th birthday, having reached an age where many players begin to call it quits.
However, Davis was also the only Saints player to be recognized as an All-Pro in 2022, which goes to show how big of a step back New Orleans took this year. The Saints have had multiple All-Pro honorees every year since the 2017 season, so they’ll need to turn things around in a big way this summer to get back on top of things for 2023. Finding better ways to maximize talents like Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave would be a good start.