Cordarrelle Patterson, Roquan Smith, Khalil Mack announced as Bears All-Pro selections

Bears kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson has been named as a first-team All-Pro kick returner, the Associated Press announced on Friday. He serves as the team’s lone representative on the first-team All-Pro roster. Roquan Smith and Khalil Mack were named to AP’s second-team All-Pro team.

This marks the fourth time Patterson has been named a first-team All-Pro, having done so in 2013, 2016, and 2019. He also has three second-team All-Pro appearances to his name.

The 29-year-old return specialist made history this year, tying for the all-time record in kickoff return touchdowns with 8 after a 104-yard return against the Vikings in Week 10. Patterson was a leader in essentially every kick return stat, leading the NFL with 35 kick returns and 1,017 yards. He had the second-highest return average with 29.1, and he was one of just seven players to return a kickoff for a touchdown this year.

Smith finished in the top-10 in essentially every major linebacker metric, putting together a well-rounded and dominant season that somehow saw him snubbed from both a Pro Bowl and an All-Pro appearance. He placed sixth with 139 total tackles—despite missing most of the Bears’ Week 17 game—second in the league with 98 solo tackles, and first among off-ball linebackers with 18 tackles for a loss. This marks his first All-Pro recognition of any kind in his three-year career.

Mack was a top-5 defender against the run off the edge, and after having 9 sacks and having one of the top pass-rushing PFF grades. Though 2020 wasn’t his most dominant year, he was still a force to be reckoned with, and he rightfully earned a spot on the second-team All-Pro roster. He has never been a second-team All-Pro in his career, but he has made it as a first-team member three times.

There don’t appear to be any major snubs after the second-team rosters got announced. Allen Robinson had a logical argument, finishing in the top 10 in both receptions and receiving yards, but with such a stacked group at wide receiver this year, it is understandable that he didn’t make the cut.

This marks the second-straight year that Patterson has been the team’s lone first-team All-Pro. He was both a first- and second-team nominee in 2019, being named as both a first-team kick returner and a second-team special teamer.