FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Wide receiver Wes Welker was named a first-team All-Pro selection by the Associated Press today, while guard Logan Mankins earned second-team All-Pro honors. Both Welker and Mankins learned last month that they were two of the four Patriots who had been selected to represent the AFC at the Pro Bowl.
"I saw Mr. Kraft this morning at the facility and he told me that I had been named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team," said Welker. "I am flattered. It is a credit to my teammates and to everyone involved. To be able to get an award like this is very humbling and I am honored."
Welker finished first in the NFL with 123 receptions in 2009, a Patriots single-season record that eclipses the 112 he had in 2007. Welker broke the 100-reception milestone for the third straight season after catching 112 passes in 2007 and 111 in 2008. He joins Marvin Harrison (4), Jerry Rice (3), Herman Moore (3) and Brandon Marshall (3) as the only NFL players to catch 100 passes in three consecutive seasons. Welker also set a career-high with 1,348 yards receiving. Welker and Randy Moss became the first Patriots players to have three straight 1,000-yard seasons and just the sixth pair in NFL history to have three straight 1,000 yard seasons. Welker earned a second-team All-Pro honors following the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Mankins earned All-Pro honors for the second time. He was a second-team All-Pro selection following the 2007 season. Mankins completed his fifth season with the Patriots in 2009 after being selected in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Fresno State. He started all 16 games in 2009 and has never missed an NFL game, starting all 80 of his career games. Mankins was part of an offensive line that allowed only 18 sacks in 2009, the fewest in New England history since the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Mankins has been named to two of the last three Pro Bowls and in 2007, he became the first Patriots guard to earn a Pro Bowl selection since 1985 when Pro Football Hall of Famer John Hannah went to his ninth career Pro Bowl. Mankins joins Hannah as the only Patriots guards to earn Pro Bowl bids since the 1970 merger.
