Did your favorite player get snubbed from the All-SEC preseason team last week? Take a deep breath. There’s time for him to impress.

Last season, just 12 of the 22 first-team All-SEC preseason picks made the postseason team.

There was more turnover on offense than defense as eight of the top 11 defenders made both teams, compared to just four of 11 on offense. All three specialists, JK Scott, Daniel Carson and Christian Kirk made both teams.

The most glaring whiff last July came at quarterback, where Chad Kelly was a logical choice, Joshua Dobbs made some sense but third-team pick Brandon Harris was, well, strike three.

In fairness, Nick Saban didn’t even know Jalen Hurts was going to be his starting quarterback last July. Nobody could have predicted that Hurts would become the first true freshman quarterback to win an SEC Championship Game, or lead his team to the national title game … or win SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Kelly, coming off a 4,000-yard passing season, was the preseason darling. Hurts knocked off Kelly, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia Southern. It’s difficult to compare the two because of their contrasting styles — Hurts more easily compares with Nick Fitzgerald — but Hurts had enough all-around contributions, not to mention wins, to top Kelly’s high passing yards.

Last week, the QB picks were Hurts, Fitzgerald and Austin Allen. Seems reasonable — unless Shea Patterson or Jacob Eason throw for 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns.

An injury and surprising emergence also played a factor in the replacement at running back in 2016, from Georgia’s Nick Chubb (preseason) to Auburn’s Kamryn Pettway (postseason).

This exercise also further showed the depth of Alabama at wide receiver and defensive back. In two cases, the Crimson Tide had a player make the first team at one position, and be replaced by a teammate at the same position. Calvin Ridley and Eddie Jackson were preseason picks who were replaced by ArDarius Stewart and Minkah Fitzpatrick in postseason voting.

On the offensive line, Texas A&M’s Avery Gennesy individually and as part of the overall unit, overachieved, whereas the preseason pick that he replaced, Georgia’s Greg Pyke, who was part of a unit that underachieved and was shuffled at midseason. It made sense that LSU’s Will Clapp get a mention after he started 11 games at left guard in 2016. An offensive line that helped Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice break multiple records is deserving. Alex Kozan of Auburn, while consistent, perhaps wasn’t part of a unit that drew as much attention as LSU’s offensive line.

Missouri’s Aarion Penton, who led the SEC in interceptions with five, replaced Cameron Sutton of Tennessee, who had just one interception and four pass breakups in an injury-plagued season.

Finally, arguably the most underrated player in the SEC, Vanderbilt linebacker Zach Cunningham, received more attention as the season went on and replaced Tennessee’s Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Cunningham’s selection raised some though about whether his teammate, Ralph Webb, was snubbed on both teams.

So as you debate and question the 2017 preseason picks, just remember how different the 2016 teams looked.

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