It’s a holiday tradition unlike any other in the NFL.
With the release of each year’s Pro Bowl rosters, there also comes another edition of Pro Bowl snubs, the inevitable oversights and egregious slights that can get any NFL fanbase slightly upset for at least a day or two.
The Pro Bowl itself continues to evolve and change — now on location at the Super Bowl — but some marginal players getting in ahead of other marginal players will always be timeless. So, let’s dive in and examine the 10 most glaring omissions from this year’s Pro Bowl.
We’re not just leading with this because it’s a quarterback. Goff has 32 touchdown passes against five interceptions this season. If that were to hold up over the next two weeks, how many times in NFL history has a player had 30-plus touchdown passes and five or fewer interceptions and missed the Pro Bowl? As it turns out, this would be the first.
Matthew Stafford is a no-brainer for the NFC, and at least Sam Darnold has been prolific for a strong playoff contender — 13 interceptions is a lot, mind you. We’ll focus on Goff being more deserving than Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has worse numbers on a worse team. Prescott has 28 touchdown passes — four fewer than Goff — and 10 interceptions — twice as many as Goff. Goff also has a better completion percentage and higher yards per attempt. There’s a decent chance Stafford or Darnold bail after/during extended playoff runs and Goff gets in as an alternate. But it shouldn’t come to that.
Each conference gets four Pro Bowl corners, and they still overlooked Wright, who’s been the best ballhawk on the best takeaways defense in the NFL. The Bears have 31 takeaways, and Wright has been their turnover catalyst — five interceptions, which ranks second in the NFL, and two forced fumbles, along with three fumble recoveries. I get recognizing corners who play so well that opponents don’t throw their way much, if at all. But you also should appreciate a player as actively involved in turnovers as this. Do we really need two Eagles corners out of the four at the position? Or as many nickels as outside corners? I’ll bump off Cooper DeJean and plug in Wright.
Kevin Dotson is one of the reasons why Matthew Stafford hasn’t been sacked much this season. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Los Angeles deserves a bigger Pro Bowl presence. It has four total and two on offense, but the Rams’ offensive unit leads the NFL in points and total yards. The Rams have protected Matthew Stafford in what should be an MVP season. He’s only been sacked 19 times, one more than the number of sacks the Broncos have allowed for the fewest in the league. Dotson was Pro Football Focus’ third-highest-rated guard — the others in the top four made the Pro Bowl and should, but you could easily put Dotson in for Dallas’ Tyler Smith, who ranks 17th by Pro Football Focus for a lesser team that’s given up six more sacks than the Rams.
The NFC has such better receivers this year. The four Pro Bowl wide receivers from the NFC have 38 touchdowns, compared to just 20 for the AFC, and that’s with the Rams’ Davante Adams and his 14 touchdowns not making the NFC cut. If I had to bump out an AFC receiver, it would be Baltimore’s Zay Flowers — productive with 78 catches for 1,043 yards, but how do manage two touchdowns all season? Higgins has fewer yards and catches, but he has 10 touchdown catches in 13 games. Would you rather have 300 more yards, or eight more touchdowns?
Sometimes a guy leads the NFL in tackles and that’s all he does, but not Brooks. He’s not only got 169 tackles, but he’s also tallied up 12.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. I get why Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair made the team, as someone in the middle of the best defense in the NFL. But it doesn’t show up much in the stat sheet. Al-Shaair has 96 tackles, no sacks, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble and an interception. You can make the case he’s surrounded by better players who get the splash plays before they get to him, but I’d rather have an active leader like Brooks.
Jordan Davis has played a key role in helping the Eagles’ defense become one of the best in the league. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Right idea here, right team, but the wrong player. Jalen Carter made the Pro Bowl as an interior defensive lineman, but he’s been outplayed by Davis. Carter has missed five games, but Davis has been much more productive. He has 4.5 sacks to Carter’s two. He has 65 tackles to Carter’s 32. He also has nine tackles for loss, compared to Carter’s four. And if you really need another tiebreaker, Davis didn’t miss any games as a result of an ejection for spitting on an opponent, so there’s that.
By some metrics, Bernhard Raimann has been one of the game’s best offensive tackles this season. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Here’s the thing: Joe Alt only played in six games this season. The Chargers tackle is outstanding, but you’re playing a third of a season, and we knew six weeks ago he was done for the year with an ankle injury. Just like baseball requires a certain number of at-bats to win a batting title, you need to play more than six games to make the Pro Bowl. The best of the full-time AFC tackles is Bernhard Raimann, who’s PFF’s second-rated AFC tackle, having played 863 offensive snaps, compared to just 312 for Alt.
Nobody has owned the kicker brand the way the Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey has in recent years. And three field goals of 60-plus yards in one season is incredible. But McLaughlin has a longer kick this year — a 65-yarder, the longest outdoor kick in league history — and he’s 11-for-11 from 50 yards and out, the most such kicks without a miss ever in a season. Want to go 55-plus? McLaughlin is 5-for-5, Aubrey is 5-for-7. Just a case where reputation isn’t far off, but if someone has beaten Aubrey at his own game, it’s McLaughlin.
Alec Ingold has helped the Dolphins form one of the game’s strongest rushing attacks. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Don’t get me started about fullbacks on the Pro Bowl ballot. The position doesn’t exist on many teams, so there’s much less competition compared to any other position on the field. I don’t mean to say it can’t be an important position, but it’s a part-time role. The AFC nod went to Baltimore’s Patrick Ricard — his sixth Pro Bowl — but he’s only played 205 offensive snaps this season, with a single touch for a 3-yard gain. Baltimore has the best run game in the league, which is why he’s here, but Miami isn’t far behind, fourth in yards per carry. And Ingold has played 304 snaps, with seven catches for 49 yards and two carries for 9 yards. It’s a close call, but give it to the guy who’s played half as many snaps.
Why is Budda Baker going back for an eighth Pro Bowl, on a bad, non-playoff defense in Arizona? In the last four years, Baker has totaled more Pro Bowl nods (4) than he has interceptions (3) or sacks (2.5). PFF has 100 safeties graded this season, and he’s 92nd out of 100 — bottom 10%, racking up tackles on a bottom-five defense. Instead, go with McKinney, who is PFF’s No. 4 safety and has 89 tackles but also two picks and a sack, both more than Baker, and on a top-10 defense that’s likely headed to the playoffs.
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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