2018 Pro Bowl Rosters Announced: Who Got Snubbed?
Players selected to the Pro Bowl were announced Tuesday evening, which is the only part that matters. Not the actual game that will eventually be played by the MVP of your family’s Turkey Day Thanksgiving game. It’s hardly a secret that an All-Star game occurring on a date in which Super Bowl participants are ineligible is a total sham.
But the players named are important. No, not because players receive Pro Bowl bonuses. The Pro Bowl roster gives us a bird’s eye of the best in the game or at least what is deemed the best by a weird three-way split between players, coaches and fans. The full roster is below but first a few quick thoughts…
Jags corners Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye were not only named to the Pro Bowl but they were rightfully pegged as the starters. The free agent signing of Bouye last offseason has keyed the Jags ‘ incredible turnaround. I wasn’t sure how Bouye’s presence would impact the young and sometimes temperamental Ramsey but in every way it’s made him better. These two make the best corner tandem in recent memory.
Chiefs QB Alex Smith got snubbed, deserving the spot that was handed to Philip Rivers. Smith was spectacular in the early season, making higher degree of difficulty throws and successfully scrambling at will. While he had a mini slump and ridiculous calls for Patrick Mahomes were actually a thing he’s come back to life in recent weeks. All told Smith has a higher passer rating than Rivers by ten points, has impressively gained 342 ballsy yards on the ground, and has the Chiefs controlling their own destiny for a playoff berth.
Vikings safety Harrison Smith also feels like a snub. A back-to-back Pro Bowler, Smith is having his best season under Mike Zimmer.
Interesting that Travis Kelce was named a starter over Rob Gronkowski when Gronk has the superior numbers. Kelce’s a great player but Gronk’s a gamechanger. If his cheap shot post-whistle blow to Bills safety Tre’Davious White resulted in a two-game suspension instead of one, no way the Patriots beat the Steelers last Sunday.
Not sure I fully appreciated Larry Fitzgerald’s season before seeing his name in the Pro Bowl marquee. He’s made a pocket of spectacular catches this season but surely there has to be more statistically impressive wideouts. Wrong. Fitzgerald’s 962 receiving yards put him third among NFC receivers. I would have like to see Davante Adams in this receiver group given his whopping 10 touchdowns catches, most of which were not thrown by Aaron Rodgers.
24 players are first-time Pro Bowl selections. The changing of the guard is real.
Browns LT Joe Thomas failed to make the list for the first time in a decade. But he’s too busy pining to be the owner of the suddenly vacant Panthers.
The Pro Bowl needs to be scrapped and turned into a skills competition.
2018 PRO BOWL PLAYERS BY POSITION
(*First-time Pro Bowl selection; Bold/Italic: Starter)
AFC
OFFENSE (21)
| QUARTERBACKS (3) | TIGHT ENDS (2) | |||
| Tom Brady, New England | Rob Gronkowski, New England | |||
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh | Travis Kelce, Kansas City | |||
| Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers | ||||
| TACKLES (3) | ||||
| WIDE RECEIVERS (4) | Taylor Lewan, Tennessee | |||
| * | Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers | Donald Penn, Oakland | ||
| Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh | * | Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh | ||
| A.J. Green, Cincinnati | ||||
| DeAndre Hopkins, Houston | GUARDS (3) | |||
| David DeCastro, Pittsburgh | ||||
| RUNNING BACKS (3) | Richie Incognito, Buffalo | |||
| Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh | Kelechi Osemele, Oakland | |||
| * | Kareem Hunt, Kansas City | |||
| LeSean McCoy, Buffalo | CENTERS (2) | |||
| Rodney Hudson, Oakland | ||||
| FULLBACK (1) | Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh | |||
| * | James Develin, New England |
DEFENSE (18)
| DEFENSIVE ENDS (3) | INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (2) | |||
| * | Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers | C.J. Mosley, Baltimore | ||
| Calais Campbell, Jacksonville | Ryan Shazier, Pittsburgh | |||
| Khalil Mack, Oakland | ||||
| CORNERBACKS (4) | ||||
| INTERIOR LINEMEN (3) | * | A.J. Bouye, Jacksonville | ||
| Geno Atkins, Cincinnati | Casey Hayward, Los Angeles Chargers | |||
| Jurrell Casey, Tennessee | * | Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville | ||
| * | Malik Jackson, Jacksonville | Aqib Talib, Denver | ||
| OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (3) | FREE SAFETY (1) | |||
| Jadeveon Clowney, Houston | Eric Weddle, Baltimore | |||
| Von Miller, Denver | ||||
| Terrell Suggs, Baltimore | STRONG SAFETIES (2) | |||
| * | Micah Hyde, Buffalo | |||
| Reshad Jones, Miami |
SPECIALISTS (4)
| PUNTER (1) | RETURN SPECIALIST (1) | |||
| * | Brett Kern, Tennessee | Tyreek Hill, Kansas City | ||
| PLACEKICKER (1) | SPECIAL TEAMER (1) | |||
| * | Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh | Matthew Slater, New England |
NFC
OFFENSE (21)
| QUARTERBACKS (3) | TIGHT ENDS (2) | |||
| Drew Brees, New Orleans | * | Zach Ertz, Philadelphia | ||
| * | Carson Wentz, Philadelphia | Jimmy Graham, Seattle | ||
| Russell Wilson, Seattle | ||||
| TACKLES (3) | ||||
| WIDE RECEIVERS (4) | * | Lane Johnson, Philadelphia | ||
| Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona | Tyron Smith, Dallas | |||
| Julio Jones, Atlanta | Trent Williams, Washington | |||
| * | Adam Thielen, Minnesota | |||
| * | Michael Thomas, New Orleans | GUARDS (3) | ||
| * | Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia | |||
| RUNNING BACKS (3) | Zack Martin, Dallas | |||
| Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams | Brandon Scherff, Washington | |||
| Mark Ingram, New Orleans | ||||
| * | Alvin Kamara, New Orleans | CENTERS (2) | ||
| Travis Frederick, Dallas | ||||
| FULLBACK (1) | Alex Mack, Atlanta | |||
| Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco |
DEFENSE (18)
| DEFENSIVE ENDS (3) | INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (2) | |||
| Everson Griffen, Minnesota | Luke Kuechly, Carolina | |||
| Cameron Jordan, New Orleans | Bobby Wagner, Seattle | |||
| * | Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas | |||
| CORNERBACKS (4) | ||||
| INTERIOR LINEMEN (3) | * | Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans | ||
| Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia | Patrick Peterson, Arizona | |||
| Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams | Xavier Rhodes, Minnesota | |||
| Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay | * | Darius Slay, Detroit | ||
| OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (3) | FREE SAFETY (1) | |||
| Anthony Barr, Minnesota | Earl Thomas, Seattle | |||
| Chandler Jones, Arizona | ||||
| Ryan Kerrigan, Washington | STRONG SAFETIES (2) | |||
| Landon Collins, New York Giants | ||||
| Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia |
SPECIALISTS (4)
| PUNTER (1) | RETURN SPECIALIST (1) | |||
| Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams | * | Pharoh Cooper, Los Angeles Rams | ||
| PLACEKICKER (1) | SPECIAL TEAMER (1) | |||
| * | Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams | * | Budda Baker, Arizona |
