The Miami Dolphins finished the 2019 NFL season on a high note, but the team was unable to generate enough buzz to send any representatives to the 2019/2020 Pro Bowl — an understandably byproduct of a Dolphins team that traded two of their best players and saw yet another (Xavien Howard) miss the majority of the season with a knee injury. But the 2020 Miami Dolphins are a team that is greatly improved versus their 2019 counterparts, so it should come as little surprise to hear that Miami is much more prominent in the Pro Bowl voting this year.
As a matter of fact, Miami doesn’t just have contenders, Miami has two players who are leading their respective positions for the AFC as of this week. The first? Cornerback Xavien Howard. If you’ve watched a single snap of Dolphins football this season, it should come as no surprise that Howard is running the top of the cornerback voting. His 7 interceptions on the season have come at big moments in several games and lead the NFL in that category. But Howard has been clamping receivers in coverage all season long and has a legitimate claim to the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year honors if he’s able to continue his high level of play throughout the final 5 games of the season.
The other leading Dolphins player may be a bit of a surprise — it is punter Matt Haack who leads the way in the punter category in the AFC. Haack has had a tremendous season for Miami and is one of the Dolphins’ most improved players from a year ago. But if Dolphins fans had guessed that one specialist would be leading the way in their category, many would have guessed it be kicker Jason Sanders, who has four less missed kicks this season than Indianapolis’ Rodrigo Blankenship, who is currently leading the way.
Another fun fact about Sanders versus Blankenship? Sanders has kicked eight more 50+ yard field goals this season than Blankenship, who has yet to hit from beyond 50 on the season.
But that doesn’t take away from Haack’s impressive season in any right — and his Pro Bowl buzz is well deserved. If Miami is going to finish their run to the postseason, they’ll need more strong contributions from both Howard and Haack to bolster the defensive and special teams units along the way. And if that happens, there’s little reason to think either would yield their lead in the voting.