Initial results from fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl are in and they offer a mixed bag for Denver Broncos players.
The Broncos have five players ranked among the top 10 vote-getters at their respective positions, but Denver also has a few very notable omissions.
Broncos center Lloyd Cushenberry has received the tenth-most fan votes at his position (fifth-most among AFC centers). Safety Justin Simmons has received the third-most votes at safety (second in the AFC behind Geno Stone of the Ravens). Kicker Wil Lutz has received the eighth-most votes (fourth-most in the AFC). Ex-Denver kicker Brandon McManus (now with the Jaguars) has received the ninth-most votes among kickers.
Broncos returner Marvin Mims ranks ninth among returners (fourth in the AFC). It’s going to be hard for any AFC returner to top Dolphins returner Braxton Berrios in fan voting given that Berrios is dating a social media influencer, likely leading to more votes for him on social media.
Denver fullback Michael Burton ranks eighth among fullbacks in fan voting (fourth among AFC fullbacks). It’s not very difficult to rank among the top ten at fullback given that there are 12 fullbacks in the entire NFL, with half of them in the AFC. Former Broncos fullback Andrew Beck ranks above Burton at No. 6 among FBs.
That’s the good news for Broncos players — Cushenberry, Simmons, Lutz, Mims and Burton rank among the top ten at their respective positions. The bad news is that cornerback Pat Surtain, guard Quinn Meinerz, wide receiver Courtland Sutton and left tackle Garett Bolles do NOT rank among the most popular fan choices at their respective positions for the Pro Bowl.
AFC cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey (Dolphins), Cam Taylor-Britt (Bengals), Rasul Douglas (Bills), L’Jarius Sneed (Chiefs) and Kenny Moore (Colts) all rank above Surtain. The fact that neither Surtain nor Sauce Gardner are among the top ten suggests that fans are voting based on interception stats instead of based on overall performance.
AFC guards Kevin Zeitler (Ravens), Joe Thuney (Chiefs), Joel Bitonio (Browns), Quenton Nelson (Colts), Trey Smith (Chiefs) and Robert Hunt (Dolphins) rank above Meinerz. AFC offensive tackle Terron Armstead (Dolphins), Laremy Tunsil (Texans) and Dion Dawkins (Bills) rank above Bolles.
AFC receivers Tyreek Hill (Dolphins), Keenan Allen (Chargers), Stefon Diggs (Bills), Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals) and Tank Dell (Texans) rank above Sutton. Dell is now sidelined by injury, so Sutton might move up in fan voting over the next few weeks.
Fan voting is not over yet — it runs through Christmas — so there’s still time to vote for your favorite players at NFL.com/ProBowl. It’s also worth noting that fan voting only accounts for one-third of the vote (the other two-thirds of the voting is done by coaches and players). So the Broncos players not doing well in fan voting (most notably Surtain) will likely make up ground when players and coaches vote later this month.
The 2024 Pro Bowl will be a flag football game in Orlando next February with Peyton Manning (AFC) and Eli Manning (NFC) serving as coaches.