The 2020 Pro Bowl Ballot features Saints players like Deonte Harris while Demario Davis faces tough sledding and Taysom Hill isn’t an option
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The 2020 Pro Bowl Ballot is up at NFL.com, giving fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite players. However, some notable New Orleans Saints players didn’t make the cut, while others are victims of bad classifications. Here is the list of which players are eligible, organized by offense, defense, and special teams, along with our notes on what the ballot got wrong:
Offense
- Quarterbacks: Drew Brees
- Running backs: Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray
- Wide receivers: Ted Ginn, Michael Thomas
- Fullbacks: Zach Line
- Tight ends: Jared Cook
- Tackles: Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk
- Guards: Andrus Peat, Larry Warford
- Centers: Erik McCoy
Where is Taysom Hill? He plays quarterback, fullback, halfback, tight end, slot receiver, and a few other positions we may not even have names for, but he isn’t listed on the ballot. It’s a heck of an oversight considering how often the Saints find opportunities for him to go out there and make a play.
Other than that, this is a solid list of contributors. Be sure to vote for Line at fullback; the Saints are one of the most creative teams in the league at deploying their fullbacks, and his inclusion would be a welcome reward for putting in so much thankless work in the trenches.
Defense
- Defensive ends: Marcus Davenport. Cameron Jordan
- Defensive tackles: Malcom Brown, Sheldon Rankins
- Inside linebackers: Kiko Alonso
- Outside linebackers: Demario Davis, A.J. Klein
- Cornerbacks: Eli Apple, Marshon Lattimore
- Strong safeties: Vonn Bell
- Free safeties: Marcus Williams
Rankins must have gotten in off of name recognition, because he’s nowhere near to playing like his old self. He’s played 194 snaps in six games since returning from last year’s Achilles injury, and has picked up one sack and two hits in that time. He hasn’t logged so much as a tackle in his last three games. The Saints are determined to play him over David Onyemata (two sacks and five hits in eight games), but there’s no questioning which of them is more productive, and more deserving of a Pro Bowl nomination.
Alonso may line up as the middle linebacker, but he only plays 25% of snaps. The Saints rotate their linebackers around and juggle their responsibilities so often that Davis could be listed at inside linebacker on the ballot and no one would bat an eye; instead, he’s forced to compete with well-known edge rushers like Von Miller, T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack, and Chandler Jones for recognition. The Pro Bowl ballot badly needs a redesign to reflect different schemes around the league.
Special teams
- Kickers: Wil Lutz
- Return specialists: Deonte Harris
- Punters: Thomas Morstead
- Special teamers: Craig Robertson
Robertson is a special teams captain, but he’s not the most prominent member of the coverage units. He’s played 176 snaps on special teams so far, which trails cornerback Justin Hardee (198) for the team lead. Hill was played sparingly in that phase of the game while Brees missed time with his thumb injury, though he’s matched Hardee’s team-leading pace of play when given the green light to go help cover punts and kickoffs. Robertson would also have matched Hardee had he been healthy for the season-opener, so his inclusion isn’t much of a slight to his teammates.
We don’t need to tell you to vote for Harris among the return specialists, but you should make an effort to do that anyway. He’s the only player in the NFL to rack up 200 or more return yards on both punts (232) and kickoffs (309), and the rookie deserves this recognition. Still, hopefully he’ll be preparing for the Super Bowl with his teammates rather than taking in some sun at the Pro Bowl.
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