Tag: Pro Bowl Snub

Sean Payton gives positive outlook on Quinn Meinerz’s Pro Bowl snub

Quinn Meinerz was snubbed by Pro Bowl voters this season, but Broncos coach Sean Payton believes they will make up for it down the road.

Despite being one of the best guards in football and earning first-team All-Pro recognition from the Associated Press in 2024, Denver Broncos lineman Quinn Meinerz was not voted to the Pro Bowl.

Earlier this month, Broncos coach Sean Payton suggested there would be a positive long-term outlook for Meinerz after the Pro Bowl snub.

“Here’s what happens: I’ve told Quinn this,” Payton said on Jan. 3. “I said the same thing to Jahri Evans. Jahri’s up for the Hall of Fame this year, he’s a finalist. [He was] an elite guard — elite — and he didn’t make it Year 2 — I’m not sure what year it was.

“I called him in, and I said, ‘You’re going to get slighted a year or two in the early part of your career, and then you’re going to have two that you really shouldn’t have gotten in that you get on the back end.’ The same thing will happen with Quinn.”

Evans went on to earn five All-Pro nods and six Pro Bowl selections during his time with the New Orleans Saints. A Super Bowl champion and a member of the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team, Evans is now a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Meinerz is a first-alternate for this year’s Pro Bowl, and he’s still only 26 years old. Payton believes the guard will have a long career ahead of him with many Pro Bowl selections in the future.

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Zach Allen named NFL’s third-biggest snub for Pro Bowl

Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen was one of the NFL’s biggest Pro Bowl snubs this season.

Can you believe an interior defensive lineman with 8.5 sacks didn’t make the NFL Pro Bowl? I can’t, and neither can NFL.com’s Kevin Patra.

Denver Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen had a productive year, as noted above: 61 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and 19 stuffs. However, getting him into the Pro Bowl wasn’t good enough. NFL.com released their ten biggest Pro Bowl snubs, and Patra puts Allen as the third biggest on the list.

From Patra’s story:

Pressure is production — unless you’re voting for the Pro Bowl, apparently. Allen has been a backfield menace this season, leading all interior defensive linemen with 65 QB pressures (ninth-most among all defenders). When an interior player is getting the kind of push Allen has provided this season, he wrecks games. The pocket-pusher has keyed Vance Joseph’s defense, eating up blockers and still producing; his 14 QB pressures when double-teamed are tied for fourth-most in the NFL. The 27-year-old sits third in sacks among all interior D-linemen with 8.5 (half a sack behind Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams).

Allen is an alternate for the Pro Bowl. A much bigger honor is his second-team All-Pro recognition, further confirmation that he should have made the Pro Bowl.

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Who was Packers’ biggest Pro Bowl snub in 2024?

Packers right tackle Zach Tom has been one of the best blockers in the NFL in 2024, but he wasn’t even one of the top alternates for the Pro Bowl. Snub!

The Green Bay Packers’ biggest Pro Bowl snub in 2024 wasn’t even named an alternate for the Pro Bowl roster.

Right tackle Zach Tom — now a quietly dominant player in Year 3 — was snubbed by the entire process.

Through 17 weeks, Tom ranks as the fifth-highest graded offensive tackle in football by Pro Football Focus. He’s allowed only 17 pressures on 530 pass-blocking snaps, and he’s the third-highest graded run blocker among offensive tackles.

Not making the initial roster is understandable given the talent and name power in the NFC at offensive tackle. Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles, Tristan Wirfs of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions are all individually dominant players who deserved the recognition.

But Tom isn’t even an alternate? That’s hard to square with the quality of his performance dating back to even last season.

The Pro Bowl voting process includes fan voting, player voting and coach voting. Tom was the No. 10 offensive tackle after final fan voting, so they did their part. Clearly, Tom doesn’t have the same recognition value among players and coaches, an odd reality for a player who really should be well-known as a good one in buildings across the league.

Another potential snub might be tight end Tucker Kraft, although George Kittle and Trey McBride were both warranted picks at tight end in the NFC.

The Packers’ three Pro Bowlers are running back Josh Jacobs, edge rusher Rashan Gary and safety Xavier McKinney. Jacobs and McKinney were slam dunk picks, but it’s tough to make the case for Gary as one of the NFC’s top three defensive ends.

Michael Thomas one of two unanimous selections for first-team All-Pro

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas and New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore were the only unanimous NFL All-Pros.

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The Associated Press announced its NFL All-Pro teams on Friday, and the New Orleans Saints had six players represented on the two lists. Wide receiver Michael Thomas, right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, linebacker Demario Davis, and returns specialist Deonte Harris were each selected as first-team All-Pros. Edge rusher Cameron Jordan and special teams ace J.T. Gray made the All-Pro second-team.

Interestingly, Thomas was one of just two players to be unanimously selected by the 50-strong panel of voters. He was joined by New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who tied the NFL lead for interceptions (6) on the league’s leading defense for total interceptions (25). That’s rare company for Thomas to join, but as the NFL’s king in both receptions (149) and receiving yards (1,725) there’s no doubting his qualifications. Depending on how the playoffs turn out, there’s a good chance Thomas and Gilmore may line up against each other in Super Bowl LIV.

The full list of Saints players who received All-Pro votes go as follows:

  • Wide receiver Michael Thomas, 50
  • Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, 30
  • Punt returner Deonte Harris, 29 (plus 2 votes at kick returner, and 1 at special teamer)
  • Linebacker Demario Davis, 18
  • Edge rusher Cameron Jordan, 12
  • Special teamer J.T. Gray, 3
  • Kicker Wil Lutz, 3
  • Left tackle Terron Armstead, 2
  • Cornerback Marshon Lattimore, 1 (plus 1 vote at defensive back)

So this highlights a few issues with the Associated Press ballot. The biggest problem is that there are inconsistencies between position designations used by different voters, meaning Harris received nominations at punt returner (where he’s done most of his damage), kick returner, and special teamer. Similarly, Lattimore earned votes at both cornerback and defensive back. Until the Associated Press buckles down and makes it more clear which players are qualified for which positions, there are going to be more incongruities. At least Pro Bowl snubs like Davis and Ramczyk got their due.

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Bradley Chubb hilariously ‘translates’ Courtland Sutton’s tweet after Pro Bowl snub

Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton was snubbed by Pro Bowl voters and linebacker Bradley Chubb is tweeting on his behalf.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton has played with three different quarterbacks this season and has managed to rack up over 1,000 receiving yards despite often being the No. 1 focus of opposing defenses.

Despite his brilliant year, Sutton was not voted to the 2020 Pro Bowl. Fans, coaches and players each accounted for one-third of the vote and Sutton ended up as a second-alternate for the All-Star game.

Asked by media members about the snub on Wednesday, Sutton simply said, “It is what it is.” Two days later, the receiver took to Twitter to thank those that did vote for him.

“I haven’t had a chance to thank everyone that took the time to vote for me for Pro Bowl,” Sutton wrote on Friday. “Although we didn’t make it, there are always positives. I’m going to continue to grow and develop my game while also continuing to have fun with the process. #AllLove #ThankYou.”

Broncos outside linebacker Bradley Chubb, who was a Pro Bowl alternate last year, hilariously quote-tweeted Sutton’s message with a “translation.”

Here’s how Sutton stacks up against the WRs that did make the Pro Bowl.

Player Yards YPC 20+yd REC TDs
Courtland Sutton 1,019 16.2 18 6
Jarvis Landry 1,018 13.3 17 5
Keenan Allen 1,046 11.6 14 5
Tyreek Hill 727 14.8 10 7
DeAndre Hopkins 1,142 11.5 16 7

As a second-alternate, Sutton will need two players to drop out to reach the Pro Bowl. Or, one player could drop out and if the first-alternate is unable to play in the game, Sutton could also make it that way.

The 2020 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m. MT.

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