Tag: Pro bowl snubs

Daiyan Henley puts bow on Pro Bowl-caliber season

Daiyan Henley was among the biggest Pro Bowl snubs.

The Chargers had three players named to the 2025 Pro Bowl Games, but four should be headed to Orlando, FL.

Among the biggest snubs was linebacker Daiyan Henley, who had a sensational sophomore season. Henley further made his case in Sunday’s win over the Raiders.

Henley notched his first career interception late in the second quarter, picking off Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell on an underneath pass intended for running back Alexander Mattison.

“Just the surge, the rush, the feeling I haven’t felt in quite some time,” Henley said, per the team’s official website. “I’m used to getting picks, but man, it’s been a long season without one. That feeling was exhilarating.

“And I get to hear it a lot about being a coverage linebacker in this league because of how I play, me in the pass game, but I didn’t have no ball production to show for it,” Henley added. “To end the season at the right time with one, they say you get one more on the way.”

It’s surprising Henley did not have a single interception, as he finished the regular season as one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL. The former wide receiver and safety did finish with eight passes defended, however.

Henley had 147 tackles, the eighth most in the NFL. His presence in the middle of the defense has been crucial to the Chargers’ defensive success this season and the numbers back it up, which is why he was deserving a Pro Bowl spot.

“He’s had an All-Star season, he’s had a Pro-Bowl season,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “He’s going from shining star to superstar, I think he’s reached it and playing his best football.”

Twitter reacts to Broncos DL Zach Allen being a Pro Bowl snub

Broncos DL Zach Allen has the most pressures (65) among interior defensive linemen this season, but he didn’t make the Pro Bowl.

The NFL announced rosters for the 2025 Pro Bowl on Thursday and three Denver Broncos players made the AFC squad. Eight other Broncos players were named alternates for the all-star game.

Denver’s biggest Pro Bowl snubs this season were defensive lineman Zach Allen and guard Quinn Meinerz. Here’s a sampling of how fans and pundits reacted to the Allen snub on Twitter/X.

Meinerz is also considered a big snub.

Meinerz and Allen are both alternates, so there’s a chance that they could be added to the Pro Bowl roster in the coming weeks. Meinerz has a better chance as a first alternate. Allen is only a fourth alternate for the Pro Bowl, but he has a strong case to receive an All-Pro nod this season.

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Raiders Pro Bowl snubs? Why yes of course

Even with two Raiders making the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl games roster, there were snubs.

While we recognize the accomplishments of those player who were named to the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl roster — including Raiders DE Maxx Crosby and TE Brock Bowers — it’s important to also mentioned those who seemed deserving but didn’t get the call.

Every year there are players who earned a real shot at being named to the Pro Bowl, but who were left off the initial squad. For the Raiders, there were a couple players who can claim they deserved a spot on the team but were left off of it.

LB Robert Spillane

Zaire Franklin and Roquan Smith were named to the Pro Bowl at inside linebacker. But are they more deserving than Spillane? Let’s see…

Spillane is currently fourth in the AFC in combined tackles (142). Only Franklin (165), Jamien Sherwood (148), and Smith (144) have more. And his 10 tackles for loss matches that of Franklin and Sherwood and far more than Smith (four).

As for pass breakups, Spillane (seven) has them all beat.

So, if you’re looking at stats alone, Franklin deserved to get in over Spillane. No question. But perhaps not Smith. Take a look at their side-by-side stats.

Stats Robert Spillane Roquan Smith
Games 16 15
Tackles 142 144
Solo tkls 85 78
Solo TPG 5.3 5.2
Run stops 50 40
TFL 10 4
Sacks 2 1.5
Int 2 1
PD 7 4
FF 0 1

As you can see, the only stats where Smith is better than Spillane are combined tackles (144) and forced fumbles (1). And considering it’s a difference of two tackles and one forced fumble, that could change by next week.

But Smith was an All Pro in 2023 and got more Pro Bowl fan votes, so he made the team over Spillane.

P AJ Cole

This is a stretch. And I’ll be the first to tell you Cole didn’t quite punt at the level we have come to expect from him this season and Logan Cooke deserved to be named the AFC punter.

That being said, even a down season for Cole was pretty good. He finished second in the AFC in gross punt average (50.1) behind only Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse. But Stonehouse had a terrible net average of 38.4 (30th). Cole finished 6th in the AFC in net punt average (42.2). He’d be top five if not for Ramel Keyton touching his perfect punt last Sunday against the Saints to turn a coffin corner into a touchback.

That became his seventh touchback of the season and those are what hurt his average the most. And, of course, that game where he had two of his punts blocked because of poor communication by his personal protector.

These things are not really taken into consideration, though, and with Cole not being next up in several key punting statistics, hard to imagine him even being the next man up if it came to that.

7 Broncos players were snubbed by Pro Bowl voters

Zach Allen and Quinn Meinerz headline the list of Broncos players who were snubbed by Pro Bowl voters.

The NFL announced 2025 Pro Bowl rosters on Thursday and three Denver Broncos players have made the AFC’s squad. An additional eight players were named Pro Bowl alternates, but two of them should have been locks for the all-star game and five others deserved strong consideration.

Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen and guard Quinn Meinerz should have been considered easy choices for the Pro Bowl. Instead, Allen is a fourth alternate and Meinerz is a first alternate.

Denver left tackle Garett Bolles is a third alternate, but wide receiver Courtland Sutton did not even make the alternate list despite finishing third among AFC wide receivers in fan votes (players and coaches accounted for two-thirds of the voting).

Broncos pass rusher Jonathon Cooper, special teams ace Tremon Smith and defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers were also overlooked for alternate consideration.

1. Zach Allen has recorded 73 pressures, 8.5 sacks (tied for second among AFC interior defensive linemen), 39 QB hits, 34 hurries, 15 tackles behind the line, one safety and one pass breakup this season.

2. Quinn Meinerz delivers big pancake blocks on a near-weekly basis and his 86.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus ranks fifth among NFL guards.

3. Garett Bolles was credited with allowing two sacks this season and his 88.8 pass-blocking grade on PFF ranks fifth in the NFL among offensive tackles.

4. Courtland Sutton‘s 983 receiving yards rank seventh among AFC receivers and his seven touchdowns are also tied for seventh. His 53 first downs on receptions rank fifth among receivers in the conference.

5. Jonathon Cooper‘s 9.5 sacks this year rank ninth in the AFC and 12th overall. He has also totaled 57 pressures, 36 hurries, 19 QB hits, 10 tackles behind the line, one forced fumble and one pass breakup this season.

6. Tremon Smith has been a special teams ace in 2024, helping the Broncos pin opponents deep in their own territory on punts. Smith has played 82% of the team’s special teams snaps and PFF has given him a 71.2 ST grade.

7. John Franklin-Myers has been a disruptive player for Denver this fall, recording six sacks, 49 pressures, 33 hurries and 16 QB hits. His 82.4 pass-rush rate on PFF ranks fourth among interior defensive linemen.

Bonus: Punter Riley Dixon was busy this season with the third-most punts (75) in the NFL. His 3,509 yards ranked second in the AFC and fourth overall. Dixon’s net average of 42.2 yards per punt ranked seventh in the AFC and 11th in the NFL. His 32 kicks downed inside the 20-yard line ranked third in the conference and fourth overall.

The 2025 Pro Bowl Games will be held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Feb. 2. The NFC defeated the AFC 64-59 last season.

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Justin Simmons not happy about Courtland Sutton’s Pro Bowl snub

“I just thought Courtland [Sutton] had a great year, and at least deserved an alternate spot,” Broncos safety Justin Simmons said.

The Denver Broncos will have three players representing them at the Pro Bowl next month — Justin Simmons (safety), Pat Surtain (cornerback) and Marvin Mims (returner) were all elected as starters for the AFC.

Simmons was grateful for his All-Star nod, but he also took issue with the absence of one of his teammates, wide receiver Courtland Sutton.

“I just feel like I should say this: I know there’s a bunch of great receivers in our league, but I just thought Courtland had a great year, and at least deserved an alternate spot,” Simmons said last week. “It’s just disappointing to see that.

“I’m happy for the guys that got it. I think I’ve said it before — it’s not the easiest thing, but I don’t feel like they always do get it right in terms of getting every single person that they should. For our guys — for Pat and for ‘Marv’ — I think they did a great job getting it right with those two.”

Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson also came out in support of his favorite receiver, writing this on his Twitter/X page:

Sutton and guard Quinn Meinerz were Denver’s biggest Pro Bowl snubs this year (Meinerz is an alternate). Sutton’s ten touchdown catches this season tied for the third-most in the NFL and ranked second in the AFC.

This year’s Pro Bowl flag football game will be played in Orlando on Feb. 4. Peyton Manning (AFC) and Eli Manning (NFC) are returning as coaches.

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Social media reacts to Antoine Winfield Jr.’s Pro Bowl snub

Fans had a lot to say about Antoine Winfield Jr.’s ridiculous Pro Bowl snub.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have just one Pro Bowler in wideout Mike Evans. And while Evans certainly deserves the nod, there was a big snub in Tampa Bay that the internet is none too happy about.

Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has been a menace this year for the Bucs. So far, he’s recorded three interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five sacks. Despite this, though, he was not named to the Pro Bowl in 2024, with safety Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals making it over him for the NFC. Naturally, Bucs fans were upset, but national pundits and analysts who know ball were also baffled by the decision.

Here are just some of social media’s many reactions to the ridiculous snub:

12 49ers left off Pro Bowl roster named as alternates

On top of their *9* Pro Bowlers, the 49ers also have 12 (!!!) alternates:

The 49ers on Wednesday had a whopping nine players named to the NFC’s Pro Bowl roster after having 15 players receive the most fan votes at their position.

While the fan vote wasn’t enough to get all 15 of those players to Orlando for the Pro Bowl Games, it did help 12 (!!) 49ers get listed as alternates for the NFL’s version of an All-Star game.

It’s not a huge surprise San Francisco was so popular. It’s been one of the best teams in the sport all season and its roster is loaded.

Ideally the 49ers won’t have any players in Orlando because they’re busy preparing for the Super Bowl, but if they wind up missing the NFL’s biggest stage, here are the players they could also earn Pro Bowl honors as replacements:

Here are the Broncos’ biggest Pro Bowl snubs

Broncos WR Courtland Sutton and OG Quinn Meinerz were snubbed by Pro Bowl voters.

The NFL announced its rosters for the 2024 Pro Bowl on Wednesday and the Denver Broncos will be represented by three starters on the AFC team: cornerback Pat Surtain, safety Justin Simmons and returner Marvin Mims.

In addition to those three starters, the Broncos also have a pair of third alternates in guard Quinn Meinerz and fullback Michael Burton. If multiple guards and fullbacks drop out of the flag football game, Meinerz and Burton could be added to the roster in the coming weeks.

So, who are Denver’s biggest Pro Bowl snubs this year? The biggest one is Meinerz, who deserved more than an alternate nod, and the second most notable snub is wide receiver Courtland Sutton.

Sutton did not rank high in receptions or receiving yards this season, but he pulled off some of the best catches of the season and scored 10 touchdowns, tied for third-most in the NFL this year.

Here’s a quick look at all of the Broncos’ Pro Bowl snubs and honorable mentions from the 2023 season.

The NFL’s most egregious Pro Bowl snubs in 2021

Pro Bowl voting is controversial, and there are always deserving players left off the roster. Here’s who we think should have made it.

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There was no Pro Bowl game after the 2020 regular season due to COVID, but at this point, the NFL will attempt to play the game Sunday, February 6, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders. Whether the Omicron strain cooperates with that plan? We can but wait and see.

But the NFL did announce its Pro Bowl rosters on Wednesday night, which always leads to boisterous arguments about which players didn’t deserve their places, and which players were correspondingly “robbed” in the process.

We at Touchdown Wire have a list of players who were unfairly omitted from the 2021 Pro Bowl, and to make it reasonable, we’ve mentioned one player who should be taken off in favor of each more deserving player.

You can view the AFC Pro Bowl rosters here, and the NFC Pro Bowl rosters here.

All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus, Football Outsiders, and Sports Info Solutions. 

2 Chargers snubbed from 2022 Pro Bowl

The Chargers had a handful of players named to the Pro Bowl, but there were a couple who were snubbed.

On Wednesday night, the rosters for the 2022 Pro Bowl were revealed.

Six members of the Chargers earned the honor, and five others were named alternates, including a player who was more than deserving of making the team itself.

Austin Ekeler highlights the notable snubs across the league.

While Justin Herbert is the engineer, the offense would not be as productive if it weren’t for Ekeler’s services.

Ekeler, the do-it-all back, is sixth in the NFL in total yards this season (1,347), fourth in rushing touchdowns (10), and second to Jonathan Taylor in total touchdowns (17).

Derwin James and Joey Bosa were the only representatives on the other side of the ball. However, the man in the middle of the defense has played his way into being recognized among the best at his position.

Impactful against in coverage, and as a blitzer, Kyzir White has 115 tackles, 7.5 for loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, three quarterback hits, and a sack through 14 games.

But White not being named to the Pro Bowl is not a concern, as he has his eyes set on playing in a game with much more meaning.

“I would rather be in the Super Bowl – playing right here in L.A.,” White said. “I would rather get these wins, get into the playoffs, and make a Super Bowl run.”