NFL: Smith, Hayward and Co.: These players belong in the Pro Bowl

The choice for the Pro Bowl 2017 is made – and as every year, the vote among fans, players and coaches comes with a few surprises. SPOX shows the biggest failures, players who deserve the Pro Bowl award.

Harrison Smith, Safety, Minnesota Vikings: Perhaps the best safety of the current season has not made it into the Pro Bowl. Smith is used flexibly by the Vikings, is outstanding in coverage and plays an elementary role as a speed camera and run-defender in the box-overloading Vikings formations as they position seven, eight players around the line of scrimmage. In all of these roles Smith has done outstanding work this year, his non-nomination being the biggest pro-bowl surprise.

Alex Smith, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs: Admittedly not a season that is easy to evaluate. The extreme slack in the meantime was quite obviously too much, but Smith has picked up again in the last few weeks and plays noticeably more aggressively within the structure of the offense. Not to forget: For the first four or five weeks he was the best quarterback of the league alongside Brady.

Cameron Heyward, Defensive Line, Pittsburgh Steelers: Next to Smith the biggest question mark in the nominations. Heyward is the anchor in Pittsburgh’s line, has collected 41 tackles (seven TFL), ten sacks and a forced fumble from his hybrid end tackle position. He is the one who makes the opponent’s pocket collapse, destroys run-play designs on his own and has to play a central role in the game plan for each opponent’s offensive.

Jason Kelce, Center, Philadelphia Eagles: Technically and in terms of run-blocking, no Center Kelce this year can hold its own, not even cowboy star Travis Frederick. Kelce is not the best center in Pass-Protection, but in the overall package he belongs to the NFC-Top-2 this season without question.

Jordan Howard, Running Back, Chicago Bears: In a season in which opposing defenses against Chicago focus on the run – whether Mitchell Trubisky or Mike Glennon Under Center – Howard has another 1,000-yard season in his pocket two matchdays before the end of the season (currently: 1,069 rushing yards, seven touchdowns). Its 4.4 yards per run are more than remarkable considering the circumstances, often it was the only constant in an offense whose passing game was often barely existent.

Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers: A lot of things didn’t work out for the Packers in this year’s passing game, and that was of course due to Aaron Rodgers’ injury. All the more impressing is what Adams did with the truly anything but impressive board Hundley: After 14 games he stands at 885 yards and above all ten touchdowns, since Week 9 he stayed in only one game under five catches (four against Tampa Bay three weeks ago). The changing of the guard in the Packers’ receiving corps has long since taken place, and more than 30 percent of the targets in Green Bay’s pass game went to Adams.

Akiem Hicks, Defensive Line, Chicago Bears: 48 tackles, eight sacks, 15 (!) Tackles for Loss – Hicks plays an incredibly dominant season, even in an often wobbly Bears team he stands out week after week. One could easily argue that Hicks is the best defensive lineman in the NFC this season after Aaron Donald. He belongs to the top 3 in every case and thus he joins Smith and Heyward in the top 3 of the biggest pro bowl mistakes this year.

Andrew Whitworth, Tackle, Los Angeles Rams: Much has been said and written in recent weeks and months about the development of Jared Goff, Todd Gurley’s 180-degree spin, and Sean McVay’s positive influence on the Rams-Offense. All of this is quite right – but the valuation and season of the rams without Whitworth may look quite different. Whitworth had several games without even one approved pressure, for the development of Goff, who is still a little wobbly in the pocket, the Left Tackle is a huge help that should not be underestimated.

David Bakhtiari, Tackle, Green Bay Packers: The best pass-protecting tackle of the season belongs in the Pro Bowl, no matter how good his team is or who plays quarterback behind him.

Yannick Ngakoue, Edge, Jacksonville Jaguars: Every year you can see it again at the Pro Bowl: Several players come in because they enjoy a certain reputation and their name is better known. However, it is difficult to argue this year that Khalil Mack, for example, had a better season than Ngakoue. Ngakoue is not only on the list of eleven sacks, with his Pressures and Forced Fumbles, the 22-year-old is already a remarkable player and a constant problem for opponent’s offenses throughout the season.

Other candidates:

Page 1: Smith, Heyward, Whitworth and Co.: The Biggest Pro-Bowl Errors in 2017

Page 2: AFC and NFC – the two pro-bowl squads at a glance