Were the Right Vikings Selected for the Pro Bowl?
Craig Williams
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The Pro Bowl rosters were announced this week. It is always fun to look at the selections and see who you think got snubbed. The debate rages on well into the offseason when there is little to talk about. The question for many Vikings fans rests in whether the right players were picked for the Pro Bowl roster.
Who Was Selected?
Dalvin Cook
Dalvin is currently 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards and leads the NFC. That is with him missing a lot of time. He was easily a top pick for NFC RB. There should be little question about his spot. Unfortunately, the team will be playing without Cook this Sunday again.
Justin Jefferson
Justin Jefferson is 2nd in the league in receiving yards behind only Cooper Kupp. JJ is also tied for 5th in receiving TDs. He was also an easy selection with 4 WRs making the team.
Harrison Smith
The Hitman was a little trickier. The offensive positions rely on stats and the defense often relies on reputation. Harrison Smith is rated as the 8th best safety on Pro Football Focus. He has a very unimpressive 3 sacks and 1 INT for the season. Smith made it on his strong reputation and popularity with the Fan Voting. Antoine Winfield, Bobby McCain, PJ Williams, Dean Marlowe and many others could have been considered above Harrison Smith.
Did Any Vikings Get Snubbed?
Eric Kendricks
Kendricks has only made the Pro Bowl once in his career. That is insulting, to say the least. He has been inconsistent this year. He has not been as elite in coverage. He is still a tackling machine with 127 total tackles, which is good for 5th in the NFC. There isn’t really a spot for Kendricks on the team. The two MLBs ahead of him are Micah Parsons and Bobby Wagner. Parsons is having a phenomenal year leading the Cowboys’ defense. Wagner is on a bad Seattle team but leads the league in tackles (more than 30 ahead of Kendricks). There is no one to remove from the team to get Kendricks in there.
CJ Ham
CJ Ham is having a great year and consistently plays well. He is the highest rated FB in the NFC, according to PFF and 3rd overall in the NFL. There is only one FB selection, and it went to Kyle Juszczyk. Juszczyk puts up more receiving stats than Ham does and that is how most fans are going to vote. Ham is not known outside of MN and received almost no national attention. He absolutely got snubbed, but he’s in the same boat as all the blocking TEs. To the fantasy winners go the spoils.
Kirk Cousins
Kirk is 7th in the league in passing yards and TDs. He is 3rd in the NFC in yards and 4th in TDs. Three quarterbacks make it and Kirk was on the edge of the list. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Kyler Murray all made the team. The first two are entrenched in the NFL MVP discussion and 100% were going to make the team. The questionable selection was Kyler Murray. The Arizona Cardinals are playing well in large part due to Murray’s leadership. The Vikings just got back to .500 and have struggled with consistency throughout the year. Kirk put up some stats, but is not deserving of a spot. If any QB in the NFC was snubbed it was Matthew Stafford. No case to have Kirk jump above Stafford here.
Brian O’Neill
The Pro Bowl is mostly based on reputation and O’Neill hasn’t built that up yet. Tristan Wirfs, Trent Williams, and Tyron Smith were all named to the team. O’Neill hasn’t allowed a sack all year, but also hasn’t been stellar in the run game. He is the best on a bad OL. That is not worthy of a spot on the team. O’Neill will likely get there at some point but he is likely a few years away.
Kene Nwangwu
Anytime you have two kick return TDs you are automatically in consideration for a spot in the Pro Bowl. Nwangwu is the only player in the league with multiple kick return TDs. The reason why he wasn’t selected…not enough opportunities. He only has 12 returns this season. He doesn’t have the bulk stats of some of the other returners who played all year. It was just too little too late for the rookie. I fully expect to see Nwangwu in Pro Bowl next year.
It is easy to get worked up about your favorite player not making the team. When looked at objectively, the Vikings should have had three selections. They just should have been Cook, Jefferson, and Ham instead of Harrison Smith. Ham isn’t a slam dunk pick for the Pro Bowl and Smith isn’t a terrible pick either. Ultimately half of these players won’t play in the game and most of us won’t watch it anyways. It is really about the recognition and fun during the selection process.
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