The 2015 Pro Bowl was announced Tuesday night. Here is our breakdown of the offensive picks:
Quarterbacks:Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo.
Tony Romo could very well end up with the league's Most Valuable Player award, which could make his fourth career Pro Bowl nod the sweetest. At 34, it's hard to believe he might be playing his best football ever. It's also nice to see Ben Roethlisberger back in the All-Star game for the first time since 2011.
Running back:Le'Veon Bell, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray.
It would be fitting if Marshawn Lynch's Super Bowl berth was able to pave the way for Justin Forsett to climb onto the roster, wouldn't it? More importantly, bravo to Foster and Murray, who, with two different styles, continue to impress. Lynch added another Beast Mode run last week against the Cardinals to lock up his fifth Pro Bowl.
Wide Receivers:Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Jordy Nelson, Demaryius Thomas.
This went relatively as expected. Brown has been the best receiver in football this year and is surging under Todd Haley's system and a resurgent Ben Roethlisberger. Although we're wondering what happened to Emmanuel Sanders, Golden Tate and Jeremy Maclin, all of whom are more than deserving of a spot, it's hard to ignore the more established names atop the list.
Tight end:Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Julius Thomas.
We have few complaints here. Thomas is fantastic and should earn himself a nice paycheck this offseason. Graham will bounce back, and Gronkowski is back to being one of the hardest pass-catchers in football to defend.
Fullback:John Kuhn, Marcel Reece
A position group that toils in obscurity, which sometimes skews the voting process, but for the last three years, Marcel Reece has been viewed as the gold standard at the position -- this will be his third straight Pro Bowl. We thought Kyle Juszczyk out of Baltimore deserved a nod, as did Henry Hynoski from the Giants. Kuhn, though, continues to be a top-five run blocker and the perfect fullback in Mike McCarthy's scheme.
Offensive tackle:Ryan Clady, Jason Peters, Tyron Smith, Joe Staley, Joe Thomas, Trent Williams.
The stalwarts like Peters, Smith and Thomas all performed up to their Pro Bowl ability once again, earning them a repeat trip to the big game. Thomas was instrumental in a rebuilt Browns offensive line, as was Smith in Dallas. Sebastian Vollmer had a nice year in New England, as did Andrew Whitworth in Cincinnati as well, and deserve to hear their names called next time.
Guard:Jahri Evans, Mike Iupati, Kyle Long, Zack Martin, Josh Sitton, Marshal Yanda.
Great to see Dallas rookie and evidence of Jerry Jones' restraint, Zack Martin, getting the Pro Bowl nod this year. He was one of the cleanest prospects in the draft and adjusted at a difficult position quickly. He also played through injury for a portion of the year. Joel Bitonio from Cleveland is a glaring snub, however.
Kelce had a bit of a down year for his standards but earns a trip to his first Pro Bowl. If anything, Kelce should have been a unanimous selection last year after showing he was one of the premier centers in football. We're glad to see him get that recognition in 2014-15.
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