Bobby Wagner, Greg Olsen among pleasant Pro Bowl surprises

The 2015 Pro Bowl selections have been revealed. Many of the headliners, of course, are annual fixtures of the NFL's all-star display -- their names could have been penciled in back in September. But that's certainly not the case for everyone. Consider the honorees who entered this season without a clear-cut path to Pro Bowl recognition, thanks to prior injury, advanced age, role evolution or the simple lack of a proven track record.

With that in mind, who is the most pleasant surprise among the announced participants of the 2015 Pro Bowl?

Calais Campbell's first Pro Bowl selection was overdue. As the evolutionary Richard Seymour, he's been one of the NFL's 10 best defensive players for two years now. On an Arizona Cardinals defense that lost stars such as Daryl Washington, Darnell Dockett and Karlos Dansby, Campbell has led an underrated front seven that has controlled the line of scrimmage this year. Now that Campbell has been rewarded, Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy is the NFL's longest-running snub. Greg Olsen has had two Pro Bowl-caliber seasons in the past four years, neither of which he was recognized for. That's why it's good to see Cam Newton's favorite target get the recognition he deserves. The Carolina Panthers tight end has played more than 1,000 snaps this season and catches roughly three of every four footballs he sees, despite the increased coverage. Next to Rob Gronkowski, he's been the best in football this season. I was in the Seattle Seahawks' locker room after their season-opening win when Richard Sherman shouted across the expanse, "Hey, Mike Silver, I need you to get Bobby Wagner for Pro Bowl!" Wagner didn't need the help of my NFL Media colleague to lock up his first all-star selection. Wagner's inclusion was overdue -- and a bit surprising, considering he missed five games this season with a foot injury. Voters obviously noticed Wagner has been an absolute demon since returning from the injury, leading Seattle in tackling the past five weeks. Wagner's nod reminds us that the Seahawks' historic defense isn't all about the Legion of Boom. I'm gonna pretend this question was asked before the 2013 season started and go with Antonio Brown ... the best wide receiver in the NFL.

We're in an era of superhuman-sized receivers, between Megatron, Dez Bryant, Brandon Marshall and Julio Jones, but the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Pittsburgh Steelers star stands head and shoulders above them all. And he's not just one of the top receivers this year. His season ranks up there with the greatest in pro football history: 122 receptions, 1,570 yards and 12 touchdowns. Two catches against Cincy this Sunday will give him the second-highest single-season total all-time, and 100 more yards will land him in the top 10. And I thought his 2013 season (110 receptions, 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns) was transcendent!

(By the way, you've probably heard about 78,986 times that Tom Brady was a sixth-round draft pick ... but did you know Brown shares that ignominy?)

Like everyone else who watched him, I knew Brown was a very good young player by the end of his 2010 rookie season. But I also thought Ike Taylor was merely being a supportive teammate back in August 2013 when he told me Brown was about to break out as the best player at his position. (You were right, Ike ... and I was wrong.) Tom Brady is finally getting the recognition he deserves. With this Pro Bowl nod, perhaps folks in New England can move on mentally from the Drew Bledsoe era that they so desperately clung to back in 2001. It's nice to see an underdog that clearly works hard and loves the game get rewarded over some of the "pretty boys" in the league like Andy Dalton and Eli Manning.