Making the Pro Bowl was an accomplishment that used to carry a lot more weight in the NFL. Now, it seems like it is more of a popularity contest where reputation often outweighs performance. In addition, players often withdraw for various reasons while players participating in the Super Bowl are excused by the league. The end result is that the list of alternates runs so deep that it makes the Pro-Bowl roster watered down. So watered down, that players like Mitch Trubisky get the nod. Typically, the initial announcements create a ton of debate over who the biggest snubs, surprises, and shock selections are. This year, the list of 5 Dallas Cowboys players selected seems to be a very fair representation of who deserved to be chosen. Nevertheless, here is my list of biggest Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl snubs, surprises, and shockers.
First, let’s review the players that were selected:
Trevon Diggs is leading the league with 10 interceptions and many considered him an early candidate for DPOY. His selection came as no surprise. Neither did Rookie LB Micah Parsons who is the unanimous choice for DROY and has generated a lot of recent buzz for DPOY also. Smith and Martin are perennial Pro-Bowlers so not much of a surprise there, but we will come back to that. Then punter Bryan Anger rounds out the group. Anger is a valid choice and a welcome one for Cowboys fans. The Cowboys special teams has struggled the past few years along with their oft injured former punter Chris Jones.
BIGGEST SNUBS
There were no blatant Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl snubs this year in my opinion. Quarterback Dak Prescott stands out among the group. Despite his recent struggles, he was considered a viable MVP candidate for most of the season. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers performances this season merit selections but there is an argument that either Dak Prescott or Matthew Stafford could have been named over Kyler Murray. Murray has had a strong season overall but he missed a couple of games and has struggled of late.
Ezekiel Elliott has struggled this season while battling a knee injury but there is not much competition at the running back position in the NFC. Alvin Kamara was selected to the Pro-Bowl despite missing several games and having a down year himself.
The Dallas Cowboys big three receivers are there own worst enemies when it comes to individual accolades because they all eat into each others’ production. They have all had to miss games with injuries or COVID protocols but among them, CeeDee Lamb has been the most productive. With only 4 receivers being named to the initial Pro Bowl roster, it is difficult to stand out in such a deep position group. CeeDee’s omission from the Pro Bowl is not surprising given the names selected ahead of him.
Defensively, the Cowboys are deep but do not have many individual standout players who have played the entire season. One name does stand out, although he has missed significant time as well, and that is Randy Gregory. In the games that he has played, he has made an enormous impact and would no doubt crack the Pro Bowl roster had he played every game in my humble opinion.
An argument can certainly be made for any one of these Cowboys players but I do not consider any one of them to be a blatant snub if I’m being completely honest. Cowboys fans have little to complain about this year in that regard.
BIGGEST SURPRISES, SHOCKERS
In my opinion, there are no huge surprises and certainly no shocking selections or snubs from the Dallas Cowboys roster. The biggest surprise in my mind is Tyron Smith. Smith is certainly deserving in terms of ability, reputation, and value to his team, but he’s only played in 9 1/2 games out of 14 this season. It is often said that the greatest ability is availability and there are some other talented Offensive Tackles who have not missed games that might deserve the Pro Bowl nod ahead of Smith. Aside from having to miss some time, Smith is still head and shoulders above most other Tackles in the league so I can’t argue too hard against his selection. The other four are obvious choices.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
The only player on the that list that should be on the pro bowl roster is cee dee lamb and thats a stretch of a maybe. He has too many drops and vanishes in games. Zeke is not a pro bowler because of kellen noore and his play calling. Give zekw more carriers and 100 yard rushing games would increase as well as critical victories. Not even going to discuss dak Prescott. .He is not a pro bowler