NFL Trade Rumors
Public perception of the Pro Bowl has shifted considerably over the years. Pro Bowl selections used to be viewed as the ultimate honor and the de facto way to sort the good players from the great ones. With better metrics for evaluating individual player performances now more widely available, the Pro Bowl is viewed by fans as almost more of an afterthought — especially as the actual exhibition game decreased in competitiveness and finally went away.
But make no mistake, the Pro Bowl still matters. Tons of contract incentives are tied to Pro Bowl selections and agents still use it to negotiate more money for their clients. If it’s going to remain this relevant, I’d argue it needs a serious overhaul in its selection processes to make sure the best players participate.
But in the meantime, the only thing I can do is highly some of the players who were snubbed for selections. I didn’t list these players in any particular order, though I did start with the guy I thought got snubbed the worst:
Some exclusions I’ll cover in this are understandable for one reason or another. This one isn’t. Outside of 49ers LB Fred Warner, who’s been out with a broken ankle since early October, Lloyd has been the best linebacker in the NFL this year, and it isn’t particularly close. He has 76 tackles, five interceptions, two sacks, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery on the season despite missing two games due to injury.
And the advanced numbers for him are even better. He’s the third-highest graded linebacker in the league, per PFF, with an 88.8 overall defensive grade. The Jaguars have a top-five defense in the NFL in EPA per play allowed, and Lloyd’s performance is a huge reason why. Jacksonville stifles teams over the middle of the field, largely because Lloyd’s turned that area into a no-fly zone.
Then there’s the fact that the AFC’s linebacker selections were pretty underwhelming. Ravens LB Roquan Smith has been fine this season, but it’s been a down year for him by his standards. Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair may anchor one of the best defenses in the league, but Lloyd has been better in every advanced metric and only trails in raw tackles. Lloyd was the best (healthy) linebacker in the NFL this season and deserved a Pro Bowl nod.
I’m lumping these two together because you could have given either a Pro Bowl nod and it would’ve been appropriate. Dotson and Avila both rank top five in PFF grade among guards (86.4 and 79.0, respectively) and they are the heart and soul of one of the most improved offensive lines in football.
The Rams have the best-graded run-blocking offensive line in the NFL and they’ve moved into the top 10 in pass blocking, as well. Los Angeles is dominating teams on the ground thanks in large part to these two, and either one would...
