J.J. Watt Snubbed From Pro Bowl

The Pro Bowl teams have officially been listed and once again there is controversy as Arizona Cardinals star defender J.J. Watt was snubbed of a selection.

Author:
Richie Bradshaw
Publish date:
Dec 22, 2022 11:27 AM EST

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Arizona Cardinals

There was once a time that Arizona Cardinals' defensive lineman J.J. Watt was amongst the most feared players in the NFL. Nowadays, people see him as washed-up and a shell of his former self. It's a shame because Watt has been anything but that in 2022.

Since 2015, Watt has consistently battled the injury bug and played a full season just twice. Prior to this, he had never missed a game period. That kind of streak will certainly turn folks against you and Watt has now been labeled as injury-prone by the masses.

While this can certainly be a fair assessment, what isn't fair is when Watt is punished for this stigma even when he is healthy. For example, in 2020 Watt played all 16 games but recorded just five sacks in spite of being one of the most double-teamed pass rushers in the league. Had the year been prior to 2015 it's highly likely that Watt would've been selected to the Pro Bowl even with his low sack total.

Instead, Watt was given the same treatment he had been and people didn't give him the love he deserved even in a season where it was warranted.

Flash forward to 2022 and Watt has missed just one game all season and even has 9.5 sacks to his name. It's the 33-year-old's finest season of production since he recorded 16 sacks in 2018. And yet, no love for Watt as he was not selected to the Pro Bowl for a fine season.

What's the reasoning for this? It can't be sack production, because his brother T.J. Watt has just four sacks in seven games this year. With more than double that, it's hard to imagine that J.J.'s sack total was sufficient.

Is it because of his name? Unlikely. Even with his play trending downward over the last several years, anyone who's watched football since 2011 knows exactly who J.J. Watt is.

Could it be because the Cardinals are a bad team? This feels like the right-sized glass slipper.

The Cardinals had just one player selected to the Pro Bowl this year, Budda Baker. While this isn't to say the Cardinals have 10+ players worthy of Pro Bowl consideration, it's hard to believe that this roster only has one Pro Bowler. Watt certainly fits the billing for this nod and yet he sits without it.

Baker has had quite the posse since he got into the league in 2017, making the Pro Bowl five out of a possible six times. While Baker's numbers remain impressive, would he have made the Pro Bowl if he was lesser known or even fading a bit like Watt? It just feels like if the Cardinals were a better team, maybe Watt would've gotten more love for the Pro Bowl.

Regardless of your stance on it, it's certainly fair and reasonable to claim that Watt was snubbed from the Pro Bowl. On a defense that lacked an edge and a consistent producer outside of Baker, Watt was a sight for sore eyes and his production matched his level of play.

There weren't many Cardinals deserving of the Pro Bowl this year, but Watt was absolutely one of them. His snubbing from the list is frustrating to say the least.