Dolphins and the Pro Bowl: The One Who Made It and the One Who Should Have Made It
The Miami Dolphins' remarkable turnaround from rebuilding team to playoff contender didn't get its proper due when it comes to Pro Bowl selections.
Cornerback Xavien Howard was announced Monday night as the team's only selection for the AFC roster despite the Dolphins' 9-5 record and their defense ranking second in the NFL in fewest points allowed.
Howard, who was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second time in three years, was a slam dunk because he leads the NFL in interceptions with nine and actually is among the leading contenders for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Howard joined Sam Madison, Patrick Surtain and Brent Grimes as the only cornerbacks in Dolphins history to be selected to the Pro Bowl more than once.
That Howard was the only Dolphins player selected was a bit disappointing, but maybe not all that surprising given the team's lack of national attention heading into the season.
Keep in mind that because there will not be an actual Pro Bowl game this year, the initial rosters won't be affected by injuries or players being involved in the Super Bowl and there will be no replacements.
We listed earlier the more worthy Dolphins candidates, so let's revisit them and see who got the nod at their position.
DE Emmanuel Ogbah: Ogbah currently is third in the AFC in sacks with nine, trailing only Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Ogbah also has three forced fumbles, including two that directly produced Dolphins touchdowns, and had the memorable 28-yard sack against Joe Flacco of the New York Jets back in October. It's the kind of play that sticks out in the minds of voters. He was beaten out by Garrett, Joey Bosa of the Los Angeles Chargers and Frank Clark of the Kansas City Chiefs. It says here Ogbah deserved the nod over Clark, who was a Pro Bowl selection last year but hasn't been nearly as effective in 2020 and has only five sacks.
Kicker Jason Sanders: This played out as we feared for Sanders. This is what I wrote Monday afternoon: "What's not going to help is having Justin Tucker in the same conference. The stats for both kickers are fairly similar this season, though Sanders is the only regular AFC kicker without a missed extra point this season and he has made eight field goals of 50-plus yards compared to only three for Tucker, but Tucker has made the Pro Bowl four times and made a 55-yard game-winning field goal in the Monday night game four days before players and coaches voted."
Return specialist Jakeem Grant: As with Sanders, we nailed this one. This is what we wrote earlier: "(Grant) only had six opportunities on kickoff returns and that's going to hurt because the Pro Bowl roster features one return specialist and Andre Roberts of the Buffalo Bills leads the AFC with a 29.4-yard kickoff return average and is third in punt returns at 10.4, not that far behind Grant."
Linebacker Kyle Van Noy: What made Van Noy stand out is that he's one of 12 players in the NFL with at least two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, and he's got six sacks to go along with that. He was beaten out at outside linebacker by Watt, Bradley Chubb of the Denver Broncos and Matt Judon of the Baltimore Ravens.
Tight end Mike Gesicki: As we expected, Gesicki simply didn't have the numbers to match up against either Travis Kelce (leads the NFL in receiving yards with 1,318 yards) or Darren Waller (93 catches for 967 yards and eight touchdowns).
Strong safety Eric Rowe: We mentioned that Rowe's modest stats (two interceptions) and lack of name recognition would hurt, plus Tyrann Mathieu seemed a given regardless at strong safety because of his six interceptions.
Linebacker Jerome Baker: This was going to be a long shot even though Baker has been on a tear lately and now finds himself with six sacks, and the inside linebackers selected were Darius Leonard of the Colts and Tremaine Edmunds of the Bills.
Texans tackle Laremy Tunsil and Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who the Dolphins traded in 2019 made the Pro Bowl for a second consecutive year.
The Pro Bowl rosters were selected in a vote of fans, players and coaches.
The Dolphins did not have a Pro Bowl selection in 2019.
