Jordan Love Leads List of Packers Pro Bowl Snubs
GREEN BAY, Wis
On Wednesday night, the NFL announced their top vote getters for Pro Bowl teams on the NFL Network.
Despite the Green Bay Packers working their way back into playoff contention, none of their players made the team from the NFC side.
Some players were closer than others to making the team, but the biggest snub was at the biggest position in the sport.
Yes, Jordan Love deserved to be in the conversation as a Pro Bowler.
The honors at quarterback in the NFC went to San Francisco 49ers' signal caller, Brock Purdy as the top vote getter. He'll be joined by Dallas' Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Rams signal caller, Matthew Stafford.
Purdy's had a solid year with a loaded team around him. He's thrown 31 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions with the mastery of Kyle Shanahan to support him.
Purdy led the 49ers to the top seed in the NFC.
Despite those advantages, Purdy has the same number of interceptions as Love with only one more touchdown pass.
Love has accomplished what he has this season while trying to bring along a historically young receiving corps. In addition, all of his top weapons have missed time with injuries.
Love's performance down the stretch has the Packers on the brink of a postseason berth. Perhaps he'll still get in this year after opt outs due to injuries and the Super Bowl participants. For now, he leads off our list of snubs.
Zach Tom
If not for Jordan Love's ascension, Zach Tom could be considered the MVP of the Packers' roster. In a year of turmoil on the offensive line, Tom has been as steady as they come.
Tom has started every game at right tackle after winning that competition over Yosh Njiman earlier in the season and has more than held his own.
In Sunday night's showdown against Danielle Hunter, Tom only allowed one pressure, which did not result in a sack.
According to PFF, he has only allowed two sacks this season, and 33 pressures.
Packers right tackle Zach Tom
Photo by Mark Hoffman/USA Today Sports Images
His 33 pressures that he has allowed put him in the same realm as Philadelphia's Lane Johnson, widely considered one of the best right tackles in football. Johnson did make the team along with Detroit's Penei Sewell and San Francisco 49ers' stalwart Trent Williams.
Tom has been Green Bay's best run blocker this season as well.
Keisean Nixon
Keisean Nixon took the Packers and the rest of football by storm last season as a kick returner.
He finished as a First Team All-Pro last year, highlighted by a 105-yard touchdown return against the Minnesota Vikings.
This season has not been as impactful for Nixon as a returner due to a litany of reasons.
Returning kickoffs is more difficult than ever with the new rules designed to limit the play.
Combine that with unseasonably warm temperatures in Green Bay, and a December schedule that had back-to-back warm-weather games, Nixon found opportunities fewer and further between.
Despite that, Nixon is still averaging 26.2 yards per return, which is only 2.6 yards fewer than what he had last year in his All-Pro season.
It's also nearly two full yards higher than Braxton Berrios, who got the nod as the top vote-getter.
He was selected as a first alternate.
Rashan Gary
Rashan Gary has been a little quieter in terms of sack production as of late, but he has still been disruptive.
Gary has nine sacks on the season, which is 0.5 off from his career high. That's despite being on a snap count for most of the year for reasons both strategic and injury-related.
With limited opportunity, Gary still ranks 19th in PFF's pass-rush productivity and 21st in total pressures.
Gary's teammates have started to pick things up as of late, namely Preston Smith and Kenny Clark.
Prior to that, Gary was largely an army of one when it came to rushing the passer, which led to significantly more attention being paid to him.
Perhaps the late-season surge from Smith and company could help the Packers' best defensive player find his way back to the stat sheet.
Gary was selected was elected as a first alternate at outside linebacker. This would be his first Pro Bowl honor, should he end up being selected.
Kenny Clark
After all this time in the NFL, Kenny Clark still remains underrated.
Clark did not make the Pro Bowl this year and might be having one of the strongest seasons of his career.
Clark's 6.5 sacks are a career-high, and he's been done so playing with an inconsistent group around him.
Clark is 8th in the NFL in terms of defensive linemen in pressures according to PFF.
He has 56 total pressures, putting him above Miami's Christian Wilkins and San Francisco's Arik Armstead, both of whom made the team.
Clark was selected as a first alternate.
In addition to Clark, Gary, and Nixon, Jaire Alexander and Elgton Jenkins were selected as alternates.
