Christopher Hanewinckel/USA Today Sports
A Most Unexpected Pro Bowl Candidate
NASHVILLE – Ola Adeniyi continues to surprise in his first season with the Tennessee Titans.
The latest unexpected development is the 24-year-old’s bid for a Pro Bowl invitation.
With one week remaining, Adeniyi is one of two Titans who lead their respective positions in fan voting for the Pro Bowl. Adeniyi has 59,017 votes as a special teams specialist, which is more than the AFC leaders at punter (Houston’s Cameron Johnston, 58,329) and return specialist (Pittsburgh’s Ray-Ray McCloud, 51,904), among others.
“Man, I ain’t going to lie to you: I’m ecstatic,” Adeniyi said Friday. “I’ve never had that before in my four years playing. It’s my first year being nominated on the ballot, and the fact that I’m on top, that’s love, and I appreciate everybody, and I appreciate all the fans.”
Jeffery Simmons is first among defensive tackles with 110,850 votes. Kevin Byard had been the leader at free safety, but this week that spot belongs to Buffalo’s Micah Hyde.
Fan voting, which continues until next Thursday, accounts for one-third of the selection process. A vote of NFL players also counts for one-third, and a coaches vote accounts for the final one-third. Players and coaches will cast their ballots on Dec. 18, and Pro Bowl rosters will be revealed on Dec. 20.
A win in the fan voting, therefore, does not guarantee one of the 88 spots in the annual all-star game, but recognition of Adeniyi’s performance is notable given that he is not exactly a household name.
Tennessee signed him to a one-year, $1 million deal during the offseason after he spent three seasons in relative anonymity with the Pittsburgh Steelers
The Titans expected he would be a core special teams player, and in that regard, he has not disappointed. Adeniyi appeared in 11 of the first 12 games and has logged 221 special teams snaps, more than all except Nick Dzubnar and Matthias Farley. His nine special teams tackles already are a career-high and tie him with Dzubnar for the team lead.
“He’s just tough,” special teams coach Craig Aukerman said. “He’s just a guy that loves to play physical. He plays with all-out effort and technique. And his finish has been outstanding for us.
“… When we got him from Pittsburgh, he did the same things there.”
What he did not do much for the Steelers was play on defense.
Yet early this season, Adeniyi was a surprise contributor when injuries to others created opportunities to get on the field in more than just kicking and punting situations. He had two and a half sacks in the first three games, which was more than half the Titans’ total of four at that point. He has been on the field for 22 percent of the total defensive snaps this season, and three times has played more than 40 percent of the snaps, including as recently as Week 10 against New Orleans.
He is currently fourth on the team with 18 quarterback pressures and seven in Week 5 against this week’s opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 3 against Indianapolis, he set a career-high with four tackles.
“It’s been a good year for me, so far,” Adeniyi said. “I feel I could do more, contribute more. … Pro Bowl ballot. Now, it’s just time to make the Super Bowl run.”
Pro Bowl fan voting continues until next Thursday at NFL.com/ProBowlVote and on Twitter. To vote on Twitter, fans should include the player’s first and last name, his Twitter handle, or a hashtag of the player’s first and last name with the hashtag #ProBowlVote.
