NFL Pro Bowl Draft 2014: Expectations for Team Jerry Rice vs. Team Deion Sanders

Now that we know the identities of the players who will partake in the 2014 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 26, we can now begin to better understand how Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders will pick their teams.

That's right, two NFL legends will pick teams in the first-ever Pro Bowl fantasy draft. The event will air at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. Both Rice and Sanders will have help from two captains and an NFL.com fantasy champion.

Anything can and surely will happen in the inaugural event.

Here is a look at the entire list of draft-eligible players, followed by what to expect from Rice and Sanders in the upcoming draft.

Pos.	Player	Team
QB	Tom Brady	New England Patriots
QB	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints
QB	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos
QB	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers
QB	Philip Rivers	San Diego Chargers
QB	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks
WR	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
WR	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys
WR	Josh Gordon	Cleveland Browns
WR	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals
WR	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans
WR	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions
WR	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears
WR	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos
OT	Branden Albert	Kansas City Chiefs
OT	Jason Peters	Philadelphia Eagles
OT	Tyron Smith	Dallas Cowboys
OT	Joe Staley	San Francisco 49ers
OT	Joe Thomas	Cleveland Browns
OT	Trent Williams	Washington Redskins
OG	Jahri Evans	New Orleans Saints
OG	Ben Grubbs	New Orleans Saints
OG	Mike Iupati	San Francisco 49ers
OG	Logan Mankins	New England Patriots
OG	Louis Vasquez	Denver Broncos
OG	Marshal Yanda	Baltimore Ravens
C	Ryan Kalil	Carolina Panthers
C	Alex Mack	Cleveland Browns
C	Mike Pouncey	Miami Dolphins
C	Max Unger	Seattle Seahawks
TE	Jordan Cameron	Cleveland Browns
TE	Vernon Davis	San Francisco 49ers
TE	Jimmy Graham	New Orleans Saints
TE	Julius Thomas	Denver Broncos
RB	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs
RB	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears
RB	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers
RB	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks
RB	LeSean McCoy	Philadelphia Eagles
RB	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings
FB	Marcel Reece	Oakland Raiders
FB	Mike Tolbert	Carolina Panthers

Pos.	Player	Team
DE	Greg Hardy	Carolina Panthers
DE	Cameron Jordan	New Orleans Saints
DE	Robert Quinn	St. Louis Rams
DE	Cameron Wake	Miami Dolphins
DE	J.J. Watt	Houston Texans
DE	Mario Williams	Buffalo Bills
DT	Gerald McCoy	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
DT	Haloti Ngata	Baltimore Ravens
DT	Dontari Poe	Kansas City Chiefs
DT	Justin Smith	San Francisco 49ers
DT	Ndamukong Suh	Detroit Lions
DT	Kyle Williams	Buffalo Bills
OLB	John Abraham	Arizona Cardinals
OLB	Ahmad Brooks	San Francisco 49ers
OLB	Tamba Hali	Kansas City Chiefs
OLB	Justin Houston	Kansas City Chiefs
OLB	Robert Mathis	Indianapolis Colts
OLB	Terrell Suggs	Baltimore Ravens
MLB	NaVorro Bowman	San Francisco 49ers
MLB	Vontaze Burfict	Cincinnati Bengals
MLB	Luke Kuechly	Carolina Panthers
MLB	Patrick Willis	San Francisco 49ers
CB	Brandon Flowers	Kansas City Chiefs
CB	Brent Grimes	Miami Dolphins
CB	Joe Haden	Cleveland Browns
CB	Patrick Peterson	Arizona Cardinals
CB	Darrelle Revis	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
CB	Richard Sherman	Seattle Seahawks
CB	Aqib Talib	New England Patriots
CB	Alterraun Verner	Tennessee Titans
FS	Jairus Byrd	Buffalo Bills
FS	Earl Thomas	Seattle Seahawks
FS	Eric Weddle	San Diego Chargers
SS	Eric Berry	Kansas City Chiefs
SS	Kam Chancellor	Seattle Seahawks
SS	Troy Polamalu	Pittsburgh Steelers

Pos.	Player	Team
P	Brandon Fields	Miami Dolphins
P	Johnny Hekker	St. Louis Rams
K	Matt Prater	Denver Broncos
K	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens
PR	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
PR	Dexter McCluster	Kansas City Chiefs
ST	Justin Bethel	Arizona Cardinals
ST	Matthew Slater	New England Patriots

Team Rice

Fans have to know where Rice is headed with his team from the get-go—offense, offense and more offense.

Rice does not lack for options. At quarterback, he can either pick from savvy veterans like Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos, or he can roll with young blood like Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks.

But where is Rice most likely to turn for help early? Wide receivers, of course. As Rice was in his day, several names pop up as stars who will make any player under center better as ESPN illustrates:

Rice can go with Megatron (1,492 yards, 12 touchdowns) from the Detroit Lions, but his options far from end there. If he wants to stick with reliable veterans, Rice can grab up Andre Johnson (1,358 yards and five scores), who helped to make Chase Keenum look like a star at times in 2013 for the Houston Texans. The Chicago Bears' Brandon Marshall (1,221 yards, 11 scores) is an option too after he survived a quarterback carousel.

But the young blood is once again where Rice should look. Josh Gordon of the Cleveland Browns broke records this year en route to 1,564 yards and nine scores, including two straight games with more than 230 yards—all while missing the first two games of the season.

As Dan Murphy, Cleveland's Communications Coordinator, points out, Gordon was the best deep threat in the NFL:

Gordon, along with corner Joe Haden, were thrilled with their nominations as the NFL Network Twitter captured:

But Rice knows his defense, too. He had great praise for J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans and Robert Quinn of the St. Louis Rams, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner:

Expect Rice's team to be a fantasy guru's dream. The Pro Bowl is known for sexy offense and little defense, and Rice is sure to assemble a squad that will put up historic numbers.

Team Sanders

But do not sleep on Primetime's team, because Sanders has plenty of defensive options to work with to counter what will be an explosive Team Rice.

Let's go ahead and jump into top cornerbacks, because we know that is where Sanders will look for the most help.

First up, the New England Patriots' Aqib Talib, who has made a habit of shutting down the best of the best this year, and even cashed in thanks to his selection, per ESPN's Adam Schefter:

While other big names such as Haden and Patrick Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals are great options, expect Sanders to also give the nod to another young gun about to take the league by storm—Alterraun Verner of the Tennessee Titans.

Verner ranks as the No. 11 corner in the NFL this year according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He is already thrilled about his big opportunity as the team's Twitter illustrates:

But Sanders, who is more than familiar with defenses, will surely know how to draft in the trenches, too. He already (while cracking a joke at his age) has his eye on Robert Mathis (53 tackles, 17.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles) from the Indianapolis Colts, as the 11-year pro revealed on Twitter:

If Rice's team is stacked to the brim with offensive studs, Sanders' squad will come with a lineup sure to make the Ryan family tree blush.

Just imagining the possibilities has to excite fans. Not a bad way to make the Pro Bowl entertaining again, right?

Note: All draft info and official rosters courtesy of NFL.com.