Pro Bowl Teams 2015: Day 1 Roster Results and Day 2 Predictions
Tuesday saw Hall of Fame wideouts Cris Carter and Michael Irvin select their initial squads for the 2015 NFL Pro Bowl, a light bit of roster-building in anticipation of Wednesday, which sees the majority of the rosters fleshed out for the league's annual showcase of talent.
In the Pro Bowl's eternal quest for relevancy, a fantasy draft was instituted in 2014 and will continue for the foreseeable future, shaking up the format of the game from its traditional AFC-NFC showdown format. Now, it's Team Carter vs. Team Irvin, and already the trash talk is flowing.
"We just did the coin flip and of course, like the rest of the week, I won," Irvin said, via Fox Sports Arizona's Kevin Zimmerman. "I will win the rest of the week. Now here comes Cris, who came in second."
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It's a schoolyard, playground-style format that lends an air of camp and levity to the game. Suffice to say, whomever gets picked last here isn't necessarily going to get his lunch money stolen at any point during the trip to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday.
It should be noted that Team Irvin has Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray and Cleveland Browns corner Joe Haden serving as captains, while Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown fill the same roles for Team Carter.
Here's a look at the Day 1 roster results, followed by a few predictions for Day 2 of the draft.
| DT | Marcell Dareus (BUF), Kyle Williams (BUF) and Dontari Poe (KC) | Aaron Donald (STL), Sheldon Richardson (NYJ) and Geno Atkins (CIN) |
| G | Mike Pouncey (MIA), Josh Sitton (GB) and Evan Mathis (PHI) | Zack Martin (DAL), Marshal Yanda (BAL) and Kyle Long (CHI) |
| C | Maurkice Pouncey (PIT) and Jason Kelce (PHI) | Travis Frederick (DAL) and Nick Mangold (NYJ) |
| FB | John Kuhn (GB) | Marcel Reece (OAK) |
| P | Pat McAfee (IND) | Kevin Huber (CIN) |
| K | Cody Parkey (PHI) | Adam Vinatieri (IND) |
| ST | Justin Bethel (ARI) | Darrell Stuckey (SD) |
| Returner | Devin Hester (ATL) | Darren Sproles (PHI) |
Day 2 Predictions
It appears Irvin may be a bit of a homer. The former Cowboys star opted for Murray—Dallas' current leading man, although perhaps not for long—and Haden as team captains when he could have had the first pick in the pre-selection draft.
If this was indeed a case of blue-star bias, don't be surprised if Irvin targets Tony Romo (34 touchdowns, nine interceptions) in the fantasy draft. Romo had as good a season as any of the quarterbacks still available for selection, although he may not be the first selected.
That honor will likely go to Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck, who threw for a staggering 4,761 yards and 40 touchdowns against 16 interceptions.
He was incredibly prolific in an offense that had very little in the way of balance—the Colts ranked 22nd in the league in rushing—and his youth relative to most of the other available quarterbacks makes him an appealing choice in this contest. Considering the fact the NFL is undoubtedly a quarterback's league, look for Luck and Romo to go one-two in Wednesday's draft.
There's no blitzing in the Pro Bowl, and while some might think that devalues pass-rushers a bit, NFL.com's Elliot Harrison sees it as a good reason to take Kansas City Chiefs sack master Justin Houston early on Wednesday:
"This is such an easy choice. There is no blitzing allowed in the Pro Bowl. Cite player safety or blame it on the complexity of blitz schemes -- and the inherent impossibility of trying to cohesively block blitzes with a bunch of guys who've never played together before. If you can't blitz, why not take this season's best pass rusher in terms of sacking the quarterback?
"
Look for Team Irvin to target the Chiefs star, who amassed 22 sacks this season, in the name of fan service. A Houston-Watt pairing is tantalizing enough alone to justify the Pro Bowl's existence.
If Houston is the first outside linebacker to go, he should be closely followed by Philadelphia Eagles maven of mayhem Connor Barwin (64 tackles, 14.5 sacks in 2014). Players with a high motor should be plenty valuable in a one-off game, and at 28 years old, Barwin is in his prime and plays the game with a reckless abandon.
And since there is no blitzing allowed, look for both teams to work the deep passing routes in this one as a means of putting up points. If there is more time than usual for the signal-callers to stand and deliver, going over the top of the defense might be the best way to score in this watered-down version of the game.
This puts defensive backs at a premium in this contest. The Denver Broncos' Chris Harris is arguably the best cover corner in the game and could go very early in this fantasy draft. Whomever snags him would be wise to pair him with Broncos safety T.J. Ward to ensure familiarity at what could be a crucial spot.
Communication is essential in the secondary, especially if the players are unfamiliar with each other. Keeping teammates (or at the very least, players accustomed to one another) together whenever possible seems like a solid game plan for this exhibition, and that appears to be Carter's strategy.
Team Carter snagged a pair of Buffalo defensive tackles in Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams and reunited the Pouncey brothers, who were teammates in college at Florida but have since been separated in the NFL.
Carter could very well opt for the Broncos duo, or perhaps draft Arizona Cardinals cornerbacks Antonio Cromartie and Patrick Peterson—although they will likely be stationed on opposite sides of the field and won't be playing off each other very much, if it all. There's also the possibility of a Bills troika on the defensive line if he can snag Mario Williams.
If Irvin wants to follow suit, he very well might target Cleveland Browns safety Donte Whitner to go with Haden, one of his team captains. The Colts' Vontae Davis and Mike Adams form another strong secondary duo for Irvin and Carter to target.
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham should be the first to go in his position group, as will Carolina Panthers inside linebacker Luke Kuechly. The Pro Bowl pool is a deep group, but these two stand out as the most obviously talented at their respective positions.
Kuechly is the reigning AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and Graham is the best athlete in his group, although it should be noted that Greg Olsen and Martellus Bennett put up comparable numbers to Graham this season.
| Martellus Bennett | Chicago Bears | 16 | 90 | 129 | 916 | 6 |
| Jimmy Graham | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 85 | 124 | 889 | 10 |
| Greg Olsen | Carolina Panthers | 16 | 84 | 122 | 1,008 | 6 |
| Jason Witten | Dallas Cowboys | 16 | 64 | 90 | 703 | 5 |
As for the first rookie to go on Wednesday, that honor will likely go to New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who shattered the common wisdom that wideouts as a position group are slower to develop upon entering the NFL by racking up 91 catches for 1,305 yards, 12 touchdowns—in 12 games. Also, if any player is going to make a highlight-reel play to win the game, it's Beckham (for obvious reasons).
No matter how the fantasy draft shakes out, both teams will be replete with talent. Last year, this format delivered fans a tight, entertaining contest, with Team Jerry Rice defeating Team Deion Sanders 22-21.
Dream matchups and pairings have always been a big part of the Pro Bowl's appeal (or any All-Star exhibition, really), but the draft format at least injects some strategy into the contest, which is better than having the rosters set in stone due to conference alignments.
Note: A list of available players for Wednesday's draft can be found at NFL.com.
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