Pro Bowl 2018: AFC and NFC Starters, Full Rosters and Predictions

The NFL's best alternatives will showcase their abilities in the Pro Bowl on Sunday.

As of Tuesday evening, the NFL had replaced 35 of the original selections. No DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones, A.J. Green or Travis Kelce. No Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack or Joey Bosa, either.

And, of course, none of the 10 players picked to represent the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will make the trip: They have a more important game on the horizon.

Courtesy of CBS Sports' John Breech, let's take a look at the updated participants for Sunday's game in Orlando.

Note: Players with an (I) next to their name will not play. Players with an (R) are replacements. Players with * were voted in as starters.  

AFC Roster

Offense 

QB Tom Brady, New England (I)*

QB Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers (I)

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh 

QB Alex Smith, Kansas City (R)

QB Derek Carr, Oakland (R)

RB Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh*

RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City

RB LeSean McCoy, Buffalo

FB James Develin, New England (I)*

FB Roosevelt Nix, Pittsburgh (R)

WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh*

WR DeAndre Hopkins, Houston (I)

WR A.J. Green, Cincinnati (I)

WR Jarvis Landry, Miami (R)

WR T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis (R)

WR Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers 

TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City (I)*

TE Rob Gronkowski, New England (I)

TE Delanie Walker, Tennessee (R)

TE Jack Doyle, Indianapolis (R)

OT Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh*

OT Taylor Lewan, Tennessee*

OT Donald Penn, Oakland (I)

OT Russell Okung, Los Angeles Chargers (R)

G Kelechi Osemele, Oakland*

G David DeCastro, Pittsburgh*

G Richie Incognito, Buffalo

C Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh* 

C Rodney Hudson, Oakland

Defense 

DE Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers (I)*

DE Calais Campbell, Jacksonville (I)*

DE Khalil Mack, Oakland (I)

DE Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles Chargers (R)

DE Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville (R)

DE Cameron Hayward, Pittsburgh (R)

DT Geno Atkins, Cincinnati*

DT Jurrell Casey, Tennessee*

DT Malik Jackson, Jacksonville

OLB Von Miller, Denver*

OLB Jadeveon Clowney, Texans (I)*

OLB Terrell Suggs, Baltimore

OLB Telvin Smith, Jacksonville (R)

ILB C.J. Mosley, Baltimore*

ILB Ryan Shazier, Pittsburgh (I)

LB Joe Schobert, Cleveland (R)

CB A.J. Bouye, Jacksonville*

CB Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville*

CB Aqib Talib, Denver

CB Casey Heyward, Los Angeles Chargers

FS Eric Weddle, Baltimore*

SS Reshad Jones, Miami*

SS Micah Hyde, Buffalo (I)

SS Kevin Byard, Tennessee (R)

Special Teams 

K Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh*

P Brett Kern, Tennessee*

Returner: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City*

Special Teamer: Matthew Slater, New England (I)*

Special Teamer: Brynden Trawick, Tennessee (R)

NFC Roster

Offense 

QB Carson Wentz, Philadelphia (I)*

QB Russell Wilson, Seattle

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans

QB Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams (R)

RB Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans

RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans

FB Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco 

WR Adam Thielen, Minnesota*

WR Julio Jones, Atlanta (I)*

WR Michael Thomas, New Orleans

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona (I)

WR Davante Adams, Green Bay (R)

WR Doug Baldwin, Seattle (R)

TE Zach Ertz, Philadelphia (I)*

TE Jimmy Graham, Seattle (I)

TE Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota (R)

TE Jason Witten, Dallas (R)

OT Tyron Smith, Dallas (I)*

OT Trent Williams, Washington (I)*

OT Lane Johnson, Philadelphia (I)

OT Joe Staley, San Francisco (R) 

OT Andrew Whitworth, Los Angeles Rams (R)

OT Duane Brown, Seattle (R)

G Zack Martin, Dallas (I)*

G Brandon Brooks, Philadelphia (I)*

G Brandon Scherff, Washington (I)

G Trai Turner, Carolina (R)

G T.J. Lang, Detroit (R)

G Larry Warford, New Orleans (R)

C Alex Mack, Atlanta*

C Travis Frederick, Dallas

Defense 

DE Everson Griffen, Minnesota (I)*

DE Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas*

DE Cameron Jordan, New Orleans

DE Michael Bennett, Seattle (R)

DT Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams (I)*

DT Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia (I)*

DT Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay

DT Mike Daniels, Green Bay (R)

DT Linval Joseph, Minnesota (R)

OLB Chandler Jones, Arizona*

OLB Ryan Kerrigan, Washington*

OLB Anthony Barr, Minnesota (I)

OLB Thomas Davis, Carolina (R)

ILB Luke Kuechly, Carolina (I)*

ILB Bobby Wagner, Seattle (I)

ILB Deion Jones, Atlanta (R)

ILB Kwon Alexander, Tampa Bay (R)

CB Xavier Rhodes, Minnesota*

CB Patrick Peterson, Arizona*

CB Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans

CB Darius Slay, Detroit

FS Earl Thomas, Seattle*

SS Landon Collins, New York Giants (I)*

SS Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia (I)

SS Harrison Smith, Minnesota (R)

SS Keanu Neal, Atlanta (R)

Special Teams 

K Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams (I)*

K Graham Gano, Carolina (R)

P Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams*

Returner: Pharoh Cooper, Los Angeles Rams*

Special Teamer: Budda Baker, Arizona*

Everyone's a Pro Bowler

Harry How/Getty Images

Derek Carr's season could not have gone much worse.

Following a breakout 2016, the 26-year-old averaged 233.1 passing yards per game with 22 touchdowns and 17 turnovers for the 6-10 Oakland Raiders. His 86.4 quarterback rating narrowly trailed Andy Dalton for No. 19 among qualified passers.

Welcome to the Pro Bowl.

Look around the rest of the AFC, and no deserving candidates remain uninvited. Alex Smith already replaced Philip Rivers, leaving Carr, Dalton, Joe Flacco, Blake Bortles and Tyrod Taylor as the top alternatives.

Taylor was benched earlier this season, and Bortles is Bortles. Yet it's somewhat surprising neither received the nod because the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars snapped lengthy playoff droughts.

On the NFC side, Jason Witten will notch his 11th Pro Bowl appearance despite tallying his fewest receptions (63) and receiving yards (560) since his rookie campaign in 2003. He finished five games with one catch for single-digit yards.

Per CBS 11 Sports' Bill Jones, the 35-year-old matched a franchise record after getting tabbed as a replacement for the Super Bowl-bound Zach Ertz:

Per ESPN.com's Todd Archer, Witten expressed his excitement to lead his younger peers by example:

"I consider it a privilege to play alongside the best of the best in our league and look forward to getting to Orlando. I enjoy being around the young stars of the game. I learned a lot in my early years by observing some older veterans in not just how they practiced but in how they conducted themselves off the field. Hopefully, I will be able to give back some of what I have experienced."

A curious non-inclusion, Evan Engram snagged 64 catches for 722 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie campaign. However, the neophyte also failed to secure 51 targets while assuming far less blocking duties than the Dallas Cowboys' veteran.

As demonstrated in these two cases, prior success and availability are often the main prerequisites to snagging a Pro Bowl spot.

Prediction

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Despite last year's lowest-scoring Pro Bowl since 1996, plenty of points will be compiled in Orlando. Little defense will be played. Fans fearing football withdrawal will complain about the exhibition's lackadaisical quality despite watching anyway.

Excluding the three-year excursion to NFL legends drafting teams, the AFC and NFC have traded victories in the last six contests. 

While the AFC boasts Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, the NFC wields a distinct quarterback advantage with Drew Brees and Russell Wilson under center. Both passers will see a familiar face downfield, as Michael Thomas and Doug Baldwin have also earned an invite.

Wilson will especially relish playing behind a strong offensive line for a change. After leading the Seattle Seahawks in rushing, he now has Todd Gurley and Alvin Kamara at his disposal. Both versatile running backs should wreak havoc from the backfield as pass-catchers.

Take out New England, and the AFC went 106-134 during the season. The talent hierarchy has shifted to the NFC, so look for its stars to win a sloppy shootout.

Prediction:  NFC 35, AFC 31