In the most predictable moment of the NFL season, everyone isn’t happy with the Pro Bowl voting results. In a similarly predictable moment given how our own Pro Bowl voting process went, the SumerSports group chat was a dangerous place to be when the rosters were announced. There were less daggers thrown than during our attempt at a free and fair election, and we were able to get our list of snubs together without anyone leaving the group chat.
A.J. Brown
A.J. Brown missed out on a Pro Bowl selection for just the second time in his illustrious career. While he did post the lowest total receiving yards since he’s been in an Eagles jersey, this was primarily due to being injured for several games. In the 13 games that Brown was on the field, he was electric. Brown was the main focal point of the Eagles passing game, racking up a target share of 36.6% which was second highest in the league. Brown was 7th in expected points added by wide receivers despite having between two-thirds and three-quarters of the routes run as other league leaders. In addition, he was second in yards per route run amongst wide receivers with over 100 routes run.
Even in more advanced analytics, Brown dominated. He was 2nd in SumerSports’ all-in-one receiving metric. This performance was fueled by being second in 4th in route-running and 2nd in production after the catch in the NFC. The only NFC wideouts to be in the Top 10 of both metrics were Brown and CeeDee Lamb – who made the Pro Bowl roster.
Puka Nacua
The NFC has some really good receivers, but there’s no way Puka Nacua- with SumerSports’ highest receiving AI grade in the league- shouldn’t be on this list. (Unless voters take the “best ability is availability” line REAL seriously.) The only knock against Nacua is that he only played in 11 games. But what he did in those 11 games more than warrants his inclusion.
In addition to providing the playoff-bound Rams with the kind of versatile route runner that makes their offense tick, the sheer number of yards he’s contributed have to be recognized. His 90 yards per game are 3rd only to Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. His yards per route run number is the league’s highest… by a lot. Sumer has him at 4.07 YPRR on the year so far, which would be the highest such number since Sumer started tracking the stat in 2022. His yards after the catch per game is the 2nd best in the league; receptions per game is 3rd; target share (39%) is #1. In just 2 seasons, Puka Nacua has catapulted himself into the elite wide receiver tier with his versatility and production and deserves to be recognized as such with a Pro Bowl roster spot.
Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams last made the Pro Bowl almost a decade ago. Since then, he has been traded twice and seen a regime change in Seattle. That regime change led to his most outstanding season in years. Alongside his new head coach and defensive guru, Mike MacDonald, Leonard Williams was amongst the best all-around defensive tackle in the league this year. He ranked 3rd in the NFC by SumerSports’ all-in-one pass rushing metric and 2nd in run defending. Most critically, Williams was the only interior defensive lineman in the NFC to rank in the top 10 of the entire NFL in both. When considering he also led the league in sacks for interior defensive linemen, he deserved to be on this Pro Bowl roster.
Kerby Joseph
The Detroit Lions defense rose from 19th in the league in expected points added per play last year to 4th in 2024. Even when the wheels have come off in recent weeks due to a titanic number of injuries, Kerby Joseph has held down the fort and remained productive. Joseph leads the league in interceptions and is also 15th in pass deflections, but it is not just all counting stats with Joseph. Joseph is 8th amongst all safeties in SumerSports’ coverage all-in-one metric and is in the 82nd percentile in our run defense metric.
Garett Bolles
Garett Bolles has been the blind side blocker for a Broncos team which is on the precipice of making the playoffs despite having a low opening win total going into the season. He has simply been dominant in everything he does. Bolles is 6th in SumerSports’ pass blocking all-in-one metric and 5th in run blocking. He is one of two AFC players who rank in the Top 10 of both, the other being Laremy Tunsil – who made the Pro Bowl roster.
Quinnen Williams
Quinnen Williams’ 2024 season has been one of the best of his young career and his non-selection seems to be based on the overall lack of team success and voters overindexing on sack numbers. As a defensive tackle, Williams generated 6 sacks yet again and has generated 5.5 sacks or more every year since 2020. According to SumerSports’ internal Pass Rush Finishing metric, he ranks 4th in the league in 2024 ranking as 98th percentile. According to our game level production metrics, his game against Houston on Halloween was one of the best defensive tackle games of the year.
