Two second year stand-outs for the Pittsburgh Steelers are on pace to have one of the best seasons in the AFC, but were left off the initial Pro Bowl ballot.
The initial Pro Bowl rosters were announced on Tuesday night, as six Pittsburgh Steelers were voted in to the league’s annual all-star game. Antonio Brown, Cameron Heyward, David DeCastro, James Conner, Alejandro Villanueva and Maurkice Pouncey were all chosen to represent the black and gold. With six selections, the Steelers were tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the second most among NFL teams, as the Los Angeles Chargers led all teams with seven nominees.
With six selections, the Steelers will be greatly represented when the game takes place in Orlando this February. However, some feel as if Camping World Stadium won’t have enough black and gold.
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were left off the inital selections, despite having some of the best statistical seasons in the conference.
The voting process for the Pro Bowl is split into three ways between fans, coaches, and players. Each season, the controversial list tends to leave a handful of players off the roster, and 2018 proved to be no different. Many are upset over the likes of Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffery not being selected for the NFC roster, while the exclusion of Indianapolis Colts rookie linebacker Darius Leonard (who leads the league in tackles and has 7 sacks) can be universally agreed upon as a terrible decision as well.
Yet many in Pittsburgh feel as if Watt and Smith-Schuster were snubbed, as both have shown the numbers and impact to have their names listed among the AFC’s best.
#Steelers LB T.J. Watt (@_TJWatt) is the only #NFL linebacker to have at least:
— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) December 18, 2018
55 Total Tackles (58)
10.0 Sacks (11.0)
10 Tackles for Losses (11)
in 2018.
He also has:
20 quarterback hits
Four forced fumbles
Two passes defensed
One blocked field goal
on the season. pic.twitter.com/f6haKI5PC5
The AFC’s outside linebacking corps include the likes of Von Miller, Jadeveon Clowney and Dee Ford. Through 15 weeks of NFL action, Watt has more combined tackles (58) than all three, while only trailing in sacks to Miller by 3.5, and Ford by a mere half of a sack (Watt leads Clowney by three). While Miller is an obvious vote year in and year out, Watt has more passes defended than either Clowney/Ford, and only Ford has more forced fumbles (6) than Watt has in 2018 with 4.
Flipping sides of the ball, Smith-Schuster was left out in favor of Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Tyreek Hill, and Keenan Allen. Steelers fans got a first hand look at the damage Allen can do (14 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD vs Pittsburgh), yet Allen’s vote was likely due to his second half surge of catching a touchdown in five straight games while also hitting 6 or more receptions in all but one of those games from week nine to fourteen.
However, Smith-Schuster’s 2018 résumé shines brighter than Allen’s. Smith-Schuster’s stat-line of 95 receptions and 1,274 receiving yards best those of Allen’s (7 receptions, 200 more yards) while scoring the same amount of touchdowns with 6 on the season for each. The difference? Smith-Schuster shares a receiving corps with arguably the best receiver in the game today.
In all likelihood, both players could easily have the opportunity to play in Orlando due to a hefty percentage of players refusing to play for various reasons, as mentioned in the beginning. With the game having zero value or effect for the players or teams, voting results should be taken with a grain of salt.
Yet if all goes to plan for Pittsburgh, the Steelers would be gearing up to play in the Super Bowl, making all players on their roster ineligible to play in the game as it takes place a week before the big game.