Not even Xavien Howard can believe he made the Pro Bowl

The Pro Bowl rosters for a game that doesn’t exist came out last night which means the annual Pro Bowl snub freak out that takes place every December by fans began.

Usually, the Miami Dolphins get about one player to make the first version of Pro Bowl rosters. And that player who it usually is for the Dolphins is Xavien Howard. This year, the Dolphins had a bunch of players that were actually deserving of making the Pro Bowl but only three Miami players made it.

As you can imagine, many feel the Dolphins were shafted a bit by not having more players make it.

Tua Tagovailoa, the guy who had the most fan votes is the most talked about snub for the Dolphins. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Joe Burrow made it over him. That means that the other 2/3rds of the votes that come from the players and coaches thought those guys had done better. Can’t say I’m that shocked that the rest of the league thinks what Tua is doing is more a product of Mike McDaniel and Tyreek Hill.

Jaylen Waddle not getting in and Ja’Marr Chase getting in is a curious choice as well.

Chase missed a few games and still has more catches and TDs than Waddle. I’m not saying he should have gotten in over Waddle because I think Waddle should have. But, I can see why Chase got in over him.

The biggest snub of a Dolphin player is Christian Wilkins. That guy is not just playing at a Pro Bowl level, but he’s playing at an All-Pro level. Every week, Wilkins is bringing his A game and is easily one of the best players on the field no matter who else is on it.

But the thing about the Pro Bowl, and I’m not breaking any ground here, is that the Pro Bowl voting that gets done by the players and coaches is largely based on name recognition. Essentially, it’s largely a popularity contest equal to voting for class president.

This leads me to the biggest surprise of the Pro Bowl rosters which is Xavien Howard making the first team. Xavien Howard is having one of the most pedestrian seasons of his career and he got voted in. He only has one INT and has been nowhere near playing at the level and standard that he has set for himself. Do you know who else thinks this? Xavien Howard.

I agree with Xavien Howard, his play has only been okay. But he’s made the Pro Bowl the past few seasons and has developed a reputation for being a shut-down corner, which he usually is. This year, he hasn’t been that and it’s been obvious to anyone that has watched the games.

Should Howard feel at all bad for making it? Absolutely not. These guys get bonuses for making it so if you’re peers vote you in, you go ahead and collect that money.

The Pro Bowl is going to Pro Bowl meaning this won’t be the last time guys get in based solely on what they’ve done in the past. It’s probably best for us the fans not to get too wrapped up in it but hey you do you. If you want to go online and vent your frustration that your favorite player was screwed over, go right ahead.

Like Tua said when asked yesterday what it would mean to make the Pro Bowl;

This is the right attitude to take. Hopefully, guys like Tua, Waddle, Wilkins, and Alec Ingold use this as fuel to finish out the season laser-focused. Let everyone know of the error of their ways.

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