LAS VEGAS — Two years ago, at the
last Pro Bowl in Orlando, Fla., we used the gathering of the NFL’s best players
for a Pro Bowl Confidential, hitting up players with a
brief, anonymous survey to get their views on some issues.
COVID-19 restrictions and the
logistics of limited interview windows made it a challenge this year, but we
went to Las Vegas to do the same as the Pro Bowl settles into its new home out
west. In all, we talked to 20 players, with a mix of AFC and NFC, offense and
defense and even some special teams standouts.
Rodgers
or Brady for offensive MVP? How about neither?
We asked players to name their
offensive and defensive MVPs for the 2021 season, and though the overall honor
has been publicly debated between Packers
quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Bucs
quarterback Tom Brady, neither won the players’ vote.
Colts
running back Jonathan Taylor, who led the NFL with 1,811
rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, took that honor easily, getting eight votes,
twice as many as any other player before the final ballot was cast. Rodgers
took second with five votes, and Brady took third with three votes, with Bengals
quarterback Joe Burrow next with two votes.
Also receiving a single vote each
were Rams
receiver Cooper Kupp, who won the NFL receiving triple
crown by leading the league in catches (145), yards (1,947) and touchdowns
(16), and the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel, who led the league in yards per
catch as a versatile weapon, finishing with 1,405 receiving yards and 6.2 yards
per carry on the ground.
Runaway
winner: T.J. Watt as defensive MVP
Few questions had as clear a
consensus as defensive MVP, as Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt got 11 votes after
matching the NFL’s single-season sack record with 22 1/2, his second straight
year leading the league. “Not even close,” one Pro Bowler said.
Cowboys
cornerback Trevon Diggs, who led the NFL with 11
interceptions and returned two for touchdowns, and Rams defensive tackle
Aaron Donald were next-closest with two votes
each. Also getting a single vote: Colts linebacker Darius Leonard, Eagles
cornerback Darius Slay and Bengals safety Jessie Bates.
Most
underrated NFL player, offense
We asked this two years ago, and
some of the answers were prescient — Samuel and not-truly-underrated Packers
receiver Davante Adams, who went from five touchdowns the
year we did the survey to 18 the next.
We asked players not to name a
current teammate, just to lessen the chances of them giving a friend a
shout-out. In theory, if you’re getting valid answers, you shouldn’t get any
one player too often, or that guy isn’t really that underrated. Here’s what
they offered up:
Three votes
Hunter Renfrow, WR, Raiders: Renfrow got the most votes. Could it be a gracious nod to
the Raiders as hosts of this year’s Pro Bowl? He did earn Pro Bowl honors this
year, and deservedly so, scoring nine touchdowns in 2021 after totaling six in
his first two NFL seasons. He finished with career bests in catches (103) and
yards (1,038), the catches being the third most in Raiders history.
One vote
Mark Andrews, TE, Ravens: Another breakout year — his first All-Pro selection and
second Pro Bowl after getting 107 catches for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns.
That’s 509 yards better than his previous high — he did have 10 touchdowns in
2019 in his first Pro Bowl season. His 107 catches were fifth in the league and
most among tight ends. Only twice has a tight end had more catches in a season:
Zach Ertz with 116 in 2018 and Jason Witten with
110 in 2012.
Ben Bartch, G, Jaguars:
The second-year lineman from
Division III St. John’s in Minnesota stepped into a starting role in October
and kept the job the rest of the season. The 2020 fourth-round pick, who bulked up from tight end in college, has made a
good case to be Jacksonville’s right guard.
Tyler Boyd, WR, Bengals: He’s taken a back seat to rookie teammate Ja’Marr Chase, but Boyd is playing in the Super
Bowl, with his fourth straight season with at least 800 receiving yards. He had
five touchdowns and added another in the playoff win against the Raiders.
Mike Evans, WR, Bucs: He’s in Las Vegas for his fourth Pro Bowl, having broken
his own Bucs team record with 14 touchdown receptions this season, plus two
more in the playoffs. If he’s underrated, it’s only in the context of not being
mentioned enough in the best-in-the-league conversation, or at least in the
best-not-named-Cooper conversation this season.
Will Hernandez, G, Giants: A four-year starter for New York, the former second-round
pick from UTEP is a free agent who may or may not be back with a new regime
leading the Giants. “I think he’s a way better player than people think,” one
Pro Bowler said in naming him. “I think he’s a pretty solid player.”
Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals: The second-year receiver ramped up his stats from his
rookie year, getting 74 catches for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns. He’s stepped
up in the Bengals’ last two playoff wins, getting seven catches for 96 yards
against the Titans and six for 103 in the win over the Chiefs.
Elgton Jenkins, G, Packers: He missed the final two months of the season with a knee
injury, but the third-year guard has been a mainstay on the Green Bay line with
38 career starts.
Aaron Jones, RB, Packers: His numbers were down this season after he scored 16
touchdowns in 2019 and made the Pro Bowl with another 1,000-yard season in
2020. He nearly went to Las Vegas as a replacement, but the Packers’ three
players selected all withdrew from the game. When a 4.7 yards-per-carry average
represents a down year, you know Jones has set the bar high.
Cordarrelle Patterson, RB, Falcons: Always a dangerous returner, Patterson was used more by the
Falcons on offense than in any of his first eight NFL seasons. He had career
highs in rushing yards (618) and receptions (52), and his 11 touchdowns were
more than he’d totaled on offense in the past six seasons combined.
James Robinson, RB, Jaguars: The second-year back was used less this season under coach
Urban Meyer but still finished with a better yards-per-carry average (4.7
yards) and more touchdowns (eight) than he did in 2020. Not bad for a player
undrafted out of Illinois State. He’ll have to compete with a healthy Travis Etienne in 2022, but he’s been perpetually
underrated since his college days.
Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions: “That dude really impressed me,” one Pro Bowler said. “I
think he’s going to be a way bigger name in years to come. He’s pretty
underrated right now because he’s just a rookie and playing with the Lions.”
The fourth-round pick from USC finished with 90 catches for 912 yards and five
touchdowns, but remember how he finished the season — at least 90 yards in each
of his last four games, with a touchdown in each. Over the final six games, he
ranked fifth in the NFL in receiving yards, tied for third in touchdowns and
catches.