Now that we are about halfway through the regular season, it is time to start considering which players are deserving of the Pro Bowl. For this series, we will look at the three most deserving candidates for each team. Obviously, some teams will have more or less than three players selected to the Pro Bowl, but for simplicity purposes, we will discuss the top three either way.
The Buffalo Bills are the next team on our radar. It might be a stretch at this point to find three players worthy of Pro Bowl consideration on this team. A season that started out with so much promise has suddenly turned south a bit, with the Bills sitting at 3-4. The defensive front, which was expected to be among the most feared in the league, has certainly not lived up to that billing.
That said, there are a few players who might deserve a look when it comes time to select the Pro Bowl representatives out of the AFC.
Let’s take a look.
Top Midseason Pro Bowl Candidates: Buffalo Bills
Ronald Darby
Darby was the Bills first selection of the 2015 NFL Draft, and suffice it to say he hasn’t disappointed in his rookie season. The second-round pick out of Florida State has been one of the few bright spots on a defense that has underachieved thus far given the expectations. Already, he has proven himself to be one of the more prolific shutdown corners in the league.
Given his relative inexperience, opposing quarterbacks haven’t shied away from throwing the ball in his direction. He’s received the fifth most targets (58) of any cornerback in the league, yet he ranks sixth at his position in percentage of completed passes (48.3 percent) allowed in his coverage. He’s also third in pass breakups with eight, and has also tallied two interceptions while not allowing a single touchdown reception to this point.
Needless to say, Darby will almost certainly be in the discussion for Defensive Rookie of the Year as well as potentially receiving an invite to Honolulu. Of these three, Darby is probably the most likely Pro Bowler.
Stephon Gilmore
Darby’s partner in crime on the opposite end of the secondary is also turning in an impressive 2015 campaign. Gilmore is in his fourth year with the Bills after having been drafted tenth overall back in 2012. This season is shaping up to be the best one yet for the former South Carolina Gamecock.
Perhaps the biggest improvement out of Gilmore has been in breaking up passes. He currently has 12 of them in 2015. To put that in perspective, he had just six in his 14 appearances for the Bills last year. He’s certainly on pace to exceed his career high of 16 set in his rookie season.
Like Darby, Gilmore has been targeted frequently by quarterbacks, with 60 passes having come into his coverage this season which is third-highest in the league. He has had a tendency for allowing those to become big plays, having given up four touchdowns which is tied for seventh-most among cornerbacks. It’s that particular statistic which might end up making it difficult for him to earn his first-ever Pro Bowl selection.
Richie Incognito
Buffalo’s signing of Incognito was certainly one of the more eyebrow-raising moves of 2015 free agency. There were obviously questions about his character and impact within the locker room after the bullying scandal that he was at the center of in Miami during the 2013 season. It led to him going the entirety of 2014 unsigned by any NFL team.
He’s turned out to be a model citizen in his return to Buffalo (having played there in 2009) and has actually given the team fairly solid offensive line play. Incognito is one of only eight guards in the entire league to have yet to concede a sack during pass protection, and has only been penalized twice all season. For a team that has given up a league worst 72 penalties for 670 yards (also worst in the league), his relatively mistake-free play has to be commended.
Incognito has made the Pro Bowl once in his ten-year career, having done so during the 2012 season, his third with the Dolphins. If he can continue to be a reliable weapon in the trenches for the Bills, he may be on his way to Hawaii for a second time.
What do you think? Are there any other Bills players I may have missed that might deserve Pro Bowl consideration? Feel free to get in touch with me via Twitter or leave a comment below.
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