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. Here we will look at the top three Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl candidates for the 2017 version of the game that will be held in Orlando, Florida.
Top Midseason Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl Candidates
Jay Ajayi
Jay Ajayi has taken the NFL by storm and has done so recently. He was a rookie last year who only had 187 rushing yards, 90 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown in nine games playing behind Lamar Miller on the roster. This season the Dolphins signed Arian Foster to replace Miller, but injuries led to his in-season retirement.
Ajayi has played in six games throughout the Dolphins first seven games and started in three. He has accumulated 535 rushing yards and five touchdowns. This is even more astounding considering he rushed for 42 or less yards in four of those six games. His two most recent games have obviously made up for the lost time. He rushed for a total of 418 yards with three touchdowns combined in the two contests. Both were over 200-yard games for him showing a sense of consistency rather than having one big game.
Ajayi doesn’t have to keep up his excellent two-game pace to make the Pro Bowl. He already made up for loss time in those two games and is on pace for over 1,000 rushing yards and ten touchdowns. Ajayi just has to find a happy medium between his first four games and his last two.
Jarvis Landry
Jarvis Landry has already been to a Pro Bowl and he has a chance to go back. He leads the way among Dolphins receivers in receiving yards with 572 which is also good for 11th best in the NFL. He also leads the way in team receptions with 46 which ties him for sixth in the NFL.
The only thing that may keep Landry back is his touchdown count which is currently at one. However, last year he only had four touchdowns and still made it to the Pro Bowl. As long as he can add a couple more touchdowns and continue a good pace in receptions and receiving yards, he could be making his second Pro Bowl appearance.
Ndamukong Suh
Considering Ndamukong Suh received the biggest contract ever given to a player who isn’t a quarterback, Dolphins fans could only hope he would be on this list. Whether he actually goes to the Pro Bowl or not is not definitive at this moment, but he is having a good year.
Suh leads all the Dolphins defensive lineman in combined tackles with 32. That also tied him for the fifth most among NFL defensive lineman. Suh also has 3.5 sacks which is tied for fifth best among NFL defensive tackles.
Suh isn’t having a career year and may not be living up to his contract, but he is still a good player having a good year. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him make his fifth career Pro Bowl.
