The initial Pro Bowl roster for the January 2020 game has been released. While the Pro Bowl isn’t exactly viewed as stellar by many fans, it still exists and it’s still a good accolade for players who get there besides standard awards. The Los Angeles Chargers saw two players get selected to this year’s Pro Bowl, both of which made sense. There were a couple of snubs as well. But, after all, this is a fan-voted event. Teams that are struggling like the 5-9 Chargers are less likely to have players get in on what is essentially a popularity contest. Still, they should be recognized for their efforts as well (and maybe they’ll still get in later as an alternate).
Chargers Pro Bowl Selections and Snubs
Keenan Allen
While this year’s been a little more inconsistent for Keenan Allen, he’s still generally been a top tier wide receiver. He currently sits with 90 catches for 1,046 yards and five touchdowns. With two games left, he could easily cross the 100 reception threshold. While his 1,046 yards are only 11th best in the NFL, it’s second overall among wide receivers in the AFC behind DeAndre Hopkins. Plus, his receptions put him at 5th overall in the league. Allen and Hopkins are both the two main starters representing the AFC this year.
As previously stated, he was a little more inconsistent this year. His best stretch was the first three games of the season, which included a stat line in Week 3 of 13 catches, 183 yards, and two touchdowns. However, he kind of disappeared in October and didn’t go higher than 61 receiving yards. He’s bounced back a bit down the stretch. He hasn’t crossed 100 yards, but he’s gotten more catches lately and has two touchdowns in the last month. It’s possible his September stretch may have buoyed him here, but he’s still a top ten receiver in this league and as such has earned his spot.
Joey Bosa
Joey Bosa was the other selection for the Chargers this year. It’s probably a welcome sight for Chargers fans after he missed the Pro Bowl in 2018 mainly due to missing over half the season. While he was certainly no slouch in the games he played last year, it’s still been kind of a bounce-back year for him in 2019. He’s avoided injury and has 10.5 sacks through 14 games. He would only need two and a half more to break his career high from 2017. He currently has the most sacks of any defensive end in the AFC.
The Snubs
Austin Ekeler is the most obvious snub here and is possibly one of the bigger ones across the entire league. Given that he’s not a standard halfback, it’s understandable why he wouldn’t make starter. But he ought to make alternate later for sure. He has more receiving yards than any running back in the league with 892 yards. He’s currently sitting at almost 1,400 yards from scrimmage and has 11 total touchdowns. It’s debatable that he could’ve been put in over Mark Ingram (but then again, so should’ve Josh Jacobs). Instead, he didn’t even make it as an alternate.
Another minor snub is Mike Williams; he’s quite close to a 1,000-yard season. He has been great at bringing in long bomb passes and is actually #1 in the entire NFL in yards per catch (20.7) He’s also top ten in receiving yardage among AFC wide receivers. However, he’s not even listed as an alternate. While he may not have reached the heights of starter or reserve, it does feel like he should’ve at least gotten an alternate bid.
Melvin Ingram is kind of one in that he’s only listed as an alternate. While that at least means he wasn’t forgotten entirely, his numbers are practically identical to Frank Clark’s, the other starter at defensive end besides Bosa. He also looks to probably be finishing with similar starts to last year – which were enough for a Pro Bowl bid.
Last Word on the Chargers Pro Bowl Selections
Of course, a lot of this still does ultimately come down to the fact that the Pro Bowl is fan-voted. If the AFC weren’t much less stacked than the NFC, Keenan Allen might not have made it either. Still, even with that in mind, the snubbing of Austin Ekeler is a bit bizarre.
The Chargers do still get to see Allen and Bosa represent them at the Pro Bowl at least – and maybe Melvin Ingram and/or Derek Watt if enough people opt out. Given the fact that the team is currently 5-9, that’s not a bad number of Pro Bowlers at all. Now the question is just how many Chargers fans will actually be watching the Pro Bowl…
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