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NFL Pro Bowl rosters: Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey lead list of 10 snubs

The NFL Pro Bowl rosters were announced Tuesday.

And even though 86 players made the cut, there were inevitably players with standout seasons who didn’t.

Here are 10 players with the best case to be called a snub.

1: Alvin Kamara; RB, New Orleans Saints

A Pro Bowler as a rookie, Kamara has followed up his electrifying 2017 campaign with more dazzling production as a key offensive weapon for the NFC South Champions and presumed top seed in the conference. Through 14 games, Kamara has tallied 860 rushing yards, 627 receiving yards and 16 total touchdowns. The NFC running back field is stacked with Todd Gurley, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott, which explains how a player like Kamara doesn’t make the list.

2: Christian McCaffrey; RB, Carolina Panthers

McCaffrey has really stood out during his sophomore season, becoming a game-changing back as a threat in the Panthers run and pass attack. With 979 rushing yards, 768 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns from scrimmage, McCaffrey is the team leader in all three categories. He could end up tallying 2,000 yards without a Pro Bowl nod.

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3: Darius Leonard; LB, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts rookie linebacker leads the NFL in tackles by a wide margin. His 146 total tackles are 22 better than Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, who sits in second place with 124. Add in seven sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, six passes defended and an interception, and there’s no excuse for Leonard to be left out. The production from Benardrick McKinney and C.J. Moseley doesn’t come close to Leonard’s.

A stacked NFC running back corps ensured that some standout players didn’t make the initial Pro Bowl roster.
A stacked NFC running back corps ensured that some standout players didn’t make the initial Pro Bowl roster.

4: Chris Jones; DT, Kansas City Chiefs

Jones is fifth in the NFL in sacks with 14, a number that screams Pro Bowl. He’s also forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown. An easy case can be made that he deserves the nod over his AFC West rival Melvin Ingram, who has tallied seven sacks with an interception and a forced fumble for the Los Angeles Chargers. Name recognition appeared to hurt Jones here.

5: Andrew Luck; QB, Indianapolis Colts

The emergence of the Colts as playoff contenders has been one of the more under-appreciated stories of the NFL season, as has the re-emergence of Luck as one of the game’s top quarterbacks. In 14 games, Luck has tallied 3,951 passing yards with 34 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 67.3 percent of his passes. Compared to Tom Brady’s 3,979 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions and a 65.9 percent success rate, it becomes easy to make the case that Luck deserved his fourth Pro Bowl selection.

6: Leighton Vander Esch; LB, Dallas Cowboys

Vander Esch has been everything and more that the Cowboys hoped for when they bypassed a need at wide receiver to select him in the first round of April’s NFL draft. He’s tallied 117 tackles while proving a force in the passing game, logging seven passes defended and a pair of interceptions. Being in the same conference as Kuechly and Bobby Wagner is his only fault here.

7: Nick Chubb; RB, Cleveland Browns

Chubb’s absence can be most attributed to the Browns not knowing what they had early on. The rookie running back didn’t see more than three carries through the team’s first six games. Since the Browns traded Carlos Hyde in Week 7, Chubb has been Cleveland’s workhorse, tallying 860 yard and eight touchdowns on the ground on the season while averaging 5.2 yards per carry in just seven starts.

8: Mike Evans; WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A down year with rotating quarterbacks in Tampa Bay hasn’t affected Evans’ production. Evans is second to only Julio Jones with 1,328 receiving yards on 74 catches. The one-time Pro Bowler has already achieved a career high in yardage with two games remaining.

9: Jared Cook; TE, Oakland Raiders

Cook has been one of the few bright spots in Oakland this season, tallying 848 yards and six touchdowns. Eric Ebron’s scoring production while posting 662 yards and 12 touchdowns appear to have persuaded voters over Cook.

10: Justin Tucker; K, Baltimore Ravens

Tucker has made 28-of-30 field goal attempts this season, with both of his misses coming via block. The two-time Pro Bowler with a monster leg is as good as he’s ever been, hitting all four of his attempts beyond 50 yards. There was that huge missed extra point, though.

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