This year’s Pro Bowl did not feature any alternate selections due to COVID-19, meaning plenty of players were snubbed. These Baltimore Ravens deserved it.
Mark Andrews:
Tight end is a very tough position to rank across the league. After guys like Travis Kelce, George Kittle (when healthy), and Darren Waller, it becomes a crapshoot for who the next best guy is. Mark Andrews has staked his claim for being the next best after leading all tight ends in touchdowns a season ago, but his 2020 season wasn’t as dominant. Nonetheless, he was still a top-five player at the position.
In 14 games, Andrews reeled in north of 700-yards and seven touchdowns. If not for some inconsistency with catching the football, we would have easily thrown Andrews back into the pro bowl this year. Unfortunately, 2020 was not nearly as dominant a season for Andrews as 2019 was, but he was still a top-5 tight end across the league. If not for playing in the AFC where the two best tight ends in the league this season played, Andrews might’ve made the Pro Bowl again. With Kelce headed to the Super Bowl, Andrews would’ve been our choice for his alternate.
Marcus Peters:
Marcus Peters came back down to earth a bit in 2020 after a Defensive Player of the Year caliber 2019 season. Peters was still terrific on the outside against top-tier receivers, but he was not perfect. Nonetheless, Peters was absolutely deserving of a Pro Bowl nod.
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Peters picked off four passes during the regular season while also forcing four fumbles and recovering two. Peters was an absolute dog and got into the heads of his opponents. Guys doubt themselves with the way Peters talks his talk and that was no different in 2020. With Stephon Gilmore missing time with injury this year, Peters should’ve been the vote to replace him in the Pro Bowl. Love him or hate him, Peters remained a top-10 corner in the league in 2020 and is one of the most feared defensive backs to throw the ball at.
Yannick Ngakoue:
While Yannick Ngakoue only recorded three sacks in his nine games in Baltimore, he was a blur off the edge and was worth the third-round pick the Ravens dealt to Minnesota to acquire his services. Ngakoue was ferocious off the edge for Baltimore and forced opposing quarterbacks to get the ball out fast or risk getting sacked. He was the definition of a pressure machine and he’ll be looking for a nice pay raise this offseason.
In the entirety of the 2020 season, Ngakoue racked up eight sacks and four forced fumbles in 15 games. That resume is far more impressive than Frank Clark‘s and Ngakoue should’ve been picked over him outright. Regardless, Clark would be missing the Pro Bowl this week for the Super Bowl. Ngakoue was the most deserving of an alternate for the defensive end spot.
Lamar Jackson:
The three Pro Bowlers from the AFC were very deserving. Patrick Mahomes is playing in the Super Bowl again this year, while Josh Allen and Deshaun Watson put together MVP caliber seasons. It wasn’t heartbreaking to see Lamar Jackson not make the Pro Bowl, but with Mahomes going to the Super Bowl it’s hard not to expect Jackson to have gotten the alternate.
Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to record multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons and he did it in back-to-back seasons no less. Jackson also scored 33 total touchdowns in 15 games and led the Baltimore Ravens to an 11-4 regular-season record. While Jackson took an obvious step back from his MVP season a year ago, but he was still excellent in 2020. Had there been alternates granted for this year’s Pro Bowl, Jackson was undoubtedly the most deserving Baltimore Raven to earn it.