Which 2024 Colts Deserve Pro Bowl Consideration?
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INDIANAPOLIS – As the Pro Bowl has become less and less of an actual ‘game,’ the honor still matters to quite a few people in the NFL.
Voting has begun for the 2025 Pro Bol with those tabulations coming from three different areas—1/3 fan vote, 1/3 player vote, 1/3 coach vote.
The Colts will play two more games before Pro Bol voting wraps up (fan voting ends on December 23rd; player/coach voting will take place on December 27th).
Let’s analyze potential Pro Bowl candidates for the 2024 Colts:
Deserving, Could Be Voted In
-Quenton Nelson: As is always the case with the Pro Bowl, strong name recognition carries important weight, especially at less flashy positions. That’s important for Quenton Nelson, who hasn’t had his dominant season. Nelson got off to a good start, but that play has tapered off a bit with an unusually high number of penalties for the former 6th overall pick. Nelson’s early fan voting isn’t as high as Franklin, but he should still have some name cache around the NFL for the player and coach vote.
-Jonathan Taylor: Perhaps surprising to some, Jonathan Taylor currently ranks 3rd in the AFC in rushing yards per game. Derrick Henry and Joe Mixon are 1st and 2nd on that list, respectfully, so they should be Pro Bowl locks. That 3rd spot for an AFC running back is up for grabs though. Would the dual-threat nature of Miami’s De’Von Achane round out the trio, or is Taylor a legit Pro Bowler again?
Deserving-Ish, Not Likely To Be Voted In
-DeForest Buckner: Unlike some of the guys above, DeForest Buckner plays a position that is loaded in the AFC. The likes of Quinnen Williams, Chris Jones and Cameron Heyward always drum up strong Pro Bowl consideration. Denver’s Zach Allen is having a very nice year from the defensive line interior, too. But Buckner has a case, and it’s even more impressive when you factor in he’s missed 5 games. Still, just 3 AFC defensive tackles make it, so that’s why I put him down a rung.-
-Zaire Franklin: The NFL’s leading tackler has a case to become one of the two inside linebackers on the AFC roster. But if you look at some of the deeper stats on Franklin’s play, I can’t stand on a table for his Pro Bowl candidacy. Now, the AFC isn’t super deep at inside linebacker and Franklin has also garnered significant fan interest in trying to make his first Pro Bowl. Tackles, for me, isn’t the truest evaluation statistic so I can’t purely look at that and put Franklin in the “deserving” category.
Others Considered
-Among others I pondered, Josh Dons, Kenny Moore II and Nick Cross were all considerations. Cross has drawn some big fan interest early, but I still can’t call him a Pro Bowler just yet.
