Browns: Looking at every player with a shot at the Pro Bowl
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Browns are set to have a lot of players up for Pro Bowl consideration for 2020, but how many are there really and who’s the most likely to go?
The Cleveland Browns have had a history of sending guys to Pro Bowls over the last two decades but it hasn’t been that steady of a list. Since 1999 only five men have gone more than once. That would be center Alex Mack, long-snapper Ryan Pontbriand, returner Josh Cribbs, guard Joel Bitonio (one Pro Bowl as a second-alternate), cornerback Joe Haden and the man himself, future Hall of Fame tackle Joe Thomas. This year, however, we should see some more go for a second time, like Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and maybe a few others.
Beyond that, there’s a lot of first-time Pro Bowlers on this roster, ready to earn that selection. There might even be three or four on the offensive line alone.
The problem with knowing who to go, however, isn’t just based on stats. For instance, Olivier Vernon has seven sacks, sounds like a good year, no? Except, he has seven sacks in just three games. Meaning he wasn’t consistent, so much as he was facing bad offensive lines. Then you think of someone like Nick Chubb or Wyatt Teller, both really good players, both had big chunks of time missed in 2020 due to injury. Do you count that against them?
In the case of Chubb, despite missing nearly five-full games due to an injury, has he done enough in the other 11 games to warrant consideration? What about someone like Sheldon Richardson? His numbers aren’t great and his performance isn’t matching his contract, but will he get consideration because he’s on a good team?
What about Andy Janovich? Will he get to go because he was the lead blocker for nearly half of the team’s rushes? Considering how good the run game is, he should receive credit too. That’s what we’re looking at today, so let’s see who should be going.