The Browns have 4 Pro Bowl alternates and they are wild

The Browns have four Pro Bowl alternates.

I’m flabbergasted with the alternates the Browns have for the Pro Bowl. Yesterday it was revealed that Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio, Nick Chubb, Denzel Ward, and Myles Garrett were all going to the Pro Bowl. None of those five names should shock anyone; they’re arguably the best players on the team.

The Browns don’t just have five Pro Bowlers on their roster, they have potentially nine with four being alternates at their positions. If anyone ahead of them gets hurt, pulls out, or is in the Super Bowl (assuming the Browns aren’t), then they’ll go in their stead.

The problem is, three of these four players really shouldn’t be alternates and I’m confused as to why they are. So we’re going to look at all four players and talk about them.

Four Browns players serving as Pro Bowl alternates

DE Jadeveon Clowney

Your guess is as good as mine as to why Jadeveon Clowney is a Pro Bowl alternate. Granted, Las Vegas Raiders Maxx Crosby is going to the Pro Bowl and has similar stats to Clowney. Clowney has 29 total tackles, nine tackles for a loss, and five sacks. He has a PFF grade of 67.6 as of press time. Crosby isn’t so far behind with 45 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and seven sacks. Though he has a PFF grade of 91.0.

FB Andy Janovich

It’s easy to argue that the inclusion of a fullback in Kevin Stefanski’s offense hasn’t exactly turned out as many would’ve hoped. He has three total touches for one yard and a PFF grade of just 58.8. The Browns rarely use their fullbacks even as blockers and one has to wonder why include them at all if they’re only averaging just 12.3% of the snaps on offense. Yet, somehow, Janovich is the alternate for a Pro Bowl birth.

T Jedrick Wills Jr.

Just, how? How is Jedrick Wills one of the best tackles in the league when every metric available says completely different things? He’s only given up four sacks, sure, but he’s so bad. According to Wills himself, who had a PFF grade of 61.5 in 2020, his rookie season was trash. He played badly and he knows it. Yet, in 2021, he has a PFF grade of 62.7. He’s also on pace to give up more sacks this year than last. It’s obvious the running game isn’t as good with him as the primary tackle on the field, and this is some weirdness that he’s an alternate for the Pro Bowl with him playing, again in his own words, like trash.

C JC Tretter

This is the only one that I agree with and the only one I think should’ve gotten more love from the Pro Bowl voters. Tretter has only given up one sack all year and has a PFF grade of 79.0 Joel Bitonio (93.7) and Wyatt Teller (84.3) are the only Browns o-line players with better grades. If you think Tretter got screwed out of the Pro Bowl, I agree with you. Tretter is one of the best centers in the league and he should be recognized for that.