The Dallas Cowboys are extremely well represented at this year's Pro Bowl. Seven players will wear the star in Las Vegas this year, tying Dallas with Kansas City for second-most selections behind the Philadelphia Eagles' eight. Future first-ballot Hall of Famer Zack Martin makes his near-annual appearance on the Pro Bowl roster for the eighth time in 2023. DeMarcus Lawrence appears to be finally getting some credit for his run-stopping ability, earning his third career selection. Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, and CeeDee Lamb have each bagged their second selection, and Tony Pollard and KaVontae Turpin are each Pro Bowlers for the first time in their careers.
All of Dallas' Pro Bowlers are worthy of their selections, but snubs are part of the process. These Cowboys deserve to go to Las Vegas but did not get the nod.
Terence Steele
Terence Steele's meteoric rise from unreliable, undrafted backup to franchise staple at right tackle has been fun to watch. Steele allowed nine sacks as a rookie in 2020. Since then he has allowed a total of three. Lane Johnson is a major hurdle for any right tackle looking to crack the Pro Bowl, but Steele came about as close as anyone to unseating him this year.
Steele allowed 20 quarterback pressures in 439 pass blocking snaps this season according to Pro Football Focus. That is elite protection on a Cowboys offensive line that has not been very elite at protecting Dak Prescott this season. The loss of Steele to a torn ACL against the Houston Texans in Week 14 dealt a massive blow to the Cowboys' Super Bowl chances.
Even if Johnson deserved it a little bit more, Steele still deserved the first Pro Bowl selection of his young career in 2022.
Malik Hooker
There is only one free safety spot available at the Pro Bowl in each conference, so a player's numbers have to be extremely elite in order to win the job. Quandre Diggs is far from undeserving of the role thanks to the job he has done in the Seahawks' secondary, but Malik Hooker's 2022 season is worthy of recognition too.
Hooker isn't a volume tackler, but he has been extremely efficient this season. A grand total of four missed tackles on the season gives Hooker a minuscule 6.6% missed tackle rate, less than half as high as Diggs' at 14.7%. Diggs has Hooker beat in the coverage department with two interceptions and three pass breakups, but Hooker's 10.5 yards per reception when targeted is an extremely solid mark.
Maybe the most impressive statistic on Hooker's resume in 2022, though, is the number of penalties he has committed, or rather the lack thereof. Not a single coverage flag has been thrown against Hooker in 2022. He's a historically disciplined player having been called for only four coverage flags in his entire NFL career, but his consistency has been a breath of fresh air for the usually penalty-ridden Cowboys.
Some might say that a player has not been snubbed if the actual selection is worthy of being a Pro Bowler. Diggs is definitely worthy, but Hooker is too.
Dorance Armstrong
Did Dorance Armstrong get snubbed in favor of his own teammate? There is certainly an argument to be made since Armstrong is leading Lawrence in sacks 8-6. Lawrence is a Pro Bowler because of his overall play, but Armstrong makes a strong case for himself as the Cowboys' second-leading sack artist.
Armstrong's numbers are good, but they might seem a little better than they are to Cowboys fans because of the state of the defensive line before the season started. After Dallas lost Randy Gregory to the Denver Broncos, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Cowboys' pass rushers. Now as the season winds down, Armstrong's sack total far outweigh Gregory's, who has battled injury all year.
Are Armstrong's numbers undoubtedly Pro Bowl worthy? Perhaps not. But there might not be anyone at the Pro Bowl this year that has been a more pleasant surprise for his team than Armstrong has been for the Cowboys.
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