The 2023 NFL Pro Bowl roster is officially out, and several Minnesota Vikings made the cut. However, in addition to the Vikings Pro Bowl players, there are also several Vikings Pro Bowl snubs. With that in mind, let’s look at the Minnesota players who have played great in the 2022 NFL season (like Dalvin Cook, Kene Nwangwu, and Eric Kendricks), compare them to the players that made the 2023 Pro Bowl roster ahead of them and identify the biggest Vikings Pro Bowl snubs of the year.
Vikings Pro Bowl players
Before we start on the Vikings Pro Bowl snubs, let’s take a moment to congratulate the well-deserving Vikings Pro Bowl players. That list included:
- Kirk Cousins, QB
- Justin Jefferson, WR (starter)
- T.J. Hockenson, TE
- Za’Darius Smith, OLB (starter)
- Andrew DePaola, LS (starter)
Additionally, the 2022 Vikings have nine players named as alternates in case players on the main Pro Bowl roster get injured, drop out, or make it to the Super Bowl. These players are:
- Dalvin Cook, RB, 1st alternate
- C.J. Ham, FB, 1st alternate
- Danielle Hunter, OLB, 1st alternate
- Kene Nwangwu, KR, 1st alternate
- Christian Darrisaw, OT, 2nd alternate
- Garrett Bradbury, C, 2nd alternate
- Harrison Smith, SS, 2nd alternate
- Kris Boyd, ST, 3rd alternate
- Eric Kendricks, ILB, 3rd alternate
All these alternate players are having excellent seasons for the 2022 Vikings. In a perfect world, they all deserve to be “Pro Bowl players.” However, the NFL pro Bowl team only has a certain number of spots at each position. For a player to be a true “Pro Bowl snub,” you have to be able to argue that they deserve it more than the player ahead of them on the team.
For example, Danielle Hunter is having a fantastic season with 8.5 sacks, 55 tackles, and 16 QB hits. The problem is, you can’t argue that he deserves one of the three NFC outside linebacker spots over his teammate, Za’Darius Smith (10.0 sacks, 41 tackles, and 21 QB hits), the Dallas Cowboys Micah Parsons (13.0 sacks, 59 tackles, and 24 QB hits), or the Philadephia Eagles Haason Reddick (12.0 sacks, 39 tackles, and 19 QB hits). Being a 1st alternate is exactly where Hunter belongs.
There are three Vikings, though who are snubs. Minnesota fans can truly make the case that they deserve to be on the first-team roster over players ahead of them, and here they are.
Vikings Pro Bowl Snubs
Dalvin Cook
It’s just not right to say that Dalvin Cook hasn’t been one of the six best running backs in the league this season or the three best in the NFC. The sixth-year pro is fifth in the league in attempts (230), sixth in the league in yards (1,045), and T-12 among RBs for rushing touchdowns (8). He also has 33 catches for 265 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
Saquon Barkley is ahead of Cook in attempts, yards, and touchdowns, so he stays on the NFC Pro Bowl roster. Miles Sanders has slightly more yards, but both Sanders and Tony Pollard have fewer carries. Plus, all three of these backs have something that makes being a Pro Bowl RB in 2022 a lot easier: a running quarterback.
Dalvin Cook does it all, and he does it with Kirk Cousins under center. This means defenses know that if the Vikings are going to run, it is Cook who is going to do it. That ups the degree of difficulty and makes Cook a Pro Bowl snub.
Kene Nwangwu
This is not an attack on Cowboys return man KaVonte Turpin, but come one. Last year’s first team all All-Pro kick returner, Kene Nwangwu, deserves the Pro Bowl nomination this season. Yes, Turpin does return punts, too, but his 22 returns for 261 yards is good. Turpin also has 18 kick returns for 426 yards. Not bad.
On the Vikings Pro Bowl snub side, Nwangwu leads the league in kick returns (30), kick return yards (779), touchdowns (tied with one), and yards per return (26.0). To not put the league leader in all these categories on the 2023 Pro Bowl roster is absurd.
Eric Kendricks
With apologies to C.J. Ham, Christian Darrisaw, Garrett Bradbury, and Harrison Smith (their position groups are just loaded), the only other Vikings Pro Bowl snub is inside linebacker, Eric Kendricks.
There is a flaw in the Pro Bowl system where the OLB spots go to glorified DEs, so there’s only room for two true, traditional linebackers. If there were six or even four spots for these types of players, Kendricks absolutely makes it comfortably.
As it is, you can argue that Kendricks is having a better year than the New Orleans Saints’ Demario Davis. Here are their stats this season:
- Eric Kendricks: 119 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, five passes defended, zero interceptions, one fumble recovery, one touchdown
- Demario Davis: 89 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, five passes defended, one interception, one fumble recovery, zero touchdowns
Those are pretty close, and if you prioritize tackling for a linebacker over the flashier sack numbers, Kendricks gets the nod.
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