Buffalo Bills: 7 Players Receive 2017 NFL Pro Bowl Honors

Jan 25, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Tennessee Titans outside line backer Brian Orakpo (98) and Buffalo Bills special teams D.J. Alexander (57) shake hands during practice for the Pro Bowl at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Pro Bowl is set to kick off on Sunday. The Buffalo Bills have a total of 7 players that received honors, but two of them aren’t able to play.

After the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games were complete and the two Super Bowl teams were announced, a lot of NFL Pro Bowl alternates got called up and notified that they will be playing in the popular event — some of them being members of our beloved Buffalo Bills.

When the original Pro Bowl rosters were announced, the Bills only had two players taking part and 7 others listed as alternates. As of right now, the Buffalo Bills have a total of 7 players headed to the Pro Bowl — although two won’t be playing. In addition, two players were left off the final rosters and remained as alternates.

The NFL Pro Bowl will take place on Sunday, January 29th at 5:00 pm in Orlando, Florida. It can be watched on ESPN. So, who are the Buffalo Bills that received honors?

Let’s start with the two that didn’t end up getting the call, then move on to the two that won’t be playing before getting to the 5 that we’ll see on the field on Sunday.

Players Snubbed From the Pro Bowl

FB Jerome Felton

Jerome Felton was listed as a second alternate when the original Pro Bowl rosters were announced. Unfortunately, Kyle Juszcyzyk of the Baltimore Ravens will start on Sunday and Felton wasn’t invited.

Felton is one of the best blocking fullbacks in the league and even comes through with a big run or timely catch. He finished the season with 13 yards on 8 carries and 6 catches for 57 yards. His production was much better this season after posting just 2 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards in his first season with the Bills.

The biggest reason Jerome Felton was named as an alternate was due to his blocking, though. For the second year in a row, he was a big part in paving the way for the league’s top rushing attack. So much so that LeSean McCoy gifted him with a $10,000 wristwatch at the season’s end.

RS Brandon Tate

Brandon Tate was also listed as a second alternate as a return specialist, but like Felton he got beat out of a roster spot. Instead, Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill will serve as the AFC’s return specialist.

There’s no doubt Brandon Tate is one of the league’s most dangerous returners. He finished the season with 301 yards on 26 punt returns (11.6 average yards per punt return) and 662 yards on 29 kickoff returns (22.8 average yards per kickoff return). His longest punt return was 43 yards and his longest kickoff return was 45 yards.

Tate also saw some action on the offensive side of the ball, catching 8 passes for 117 yards on 11 targets and rushing for 48 yards on 3 attempts — including a 30-yard run vs. the Cleveland Browns.

Now that we’ve gotten those two out of the way, let’s move on to the two players that made the Pro Bowl, but won’t get to play.

Pro Bowlers Unable to Play

RB LeSean McCoy

LeSean McCoy had quite the amazing season for the Buffalo Bills and could’ve done even better if it weren’t for a couple of small injuries. Overall, he turned out one of his best seasons of his career and was the main contributor to the league’s No. 1 running corps.

On the season, McCoy appeared in 15 games and ran for 1,267 yards, 13 touchdowns and a 5.4 average yards per carry. He added 50 receptions for 356 yards and one touchdown. His season included 7 games over 100 yards rushing (128, 153, 130, 103, 140, 150, 110) and four multi-touchdown games.

It was no surprise to see LeSean McCoy make the initial Pro Bowl rosters. Unfortunatley, due to a high ankle sprain that he suffered in the final game of the season, Bills fans won’t get to see him cut through the NFC defense.

Miami Dolphins’ running back Jay Ajayi, who lit up the Bills for 200+ yards twice this season, will take McCoy’s place.

QB Tyrod Taylor

Despite receiving a lot of criticism this season, Tyrod Taylor had a productive year for the Buffalo Bills. He finished the year with a 61.7% completion rate, 3,023 yards, 17 TD, 6 INT and a rating of 89.6. He added 580 yards and 6 TD on the ground, contributing as the team’s second-best rusher.

Taylor’s passing numbers are definitely low and definitely needs some help — desperately — but when you factor in how much he runs the ball, the low numbers make sense. Taylor ran the ball 95 times this season with a 6.1 yards per carry average. Those 95 carries were the most among QB’s this season, with Cam Newton (90) and Russell Wilson (72) next up.

Newton only had an avg. of 4.0 yards per carry and Wilson just a 3.6 avg. yards per carry — much lower than Taylor. In addition, Newton only finished with 3,509 yards passing, 19 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a rating of 75.8, but only 359 yards rushing and 5 TD’s. Wilson finished with 4,219 yards passing, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a rating of 92.6, but only 259 yards rushing and one TD.

Tyrod Taylor is close to being where those two are — as far as passing statistics go — and that should be enough to keep him under contract next season. We’ll see how that goes.

Taylor was selected as a third alternate, but he got the call after Tom Brady made it to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, with the surgery he just had he won’t be able to partake in the event. It would’ve been a good chance for him to prove what he can do with good players.

Andy Dalton will take his place.

Now, let’s move on to the players we will see on Sunday — the five that will see action.

Dec 11, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills inside linebacker Zach Brown (53) jumps to make a catch in the end zone for an interception during the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at New Era Field. Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 27-20. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills’ fans will get to watch 5 of their favorite players on Sunday during the NFL Pro Bowl.

In the end, the Buffalo Bills will have a total of 5 players taking part in the NFL Pro Bowl game — four of them on defense and one on offense.

In my opinion, they all deserved the right to play and all earned their Pro Bowl honor with an excellent season.

Again, the NFL Pro Bowl game will be played on Sunday, January 29th at 5:00 pm and can be watched on ESPN.

Don’t miss it.

LG Richie Incognito

There’s no doubt that Richie Incognito is one of the league’s top offensive lineman — especially when it comes to run-blocking. He has built a whole new career since re-joining the Buffalo Bills in 2015. He has made the most of his second chance in the NFL and was the Buffalo Bills‘ most reliable offensive lineman.

Most notably, he helped lead Buffalo to its second straight rushing title and even helped break the Bills’ franchise record for most touchdowns in a single season. He played in all 16 games this season.

This will be Incognito’s third NFL Pro Bowl honor and his second with the Buffalo Bills (2015). He also made it in 2012 with the Miami Dolphins. He was originally listed as a first alternate and will be replacing Marsal Yanda of the Baltimore Ravens.

DL Kyle Williams

Kyle Williams has been the unquestioned leader on this defense for many, many years now. He’s the ageless wonder that seems to get better and smarter every season. After an injury last season that limited him to just 6 games, Williams came back stronger than ever to lead a depleted defensive front.

He ended up playing in all but one game, totaling 64 tackles, 5 sacks and 7 stuffs. Williams played in 794 snaps, which was 74.1% of the team’s defensive snaps this season. Although he is contemplating retirement, his teammates are poised to keep him one more year in hopes of bringing Buffalo their first postseason appearance in 17 years.

Kyle Williams was originally listed as a first alternate and will be replacing the injured Ndamukong Suh of the Miami Dolphins. This is Williams’ fifth NFL Pro Bowl honor.

LB Zach Brown

When Zach Brown signed with the Buffalo Bills last offseason, he wasn’t expected to have a huge role with this defense. With all of the injuries the Bills suffered from throughout the offseason and leading up to the regular season, Zach Brown found himself starting at line backer Week 1. It didn’t take long before he was one of the most reliable pieces to this defense.

Zach Brown was at the top of the tackles leaderboard for a lot of the season and stayed near the top the whole way through. He finished his first season with Buffalo totaling 149 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, one interception, 4 passes defended and 11 stuffs. He finished second in the league in tackles.

This will be Brown’s first NFL Pro Bowl honor. He was originally listed as a third alternate, but found his way onto the roster with Dont’a Hightower of the Patriots making it to the Super Bowl.

With all of the work he put in this season, this is much deserving and I only hope we see him in a Bills’ jersey next season.

LB Lorenzo Alexander

Lorenzo Alexander was another improbable starter for the Buffalo Bills leading up to the regular season. Like Zach Brown, Alexander signed a one-year deal with Buffalo and was expected to mostly contribute on special teams, which he did. He gained a bigger role when first round draft pick Shaq Lawson missed the first half of the season.

Much like Brown again, Lorenzo Alexander exceeded expectations by a long shot and even found his name at the top of the leaderboards most of the season. For a while, he lead the league in sacks and finished the season third on that list. All in all, he totaled 76 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, one interception, 6 passes defended and 4 stuffs in his 10th season.

This isn’t Alexander’s first NFL Pro Bowl appearance, making it in 2012 on special teams for the Washington Redskins. This time, he made it on the initial Pro Bowl roster as a linebacker — one of the best in the business. He’s known as a fearless competitor on the field, but a loving father that loves to give back to his community off the field.

CB Stephon Gilmore

Lastly, we have Stephon Gilmore, who received a lot of criticism before the season started when he said that he deserves to be paid like a top cornerback in this league. Many people thought he still had a lot to prove, but he stated differently. He came out strong in training camp, but started to struggle early on in the season. Overall, he had a decent season, but still not worth the top money he said he is worth.

By the end of the season, Gilmore totaled 48 tackles, 12 passes defended and 5 interceptions. He had two excellent games this season that included two interceptions on the Arizona Cardinals and two interceptions on the Cincinnati Bengals. His other interception came against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He seemed to strive against some of the top receiving corps, but struggle against some iffy ones.

This is Stephon Gilmore‘s first NFL Pro Bowl appearance and he is going to make the most of the opportunity to prove he is worth the money after all. Set to become an unrestricted free agent, his future with the Buffalo Bills is uncertain, making this game more of a tryout for other teams. It is uncertain who Gimore is replacing, but he was originally a second alternate.

Those are your Buffalo Bills Pro Bowlers this season, a very solid group of guys.

What Buffalo Bills players do you think should’ve made the NFL Pro Bowl? Leave your comments below!