A few weeks ago the online voting for the 2016 Pro Bowl opened and a set of early returns were released by the league on Wednesday.
So far, no Pittsburgh Steelers players are listed as leading vote-getters at any of the positions and that includes wide receiver Antonio Brown, who currently sits in second place in both receptions (69) and receiving yardage (1,002) behind Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones.
Jones (85,034) is the leading vote-getter so far at the wide receiver position and he is followed by Odell Beckham, Jr. of the New York Giants.
As you would probably expect, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, with 141,750 votes, currently leads all players in balloting. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (120,242 votes) ranks second overall, while Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (114,368 votes) ranks third overall.
The Steelers have sent at least three players to the Pro Bowl in 12 of the last 14 years. They only sent two in 2012 and 2013. Last season, Le’Veon Bell, Maurkice Pouncey, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Lawrence Timmons all went. Roethlisberger and Bell did not participate.
Though unlikely, especially given the number of players that drop out, the last time the Steelers did not send a player to the Pro Bowl was back in 2000. Since its inception in 1951, that is the team’s only occurrence of being left out.
The 2016 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2016 and televised live on ESPN from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. once again, the Pro Bowl will remain “unconferenced,” with several key playing rules changed. Players will be selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players and later assigned to Pro Bowl teams via a fantasy football-style draft.
Fan voting for the 2016 Pro Bowl will continue online and on web-enabled mobile phones at www.NFL.com/probowl/ballot until it concludes on Tuesday, December 15. The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Tuesday, December 22 live on NFL Network.
NFL ALL-STAR TOP-TEN VOTE-GETTERS
| POS. | NAME, TEAM | VOTES | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Tom Brady, New England | 141,750 | |||
| QB | Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay | 120,242 | |||
| QB | Andy Dalton, Cincinnati | 114,368 | |||
| RB | Devonta Freeman, Atlanta | 103,334 | |||
| TE | Rob Gronkowski, New England | 101,674 | |||
| QB | Cam Newton, Carolina | 94,810 | |||
| QB | Carson Palmer, Arizona | 87,838 | |||
| WR | Julio Jones, Atlanta | 85,034 | |||
| WR | Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants | 80,338 | |||
| WR | Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona | 77,709 | |||
| NFL LEADING VOTE-GETTERS BY POSITION | |||||
| POS. | NAME, TEAM | VOTES | POS. | NAME, TEAM | VOTES |
| QB | Tom Brady, New England | 141,750 | DE | J.J. Watt, Houston | 71,045 |
| QB | Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay | 120,242 | DE | Chandler Jones, New England | 51,793 |
| RB | Devonta Freeman, Atlanta | 103,334 | DT | Geno Atkins, Cincinnati | 54,816 |
| RB | Todd Gurley, St. Louis | 75,592 | DT | Aaron Donald, St. Louis | 48,125 |
| FB | Marcel Reece, Oakland | 63,967 | OLB | Thomas Davis, Carolina | 44,834 |
| FB | Mike Tolbert, Carolina | 60,665 | OLB | Jamie Collins, New England | 42,907 |
| WR | Julio Jones, Atlanta | 85,034 | ILB | Luke Kuechly, Carolina | 48,591 |
| WR | Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants | 80,338 | ILB | Clay Matthews, Green Bay | 42,038 |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski, New England | 101,674 | CB | Josh Norman, Carolina | 64,915 |
| TE | Greg Olsen, Carolina | 67,734 | CB | Darrelle Revis, New York Jets | 59,278 |
| T | Sebastian Vollmer, New England | 32,135 | SS | Charles Woodson, Oakland | 46,698 |
| T | Bryan Bulaga, Green Bay | 27,149 | SS | Kam Chancellor, Seattle | 25,017 |
| G | Zack Martin, Dallas | 28,158 | FS | Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona | 31,097 |
| G | Mike Iupati, Arizona | 25,267 | FS | Earl Thomas, Seattle | 25,932 |
| C | Ryan Kalil, Carolina | 40,353 | P | Sam Koch, Baltimore | 24,576 |
| C | Nick Mangold, New York Jets | 33,018 | P | Matt Bosher, Atlanta | 17,166 |
| K | Stephen Gostkowski, New England | 46,071 | ST | Matthew Slater, New England | 21,457 |
| K | Justin Tucker, Baltimore | 24,491 | ST | Joe Webb, Carolina | 20,194 |
| RS | Tyler Lockett, Seattle | 23,006 | |||
| RS | Dwayne Harris, New York Giants | 17,976 | |||
