No, this isn’t a baseball article. But with the MLB All-Star game on Tuesday, it got me thinking about who could make the Pro Bowl in the NFL this year. With that in mind, I have a few rookies who were just drafted this past year who very well may make it to football’s All-Star Game, the Pro Bowl.
QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers
Let’s start with this: Young is extremely talented. You don’t get taken No. 1 overall if you’re not. He will have some talent around him despite the Panthers’ abysmal 2022 season. He has Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard in the backfield, to go along with DJ Chark and newly acquired Adam Thielen from Minnesota, to get the ball to. And the NFC doesn’t have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers in it anymore. Although there is still Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott, would anyone really be shocked if Young outperforms Daniel Jones, Geno Smith or Kirk Cousins? A rookie campaign that sees 3,500-4,000 passing yards and 25+ TDs, to go along with a few hundred rushing yards and a couple of TDs on the ground is what’s likely for Young, and that may be enough for him to punch a ticket to Vegas in February.
RB Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Even though the Falcons had a very solid running game, they made a point to draft Robinson. He enters camp as the No.1 RB, and, considering the team has been offensively challenged in their passing attack, they will rely heavily on the run. The team will now have a three-headed monster with Robinson as the middle head and Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson beside him. Allgeier is a solid No. 2, and Patterson is one of the most dynamic flex backs in the game. Robinson should eclipse 1,000 rushing yards and, depending on how he’s used in the red zone, should threaten double-digit TDs, enough to get him to the Pro Bowl.
WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
Johnston will be the best WR to come out of the draft this season, and he’ll end up having the best overall career out of all of them … dare I say, a Hall of Fame career? That is a ton of pressure to put on a guy who hasn’t seen a pro locker room yet, but that’s how highly I think of him. To begin with, let’s look at his size … he’s 6’4″ and 220 pounds. He could pass as a TE until you see his explosive speed, and a great comp is Seattle’s DK Metcalf. Add to all this, he’s in the perfect situation in Los Angeles, with Justin Herbert getting him the ball. It would be a huge upset if he doesn’t challenge 80 catches with 1,000+ receiving yards. And he’ll be able to grow with Herbert over the next decade. The only negative for Johnston is that he’s been injury prone, but if he can stay healthy, a Pro Bowl selection could very well be in his future at the end of the season …as well as a trip to Canton Ohio in about 20 years.