February 5 is the date for the 2023 Pro Bowl. The first official Pro Bowl, which sees the top players from the American and National Conferences form respective all-star teams, took place in 1951, yet the latest installment is set to be different from any others that have been seen before.
Taking place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, the event, for the first time, is moving away from a standard tackle international football game. Instead, it will be a non-contact flag football game.
How players are selected for the Pro Bowl
There are three groups that make the decision on which players will participate in the Pro Bowl. These are:
- The NFL players
- The NFL coaches
- The fans
Each group contributes 33.3% to the overall vote. Due to this, there can be decisions that are seen as controversial, particularly as the fan vote is seen before the teams are selected.
This was the case this year with Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins’ quarterback. Even though he accumulated the most fan votes, he has missed out on selection for the AFC roster entirely. The Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes was given the starting quarterback spot, while Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) and Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals) were handed reserve spots.
AFC team for the 2023 Pro Bowl
Without covering all of the reserves, here are the starting players for the AFC team:
- Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City)
- Running back: Nick Chubb (Cleveland)
- Fullback: Patrick Ricard (Baltimore)
- Wide receiver: Tyreek Hill (Miami), Stefon Diggs (Buffalo)
- Tight end: Travis Kelce (Kansas City)
- Offensive tackle: Laremy Tunsil (Houston), Terron Armstead (Miami)
- Offensive guard: Quenton Nelson (Indianapolis), Joel Bitonio (Cleveland)
- Center: Creed Humphrey (Kansas City)
- Defensive end: Myles Garrett (Cleveland), Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas)
- Defensive tackle: Chris Jones (Kansas City), Quinnen Williams (NY Jets)
- Outside linebacker: Matthew Judon (New England), Khalil Mack (LA Chargers)
- Inside/middle linebacker: Roquan Smith (Baltimore)
- Cornerback: Sauce Gardner (NY Jets), Patrick Surtain II (Denver)
- Free safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh)
- Strong safety: Derwin James (LA Chargers)
NFC team for the 2023 Pro Bowl
Here are the starters that are currently in line for the Pro Bowl’s NFC team:
- Quarterback: Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia)
- Running back: (Saquon Barkley, NY Giants)
- Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk (San Francisco)
- Wide receiver: Justin Jefferson (Minnesota), A.J. Brown (Philadelphia)
- Tight end: George Kittle (San Francisco)
- Offensive tackle: Trent Williams (San Francisco), Lane Johnson (Philadelphia)
- Offensive guard: Zack Martin (Dallas), Landon Dickerson (Philadelphia)
- Center: Jason Kelce (Philadelphia)
- Defensive end: Nick Bosa (San Francisco), Brian Burns (Carolina)
- Defensive tackle: Aaron Donald (LA Rams), Jonathan Allen (Washington)
- Outside linebacker: Micah Parsons (Dallas), Za’Darius Smith (Minnesota)
- Inside/middle linebacker: Fred Warner (San Francisco)
- Cornerback: Darius Slay (Philadelphia), Trevon Diggs (Dallas)
- Free safety: Quandre Diggs (Seattle)
- Strong safety: Budda Baker (Arizona)
After AFC won the last five Pro Bowls games, the NFC is hoping their star players like Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa, and Jalen Hurts will reverse their fortunes.