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With a little over two weeks of fan voting remaining for the 2014 NFL Pro Bowl, 11 Dallas Cowboys rank in the Top 10 in their respective position groups in the latest Pro Bowl fan voting, according to data from the NFL.
Of those 11 Cowboys, Jason Hatcher, Sean Lee and Barry Church rank in second place at their respective positions. We've reported on those three before, so they shouldn't come as a surprise, but some of the others in the top ten at their respective positions might:
- The leading vote-getter for the Cowboys is Dez Bryant, whose 450,961 rank him third overall among all wide receivers behind only A. J. Green (504,142) and Calvin Johnson (634,819).
- A pleasant surprise is Dwayne Harris, who ranks third among all kick/punt returners behind Devin Hester (171,632) and Trindon Holliday (140,086)
- Quarterback Tony Romo ranks only 10th among all QBs, trailing Cam Newton (295,719) and Philip Rivers (317,538) and trailing overall leader Peyton Manning by over 600,000 votes.
Other Cowboys players recognized in the early Pro Bowl vote are Jason Witten, Dan Bailey, DeMarcus Ware, Travis Frederick, and Chris Jones. Here's the full table of all 11 Cowboys.
COWBOYS PRO BOWL VOTING LEADERS | |||
Player | Position | Votes | Pos. Rk. |
Hatcher, Jason | DT | 224,873 | 2nd |
Lee, Sean | LB | 193,027 | 2nd |
Church, Barry | FS | 87,634 | 2nd |
Bryant, Dez | WR | 450,961 | 3rd |
Harris, Dwayne | Punt Returner | 97,645 | 3rd |
Witten, Jason | TE | 170,676 | 6th |
Bailey, Dan | K | 54,275 | 7th |
Ware, DeMarcus | DE | 117,274 | 9th |
Frederick, Travis | C | 92,327 | 9th |
Romo, Tony | QB | 290,260 | 10th |
Jones, Chris | P | 38,727 | 10th |
Notable for their absence are the offensive tackles, where certainly Tyron Smith should have warranted at least an entry into the top 10. No recognition at all for the Cowboys' running backs, guards and corners.
If you haven't voted for your favorite Cowboys players yet, go to DallasCowboys.com and cast your vote. Multiple times. Every day. Also, the mothership conveniently lists all Cowboys players at the top of the ballot, so go vote now.
The Pro Bowl players are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches, with players and coaches casting their votes on December 23-26. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 86 All-Star players who will be eligible for the Pro Bowl Draft. Balloting will conclude Thursday, Dec. 26, and the Pro Bowl players will be announced the next day.
The NFL has done away with the traditional NFC versus AFC Pro Bowl, and instead will implement an unconferenced Pro Bowl for which players will be selected via a "Pro Bowl Draft": The NFL's top two vote-getters on offense and defense become team captains for Deion Sanders' team and Jerry Rice's team. In a fantasy draft style setting, the captains pick from the voted all-stars to form the teams regardless of which conference the players come from.