Atlanta Falcons: Who is going to the Pro Bowl?

The Atlanta Falcons will have a strong representation at this year’s Pro Bowl with four key players for the Falcons making the trip to Hawaii on Sunday.

The Atlanta Falcons doubled their number of Pro Bowler for the 2015 NFL season after the conclusion of the 2015 NFC Championship between the No. 1 Carolina Panthers and the No. 2 Arizona Cardinals, with the Panthers going to play the AFC Champion Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 7th.

Atlanta already had All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones and breakout star running back Devonta Freeman taking part in this weekend’s festivities before the expected roster calibrations that happen every season after the conference championships.

Joining Jones and Freeman in Honolulu will be shutdown cornerback Desmond Trufant and arguably the best fullback in the game in 2015 in Patrick DiMarco. Freeman, DiMarco, and Trufant will play in their first Pro Bowl of their young NFL careers, while Jones will play in his third as a cornerstone for the Atlanta Falcons’ aerial attack.

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Freeman will serve as an assistant captain along with former Georgia Bulldogs standout and defensive tackle stalwart for the Cincinnati Bengals, serving either captain Michael Irvin or Jerry Rice. The two head coaches for the Pro Bowl will be Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy and Kansas City’s Andy Reid, as both were the highest-seeded coaches to not make it out of the NFC and AFC Divisional Rounds, respectively, as both the Chiefs and Packers were No. 5 seeds.

While one could argue that right tackle Ryan Schraeder might deserve consideration for this year’s Pro Bowl, as Pro Football Focus had him graded as the best right tackle in the game on the league’s fourth-best offensive line, it’s great to see four tremendously deserving members of the Atlanta Falcons get to play in this glorified exhibition.

Jones nearly broke two single-season receiving records in 2015, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown as having two of the five best seasons ever for NFL wide receivers. Freeman was the Falcons’ first 1,000-yard rusher in four years and led the league in rushing touchdowns.

Trufant likely replaces Panthers shutdown corner Josh Norman for this Pro Bowl nod. In a league with so many great defensive backs, it is wonderful that Desmond Trufant can finally say he’s an NFL Pro Bowler in only his third year in the league. Atlanta has a cornerstone in its defensive backfield to build around in the former Washington Husky.

DiMarco certainly replaces Panthers fullback behemoth Mike Tolbert, who had a fantastic season in his own right. Patrick DiMarco was the Atlanta Falcons’ choice for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and while he didn’t end up being a finalist for the humanitarian award, it’s great to see a guy that was battling with Collin Mooney for a roster spot at a rarely used position like fullback get to play in a well-deserved Pro Bowl.

Though the game will certainly be an offensive showcase for up-and-coming passers like the Oakland Raiders’ Derek Carr and the Buffalo Bills’ Tyrod Taylor, both deserving quarterbacks in the AFC, it’s great to have validation from the league that the Atlanta Falcons have a roster capable of sending four elite players to the Pro Bowl.

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The 2016 Pro Bowl is on Saturday, January 31st at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM ET, 2:00 PM ET local time and ESPN will air the broadcast. The fantastic play-by-play tandem of Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden will be in the booth with Lisa Salters as the game’s sideline reporter. While the Atlanta Falcons aren’t in the Super Bowl, hopefully fans can enjoy the play of some of our favorite players. Rise Up!

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