Voting for the Pro Bowl officially starts today. The Raiders are one of the better teams in the NFL and therefore have many players who could or should be worthy of playing in the big game this year. Here are a few players and their stats to give you an idea of who may deserve your vote.
Offense:
RB Darren McFadden– He led the NFL in rushing the first six weeks of the season. It wasn’t until he went out with a foot injury in last week’s game against the Chiefs that he was knocked from his perch. He is still second in the AFC in rushing, just 63 yards behind AFC leading rusher Maurice Jones-Drew. He is also fifth in the NFL, less than 100 yards behind NFL leading rusher Adrian Peterson.
OT Jared Veldheer– Nearly halfway through the season, he has not given up a single sack. What else needs to be said?
Defense:
SS Tyvon Branch– He is second in the NFL in tackles among strong safeties. The only strong safety with more tackles is Buffalo’s George Wilson and Buffalo has one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL (30th).
DT Richard Seymour– He leads the AFC in sacks from the defensive tackle spot. He is also among the leaders in tackles (20) at his position. Aside from personal statistics, the Raiders’ run defense has been much improved this season. They had two poor games versus the high-powered offenses of the Bills and Patriots. The defense has held strong in every other game and currently sits at 16th overall in run defense.
Special Teams:
K Sebastian Janikowski– He has been AFC special teams player of the month already this season. He tied an NFL record with his 63 yard field goal in Denver. He tied another NFL record when he kicked three field goals in one game of 50 yards or more. He is 12 of 13 field goals this season, missing just one from 56 yards out. It is long past due for him to make his first Pro Bowl.
P Shane Lechler– As usual he leads the NFL in punt yard average. He is a shoo-in every year as it should be.
KR Jacoby Ford– He already returned a kick for a touchdown this season after returning three last season. It took him just 20 games to become the Raiders’ all-time leader in kick return touchdowns.
ST Rock Cartwright– The best in the business on special teams. He does it all: coverage, blocking, rushing, returning.
Some other Raider standout performers include: FB Marcel Reece, OG Stefen Wisniewski, CB Stanford Routt, LB Kamerion Wimbley, and DT Tommy Kelly.
TIP: This may seem obvious, but if you want to raise the odds that your favorite Raider players get in, don’t vote for any other AFC players from other teams at the same position.
Now head over to your Pro Bowl ballot by clicking here.
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