Chicago Bears fare well in Pro Bowl fan voting.
The Chicago Bears haven’t done well in terms of Pro Bowl representation the last few years. That’s really not a surprise. First of all, the Bears haven’t had much talent. Second, the Bears won-loss record hasn’t been stellar and usually teams that perform poorly don’t get much representation in Orlando. But this year, things are different.
The NFL announced the final results for this year’s Pro Bowl fan vote and the Bears did far better than they have in recent years.
Khalil Mack led all defensive players and obviously was the top vote getter at outside linebacker with over 577,000 votes. Kyle Fuller led all NFC cornerbacks with over 377,000 votes. Both of the Bears’ safeties led the way for the NFC. Eddie Jackson tallied over 311,000 votes at free safety and Adrian Amos totaled over 213,000 votes at strong safety.
There was one more Bear that led the way at their position. Tarik Cohen was the top vote-getter at kick returner with over 266,000 votes.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that all of these Bears will be in Orlando. The fan voting makes up one-third of the total vote, and the players and coaches make up the other two-thirds of the vote. It’s safe to say that Khalil Mack and Eddie Jackson will find their way to Orlando, there is no guarantee that Fuller, Amos or Cohen make it depending on how coaches and players vote.
There are also several Bears lying in the weeds that could jump into the Pro Bowl if they get enough love from their peers. Here’s a list on how the other Bears on the ballot fared at their positions (note: these are only players that finished in the top 10 at their position among all NFL players, not just NFC):
DT – Akiem Hicks – 2nd
C – Cody Whitehair – 3rd
ILB – Roquan Smith – 4th
CB – Prince Amukamara – 4th
P – Patrick O’Donnell – 4th
ST – Sherrick McManis – 4th
ILB – Danny Trevathan – 5th
TE – Trey Burton – 6th
OT – Charles Leno Jr. – 8th
QB – Mitchell Trubisky – 9th
RB – Tarik Cohen – 10th
OG – James Daniels – 10th
DT – Eddie Goldman – 10th
If Mack, Fuller, Jackson, Amos and Cohen all hold onto their spots from the fan vote, it would be safe to assume Akiem Hicks also should make it in. Cody Whitehair has a chance as does Roquan Smith and Prince Amukamara.
That could mean as many as nine Bears could make the Pro Bowl. That would be a significant contrast to how things have been in the past. Last season, not one Bear was represented in the Pro Bowl.
Final Pro Bowl rosters (well, final until several players decide not to go and alternates need to fill their spots) will be announced on NFL Network on December 18th at 8pm Eastern.