ENGLEWOOD, Colo — Fans don’t know.
Not when it comes to who is and who isn’t among the league’s very best they don’t.
Luckily for three Denver Broncos, fans only counted for one-third of the Pro Bowl voting. Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II, safety Justin Simmons and rookie returner Marvin Mims Jr. were all named to the AFC Pro Bowl first team thanks to the vote of their fellow players and coaches.
It was the second Pro Bowl starter recognition in as many years for Surtain, who was the Broncos’ first-round draft pick in 2021. He did not show up among the top 10 cornerbacks in the fan voting. Players and coaches also each count one-third toward the final tally.
“It feels good,'' Surtain said Wednesday in an interview with 9NEWS for the Broncos Huddle. "Obviously, accolades come with your play style and how you play. I think this year, you know, I played pretty well for the majority of the season, most of the season. It’s an incredible honor to be mentioned among my peers. To get another Pro Bowl is a great feeling.”
Surprisingly, this was also only the second Pro Bowl nod for Simmons. His first was in 2020. He was named second-team All Pro in 2019, 2021 and 2022 but wasn’t a Pro Bowl selection in any of those three seasons.
Simmons has 30 interceptions since he was the Broncos' third-round draft choice in 2016, the most picks by any NFL player in that span. He has three picks this year.
Simmons finished fourth in the fan voting this year, third in the AFC behind the Dolphins’ Jevon Holland and Baltimore’s Geno Stone. The players and coaches carried him past Holland and Stone as the AFC starting free safety.
"It means a lot coming from the fans, they're the ones that support you day-in and day-out,'' Simmons said. "But when you're going up against the guys week-in and week-out, coaches, players, and they're the ones voting for you, I think it adds another level of appreciation. Very thankful for those guys that vote because you play against them. You game plan against them. I know I take my voting seriously when I vote for who I want into the Pro Bowl so it definitely means a lot."
Mims also was not listed among the top 10 returners in the final fan balloting. The last pick in the second round out of Oklahoma, Mims is averaging a league-best 17.4 yards per punt return and No. 2 in kickoff returns with a 26.3 yard average that includes a 99-yard touchdown.
Perhaps, the Broncos’ most glaring snubs were inside linebacker Alex Singleton and right guard Quinn Meinerz. Singleton is fourth in the league with 164 tackles and didn’t even make it as a Pro Bowl alternate. Meinerz and Broncos’ fullback Michael Burton were named third alternates.
Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton also deserved Pro Bowl consideration as he is tied for third in the league with 10 touchdowns. However, his 58 receptions don’t rank in the top 50 and his 770 yards aren’t among the top 40.
“Every year, I like to get out ahead of it, and usually, I’ll reach out to those players to congratulate them and then reach out to those players that didn’t get in,’’ Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday a few hours before the Pro Bowl selections were announced. “That’s kind of been what I’m used to doing. We’ll see. It’s just one of those things that—we had a ballot a week ago that we looked at as a coaches’ ballot. There’s not a whole lot of anything you can control. Just letting the players know ahead of time—those that got in, and maybe those that didn’t.”
The Pro Bowl is no longer a football game but a series of skills competitions held Sunday, Feb. 4 in Orlando, Fla.
“I don’t want to fan boy,'' Mims said about meeting fellow Pro Bowlers he may have grown u watching. "That’s kind of weird. It’s going to be cool to hang out with a lot of those guys. We have a good amount of (Oklahoma) guys there too, so it’s going to be good to connect with them. I’m excited. I don’t want to fan boy. I kind of want to fit in.”
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