Broncos’ Zach Allen and Quinn Meinerz snubbed for the Pro Bowl
The Broncos had three Pro Bowlers for the second season in a row, but Allen and Meinerz deserve their seat at the table.
The 2024-25 NFL Pro Bowlers were announced Friday, with three Broncos players selected for the event. Representing the Denver Broncos are defensive back Patrick Surtain II, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, and returner Marvin Mims Jr. However, two additional Broncos deserve recognition as Pro Bowlers this season.
Defensive lineman Zach Allen and right guard Quinn Meinerz have had better seasons than the players who were selected ahead of them.
Zach Allen
Allen has been an absolutely dominant force in Vance Joseph's 3-4 defense, and it is an atrocity that he did not make the Pro Bowl. Let’s take a look.
Allen was beat out by Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward, Kansas City’s Chris Jones, and Baltimore’s Nnamdi Madubuike. First off, Allen has 51 stops, while Heyward has 57, and Jones and Madubuike have 31 each. Allen has 8.5 sacks, Heyward has eight, Madubuike has 6.5, and Jones has five. In terms of total pressures, Allen leads the charge with 65, compared to Jones’ 61, Madubuike’s 45, and Heyward’s 40.
If the stats don’t make Allen’s case, this will: Zach Allen has been one of the most important parts of one of the best defenses in the league. He consistently draws double teams, which has allowed the Broncos' defense to lead the league in sacks with 58.
When he’s not drawing double teams, he’s getting to the quarterback with his sacks and pressures. Allen was an integral part in Denver breaking their single season sack record this season.
Heyward is the one I can comfortably say deserves his spot in the Pro Bowl, as his numbers are comparable to Allen’s. However, Jones and Madubuike are less deserving, and the stats back this up.
Quinn Meinerz
Meinerz missed out on the Pro Bowl in favor of Indianapolis Colts’ Quenton Nelson and Kansas City Chiefs’ guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith. While all three of these guards, along with Meinerz, have been crucial to their teams’ success this season, the metrics reveal that Meinerz was snubbed.
According to Pro Football Focus, Meinerz ranks fifth in overall offensive grade, compared to Nelson at eighth, with Thuney and Smith out of the top ten. In terms of run blocking, Meinerz earns a better report than all three with an 84.1 run-blocking grade (fifth among guards), while the others rank lower, with Nelson being the closest with an 83 grade (eighth among guards). When it comes to pass blocking, Meinerz (80.1) was better than everyone except Thuney, who has an 81.9.
Once again, Thuney is the only player who truly deserves a spot ahead of Meinerz, but Nelson and Smith did not earn their places. Quenton Nelson, who has been one of the better guards in the NFL for a few years, was selected purely based on his name. Meanwhile, Smith made it thanks to being a popular fan vote among Chiefs supporters, which accounts for one-third of the total voting.
The Pro Bowl usually has a few spots open when players are injured or are going to the Super Bowl, so it would not be a surprise if Allen and Meinerz end up making an appearance anyway. The point is that they deserved a spot to start with. What needs to happen is the NFL needs to recognize talent, as this is the second year in a row these two have not been elected, and they are having even better years.
Watch Zach Allen and Quinn Meinerz as the Broncos take on the Chiefs Sunday at 2 p.m. M.T. (CBS), with a win taking them to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
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