The National Football League announced the players voted on by fans for the 2018 NFL Pro Bowl, which is scheduled for Jan. 28 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Among the players invited include University of Alabama football players Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Landon Collins, C.J. Mosley and Alvin Kamara.
For Jones, this is his fifth Pro Bowl since being drafted in 2011.
Atlanta snatched him in the first round and he has turned in five 1,000-yard performances in seven years.
Hailing from Foley, Ala., the talented 6-foot-2, 220-pound receiver accounted for 1,215 yards with three touchdowns on 76 receptions in 14 games. Jones totaled three 100-yard outings, including a 200-plus yard output in the Falcons’ first matchup against Tampa Bay.
While his 1,215 yards and 86.8 yards per game average ranks him third in the league among receivers, his 76 receptions place him seventh. Behind Jones, Atlanta is currently 9-5 and holds the final seed in the NFC wildcard picture.
In New Orleans, Ingram is becoming a superstar.
Alabama football’s first Heisman winner in 2009 is heading to his second Pro Bowl, after recording back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He followed up his 1,043 yards and six touchdowns on 205 carries in 2016, with 1,045 yards and 11 scores on 204 attempts this year.
Ingram has four 100-yard games through 14 matchups, while also securing his fourth straight campaign of totaling 1,000 yards from scrimmage since 2014.
Saints’ head coach Sean Payton has not witnessed his group make the playoffs in three seasons, but Ingram has changed that.
Pairing the hard-nosed Ingram with the flash of Alvin Kamara was genius.
Regardless of not playing during his time at Alabama, Kamara did sign in the program’s 2013 recruiting class with Derrick Henry, Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones. He would transfer to a junior college, and then became an all-purpose back at the University of Tennessee (2015-16).
New Orleans selected Kamara in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft, and he has amassed over 1,000 yards from scrimmage – 1,336 yards – with 12 touchdowns on 167 touches.
His efforts notched him a first time Pro Bowl invite as a rookie.
Ravens’ fans will remember Ray Lewis, but C.J. Mosley has provided them something to smile about in his fourth season. He’s totaled at least 100 tackles in three seasons, with 121 stops coming this year. Mosley has led Baltimore in tackles in two of his four years, and his output through 14 games ranks him sixth in the NFL.
A product of Theodore, Ala., he’s chimed in with 10-plus tackles in five games and has eight tackles for loss, six pass breakups, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries to his sheet.
Mosley is heading to his third Pro Bowl since 2014 (rookie season) and Baltimore in position for a wildcard spot in the playoffs.
The Giants are a train wreck, but Landon Collins is a pleasant sign.
He leads the team in total tackles (103) and has four tackles for loss, six pass breakups, two interceptions, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Collins has led New York in tackles in each of the last three seasons he has been in the league.
Upon being drafted in the second round in 2015, the Louisiana native is responsible for at least 100 stops in all three years.
He now prepares for his second Pro Bowl.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
