Though Pro Bowl voting has only been happening for about a week, Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt is off to a fast start. In an NFL press release Wednesday that highlighted the top vote-getters at each position, Watt leads AFC outside linebackers in fan voting so far.
Per the league’s release, Watt is the only Steeler to be a top vote-getter at his position.
The top five vote leaders across the NFL are led by a pair of quarterbacks, Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa in first place with nearly 60,000 votes. Houston Texans’ rookie sensation C.J. Stroud sits in second with over 44,000. He’s closely followed by San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey at 43,331 with Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill and Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce taking fourth and fifth place.
Watt, a five-time Pro Bowler, has been selected every season since his sophomore year. Second in the AFC with 14 sacks, he’s a lock to make it again. Watt also has 47 tackles (13 for a loss), seven pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and one interception.
According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, several other Steelers crack the top 10 though no one is higher than fourth place. FS Minkah Fitzpatrick sits in ninth place with kicker Chris Boswell just 1oth among his position. LS Christian Kuntz is 8th and special teams captain Miles Killebrew is fourth.
Fans have until Dec. 25th to cast their vote and can do so at the link here. From there, coaches and players will cast their ballots and make up a chunk of the vote to determine the final Pro Bowl rosters. Last year, Watt and Fitzpatrick were the two players to make the Pro Bowl via initial balloting.
The 2024 Pro Bowl Games will take place over several days in early February in Orlando, Fla., wrapping up on Feb. 4th. Gone is an actual game, which became uninspiring flag football, and in its place a series of mini-games and challenges that’ll feature the game’s best players.
