Although they may be a small-market team and often overlooked, the Indianapolis Colts are sending a good-sized group of players to the 2022 NFL Pro Bowl.
According to an official league announcement Wednesday night, the Colts will send seven players in total to the Pro Bowl, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 6, 2022. Of the seven players for the Colts, three are on offense, three are on defense and one is on special teams, representing a balanced showing for the Colts — much like their overall roster construction.
Offensively, NFL MVP candidate and star running Jonathan Taylor, All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson and stalwart center Ryan Kelly will represent the Colts offensively in Las Vegas. Defensively, All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard, standout defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and shutdown slot corner Kenny Moore II are headed to Las Vegas, while long snapper Luke Rhodes represents the Colts on special teams in the Pro Bowl.
The seven Colts in the Pro Bowl marks the highest number of players the franchise has sent to the all-star game since 2014.
With his selection to the Pro Bowl, Nelson made NFL history, becoming the 54th player in league history to be named to a Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons. He's also just the second Colts player to do so, joining Alan Ameche from 1955-58.
Leonard and Kelly are headed to their third straight Pro Bowls, with Kelly becoming the first Colts center since Jeff Saturday (2005-2007) to accomplish the feat.
Buckner earned his second selection to the Pro Bowl, and his first since 2018 when he was with the San Francisco 49ers.
Moore, the Colts' nominee for the 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, finally gets his due.
The standout corner's Pro Bowl nod was a long time coming. The slot corner is having the best season of his career to date, leading the league in run stops from the defensive back position (15), according to Pro Football Focus, and has a sparkling 78.4 passer rating when targeted on the year, which happens to be a league-high 105 times. Rhodes also gets his due at long snapper, becoming the Colts' first Pro Bowl selection since Matt Overton in 2013.
Then there's Taylor, the front-runner for the league's MVP award.
Taylor led all players in Pro Bowl fan votes this season and was one of the first five players named to the Pro Bowl on Monday by the NFL. The star second-year running back leads the NFL in a number of rushing categories and finds himself smack dab in the middle of the MVP discussion, which is rare for a running back in today's NFL.
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