Colts Pat McAfee Surprisingly Snubbed from Pro Bowl

Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee is one of the noticeable snubs from the 2016 Pro Bowl rosters. Instead, other punters in the Baltimore Ravens Sam Koch and St. Louis Rams Johnny Hekker received the position’s nominations:

It’s a bit surprising considering McAfee was recently the #1 punter in the fans vote just 5 days ago. The Colts 7th-year punter was having his best season yet, as he was averaging 41.6 net yards per punt (7th) and 47.7 yards per punt (3rd) in the league respectively.

Dec 6, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee (1) warms-up before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

However, that doesn’t tell the entire story, as McAfee has been the Colts best player this season.

According to ProFootballFocus (subscription), McAfee grades out as the NFL’s best punter with a +36.5 grade overall. To put McAfee’s dominance in perspective, the league’s 2nd best punter in Koch has received a +27.8 grade overall to-date. 

What was already a disappointing season for the Colts, just got even more somber, as the team got shut out of the Pro Bowl for the 1st time since 1997 per ESPN’s Mike Wells.

However, losing teams rarely get many Pro Bowl player nominations and right now, the Colts are 6-8 and have suffered three consecutive losses.

Unfortunately for McAfee, he may have been the victim of his team’s recent lack of success despite being arguably the best player at his position this season.

As an All-Pro and Pro Bowler last year, it looks like McAfee will have to wait until next season to make his latest Pro Bowl appearance like many of his other Colts counterparts.

Despite the obvious snub however, McAfee has taken the high road: