The Chiefs had several players make the Pro Bowl for the first time following the 2018 season, including FB Anthony Sherman, LT Eric Fisher and OLB Dee Ford.
This season, the Chiefs will hopefully be declining invitations to the Pro Bowl and playing in the Super Bowl the following weekend. There are still some players that could potentially be voted to their first Pro Bowl regardless of a Super Bowl appearance. Here’s a look at some Chiefs players that have a good chance to make it to their first Pro Bowl this upcoming season:
DE Frank Clark
Clark’s first season in Kansas City could potentially mark his first trip to the Pro Bowl. Clark hadn’t been to the Pro Bowl with the Seahawks, but he probably had a case in 2018 when he recorded 13 sacks and an interception.
Word out of Kansas City is that Clark is looking like the player that Brett Veach had hoped he’d be, and then some. There’s been news of him working Chiefs starting left tackle Eric Fisher, and the fans that saw him at the first-look event had great things to say about him.
The Chiefs are relying on Clark to generate a large portion of their pressure after jettisoning Dee Ford and Justin Houston. If Clark is the dynamic defender that he’s made out to be, fans will almost certainly vote him into his first Pro Bowl next season.
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WR Sammy Watkins
It’s hard to buy into all of the early offseason hype with Sammy Watkins. It’s a convenient storyline given the situation surrounding Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill. That makes it easy to be wary of any potential talk of a breakout season from Watkins.
Then you hear the type of things that Watkins has said about this offseason, and you hear the way his coaches are talking about him. It sounds like he’s taking the next step, not only as a receiver, but as a football player. He’s emerging as a leader and he’s building stronger chemistry with Patrick Mahomes in his second year.
Obviously, the most important piece of the puzzle for Watkins is staying healthy for the entirety of the 2019 season. There’s no reason Watkins can’t put together a Pro Bowl season with a full 16 games under his belt. He has all the ability in the world, but availability has been the biggest problem preventing him from a Pro Bowl caliber season.
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RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
In five seasons with the Chiefs, Duvernay-Tardif has started 43 games. Before his 2018 season was cut short by injury, he was already on his way to a Pro Bowl campaign.
Pro Football Focus had Duvernay-Tardif as the No. 2 ranked guard in the AFC West. It didn’t matter that he didn’t make it past Week 5 of the regular season due to injury. Can you imagine what the good doctor would have been able to do had he been healthy for a full 16-game season?
Duvernay-Tardif has had ample recovery time and he even looks like he’s improved his fitness in the process. He could easily be looking to follow up a season spent on injured reserve with a Pro Bowl season.
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KR Tremon Smith
The Chiefs are loaded on special teams for the 2019 season. There may not be a team in the NFL with more firepower, between Smith, Byron Pringle, rookie Mecole Hardman and Tyreek Hill. Each player is a threat to take the ball to the house any time they touch the ball.
Some people have Smith on the roster bubble because of sheer depth, but you can’t teach speed. Smith has been dubbed the fastest guy in the locker room by his speedy teammate Hill, which is a massive endorsement.
Still, Smith needs to show progress in 2019 at both the kick returner position and as a cornerback. In 2018, Smith finished the season with the third-most kick return yardage in the NFL, but he didn’t score a touchdown. If Smith can take a few to the house in 2019 and notch on a few extra yards, he’ll surely be punching his ticket to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.
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