Five takeaways from the 2016 Pro Bowl rosters

The NFL announced the 86 players selected to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday night, a group that includes 42 players on offense, 36 on defense and eight specialists. The 14-0 Carolina Panthers had a league-high 10 men chosen, while last year’s Super Bowl finalists, New England and Seattle, each had seven, as did the Arizona Cardinals.

You can see the full rosters below, but here are five takeaways from the picks:

There is no better story than Eric Berry. On Dec. 9, 2014, doctors announced that the Kansas City Chiefs safety had Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which was discovered when Berry complained of pain in his chest. On Tuesday, 378 days after that news came, he was one of three strong safeties named to the Pro Bowl with Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu and Oakland’s Charles Woodson. At 39, Woodson, who announced on Monday that this will be his final season, is the oldest defensive player named to the NFL’s all-star game.

New England CB Malcolm Butler proves his Lombardi-clinching interception was not a flash-in-the-pan. The Cinderella story of Butler, an undrafted rookie out of Division II West Alabama last season, continues: he has been playing at a high level this season, matching up against the opponent’s best receiver, and holding his own. He has two interceptions and 15 pass breakups to go with 50 tackles. Butler is one of three first-time Pro Bowlers at the position, joining the Panthers’ Josh Norman and Chiefs rookie Marcus Peters.

Older quarterbacks are the best quarterbacks. Of the six quarterbacks chosen – New England’s Tom Brady, Carolina’s Cam Newton, Arizona’s Carson Palmer, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Seattle’s Russell WIlson – the youngest is Newton, who is 26 but in his fifth season; Wilson is 27 and in his fourth season. The other four QBs are all 32 or older.

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Joe Thomas is a model of consistency. Thomas, the Cleveland Browns’ left tackle, has been in the NFL for nine years, and has been chosen to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time. According to Thomas’ agent, Peter Schaffer, he joins an elite group of players who made the Pro Bowl in each of their first nine seasons, including Hall of Famers Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, Barry Sanders and “Mean” Joe Greene.

Being a playoff team takes talent. While some teams that aren’t going to the postseason, like the Browns and Cowboys, do have Pro Bowlers, the six teams that did not have any players recognized – Chicago, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New Orleans, San Diego and Tennessee – are all on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason. It is the first time since 2007 that the Saints’ Drew Brees has not been named a Pro Bowler, though he could still make it as an alternate. 

  OFFENSE (42)

DEFENSE (36)

SPECIALISTS (8)