Pro Bowl Confidential: 35 NFL stars pick MVP, most underrated, Taylor Swift songs

ORLANDO – The Pro Bowl is back in Florida, and so too is our Pro Bowl Confidential — a fourth edition of the anonymous player survey which got its humble start when the game was last here in 2020.

We have some evergreen questions worth asking every year — who’s your MVP? Most underrated players in the league? Favorite and least favorite NFL cities to travel to? — and we try to mix in something topical. This year, that’s asking about the league’s best throwback uniforms, players’ dream Super Bowl halftime performer and yes, a requisite Taylor Swift query.

The goal was coming up with a survey quick enough to knock out in two minutes, with a tiny window of media access for two days of “practice” at Camping World Stadium leading up to Sunday’s flag-football games. This year, we were able to talk to 35 total players, our highest total yet — most at practice, but some on the phone, some through social media and other surreptitious maneuvering.

Here’s last year’s Confidential, and the first two were from my days at The Athletic, in 2020 and 2022. Without further ado, here are this year’s questions and answers.

MVP: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (in a landslide)

This is the third year we’ve asked players for their MVP picks, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had the most dominant showing of any player in those three seasons. After leading Baltimore to the AFC Championship Game, he was the choice for 21 of the 35 players, often framed as “it’s got to be Lamar” or “easy one: Lamar.”

The only other players to land multiple votes were 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (4), Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (3) and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (2), with five others getting single votes: Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.

The tally: 

Lamar Jackson, Ravens: 21
Christian McCaffrey, 49ers: 4
Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs: 3
Brock Purdy, 49ers: 2
Josh Allen, Bills: 1
Myles Garrett, Browns: 1
Jalen Hurts, Eagles: 1
Dak Prescott, Cowboys: 1
C.J. Stroud, Texans: 1

Defensive MVP: Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt (by a hair)

We frame that initial question as simply “who’s your pick for league MVP,” but inevitably it’s generally an offensive player, if not a quarterback, so we follow by asking for a defensive MVP. This yielded our closest finish yet — the first seven responses went to different players, and because one player wanted to split his vote between two players, it set up a flurry of lead changes late between Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (who had five pick-sixes in 2023) and Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt (who led the NFL with 19 sacks).

Watt ended up winning with six votes, edging out Bland by a half-vote. Browns pass-rusher Myles Garrett took third with 3.5 votes, then Cowboys pass-rusher Micah Parsons with three and Raiders pass-rusher Maxx Crosby and Ravens defensive lineman Justin Madubuike with two each.

T.J. Watt, Steelers: 6

DaRon Bland, Cowboys: 5.5
Myles Garrett, Browns: 3.5
Micah Parsons, Cowboys: 3
Maxx Crosby, Raiders: 2
Justin Madubuike, Ravens: 2
Josh Allen, Jaguars: 1
Jessie Bates, Falcons: 1
Nick Bosa, 49ers: 1
Aaron Donald, Rams: 1
Kyle Hamilton, Ravens: 1
Aidan Hutchinson, Lions: 1
Roquan Smith, Ravens: 1
Antoine Winfield, Bucs: 1

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Most underrated offensive player: Tie, but receivers reign

As much as is written about “Pro Bowl snubs,” we like to ask players for the league’s most underrated players on offense and defense. We ask that they not vote for any of their teammates, and everyone’s definition of “underrated” is different, so you’ll see some of the most respected names in the sport, and even crossover between MVP votes and most underrated votes.

Only three guys on offense earned multiple votes — Bucs receiver Mike Evans and two fullbacks, the 49ers’ Kyle Juszczyk and the Dolphins’ Alec Ingold — with two each. We’ll just list the rest alphabetically, though there’s one missing. We record the answers in a chaotic blur and then go back and tally up the responses, and we’ve listened to one answer for the most underrated offensive player a million times and still can’t decipher the name, even though we answered with an enthusiastic “good answer” in real time, like a Family Feud teammate. It sounds like “Othello Quinto” but there’s nothing close to that. If you have a good guess, email me at [email protected] and I’ll try to verify and update.

Mike Evans, Buccaneers receiver (2)
Alec Ingold, Dolphins fullback (2)
Kyle Juszczyk, 49ers fullback (2)

Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers receiver
Saquon Barkley, Giants running back
James Cook, Bills running back
Britain Covey, Eagles receiver
Romeo Doubs, Packers receiver
Chris Godwin, Bucs receiver
Justin Jefferson, Vikings receiver
Alvin Kamara, Saints running back
Tyler Lockett, Seahawks receiver
Baker Mayfield, Bucs quarterback
Terry McLaurin, Commanders receiver
David Montgomery, Lions running back
Puka Nacua, Rams receiver
K.J. Osborn, Vikings receiver
Brock Purdy, 49ers quarterback
Penei Sewell, Lions tackle
Dontayvion Wicks, Packers receiver
Kyren Williams, Rams running back

Most underrated defensive player: “The defensive end who plays for Baltimore”

The best endorsement for a player voting for someone being most underrated is literally not knowing their name. Justin Madubuike got his two votes that way, tying him with the Cowboys’ Bland for most on defense and just beating out Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown, who got 1.5. Here’s the full tally, featuring quite a few who received a single vote.

DaRon Bland, Cowboys cornerback 2
Justin Madubuike, Ravens defensive lineman (2)
Derrick Brown, Panthers defensive lineman 1.5
Brian Branch, Lions defensive back
Lavonte David, Bucs linebacker
T.J. Edwards, Bears linebacker
Kyle Hamilton, Ravens safety
Trey Hendrickson, Bengals edge
Danielle Hunter, Vikings edge
Jaylon Johnson, Bears cornerback
Ernest Jones, Rams linebacker
Dexter Lawrence, Giants defensive lineman
Patrick Queen, Ravens linebacker
D.J. Reader, Bengals defensive lineman
Zach Sieler, Dolphins defensive lineman
Andrew Van Ginkel, Dolphins linebacker
Christian Wilkins, Dolphins defensive lineman
Quinnen Williams, Jets defensive lineman
Quincy Williams, Jets linebacker
Al Woods, Jets defensive lineman 0.5

NFL coach you’d most like to play for: Lions HC Dan Campbell

We frame this one as “other than your own coach, which current NFL coach would you most like to play for,” and even with that in an anonymous survey, there’s a pause with players hesitant to answer, like they would be guilty of NFL infidelity. The first 10 responses all featured different coaches, and we got 14 names in all, but the winner was Lions coach Dan Campbell — one player even said “everybody’s going to say this, but Dan Campbell.”

We generally will accept a heartfelt answer that doesn’t quite meet the parameters of the question, so newly gone Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll got votes, as well as two current assistants in Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks — remember, that can’t be a current player of theirs because they’re all getting ready for the Super Bowl.

Dan Campbell, Lions: 6
Mike Tomlin, Steelers: 5
DeMeco Ryans, Texans: 3
Mike McDaniel, Dolphins: 2
Sean McVay, Rams: 2
Andy Reid, Chiefs: 2
Brian Daboll, Giants
John Harbaugh, Ravens
Matt LaFleur, Packers
Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
Raheem Morris, Falcons
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers
Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs DC
Steve Wilks, 49ers DC
Bill Belichick, ex-Patriots
Pete Carroll, ex-Seahawks

Favorite NFL city to travel to: Hey, look; warm-weather cities won — with one upset!

We like to ask this every year, knowing full well that NFL players rarely have time to actually see a city on the road — they often take a bus from the airport to a team hotel to a stadium to a bus to an airport. The answers, too, inevitably drift to southern cities with warm weather in the cold months of the year. The top three initially were Los Angeles (4), Tampa Bay (4) and Miami (3) — feel free to use this, local chambers of commerce — with Green Bay getting two votes late to tie for the win. 

Our favorite response from one smart player was “London. London’s a part of that now, so London.” We had a rookie respectably abstain because he hadn’t been to every city yet, and another answer bluntly: “I don’t like any of ’em.”

Miami: 4
Los Angeles: 4
Tampa: 4
Green Bay: 4
Dallas: 3
Chicago: 2
Phoenix: 2
Charlotte: 2
Denver
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Philadelphia
Seattle

Least favorite city to travel to: Green Bay (yet again)

This is the other side of the same coin, and by the same logic, the answers are centered on the NFL’s cold, snowy cities. Fans will get upset when their team shows up here, passionately defending their cities — again, this isn’t Fodor’s Travel; it’s just Pro Bowl players getting to throw a cold rival city under the bus.

We went back to the final practices Saturday with Green Bay and Cleveland deadlocked at five votes each, and the Packers won on the final vote of the year. How does Green Bay show up at the top of both lists? “It’s a love/hate,” one explained. “It’s cold, but it’s also going to be so fun.”

Congrats to Buffalo, which dominated this question our first year, tied for first the second year and now is tied for third! As Sally Field once said: “You like me! You really do like me!”

Green Bay: 6
Cleveland: 5
Buffalo: 3
Detroit: 3
Jacksonville: 2
Boston: 2
Indianapolis: 2
New Orleans: 2
Philadelphia: 2
Pittsburgh: 2
Chicago
Nashville
Seattle

Worst-officiated call: Roughing the passer

Anonymous surveys can drift toward negativity, and we generally try to avoid that, aside from the least favorite city to travel to and this one: what’s the worst officiated call in today’s NFL? What do referees get wrong the most often?

This can often be a position-based question — you ask a defensive back, they’re definitely saying defensive pass interference, and if you ask an offensive lineman, they’d get kicked out of position meetings if they didn’t say holding. We try to get a good variety of offense/defense, AFC/NFC, big guys in the trenches and fast guys out on the perimeter. What’s curious is that last year, roughing the passer got 15 votes and nothing else received more than three, but this year was much closer. 

Defensive pass interference got 12 votes to win, just beating out roughing the passer with 10, including a very specific “underthrown deep-ball pass interference.” Also logged: “everything” and “about 90 percent of the calls they’ve implemented the last two years.” One obscure vote for the “blade of grass” rule, which says players cannot use “foreign objects,” even a blade of grass, as a marker on the field.

Defensive pass interference: 12
Unnecessary roughness/roughing the passer: 10
Defensive holding: 2
Offensive holding: 3
Offensive offside: 1
Taunting: 2
Hitting a defenseless player: 1

Favorite current athlete outside of football: Yes, it’s still LeBron James

This is the third year we’ve asked this — who’s your favorite current athlete in any sport other than football — and it’s a cool sports anthropology study to see what sports NFL players choose. The overall dominance of LeBron James continues, as he’s won it all three years, and never more clearly than this year, getting 13 votes with no one else getting more than one.

The first year we asked this, there were no baseball or hockey players, so it’s encouraging to see three baseball players and one from the NHL this year. Most outside-the-box answer: Olympic shot put two-time gold medalist Ryan Crouser, named by two linemen. “He’s 6-7, 330, world record holder in the shot put. I think he could transition and play tackle, make some money, easy.”

There’s a global appreciation with two soccer players and an F1 answer, and two female athletes were named, though one probably threatens the anonymity of this a bit.

LeBron James: basketball 13
Tiger Woods: golf 2
Ryan Crouser: shot put 2
Ronald Acuna: baseball
Israel Adesanya: boxing
Giannis Antetokounmpo: basketball 
Haley Cavinder: Miami/TCU basketball 
Steph Curry: basketball
Rafael Devers: baseball
Lewis Hamilton: F1 racing
Bryce Harper: baseball
Kyrie Irving: basketball
Connor McDavid: hockey
Lionel Messi: soccer
Kelsey Plum: basketball
Cristiano Ronaldo: soccer
Mike Trout: baseball

Best throwback uniforms: Down to the wire …

This is a new question this year, and generated some passionate responses — players whose own teams had fairly cool throwbacks picked other retro looks in a few instances. Nearly half the league got a vote, but the win came down to the Titans’ powder-blue Houston Oilers throwbacks (“I’m not even sure who to give credit for that one to”) and the Seahawks’ retro blue-and-green numbers, tied with five votes each entering Saturday’s morning practices.

The winner? The Titans/Oilers throwback beat out the Seahawks, with the Bucs’ Creamsicle orange, brought back this season, and the Dolphins close behind with four each.

Titans/Oilers: 6
Seahawks: 5
Dolphins: 4
Bucs/creamsicle: 4
Cowboys: 2
Eagles: 2
Giants: 2
Packers: 2
Bears
Chargers
Colts
Falcons
49ers
Jets
Lions
Vikings

Who’s your dream Super Bowl halftime performer? The past prevails

This is another new one, after realizing last year that players’ musical interests were something that we don’t always get to appreciate. NFL players don’t get walk-up songs. So we asked if they weren’t playing in the Super Bowl and actually could enjoy it, who would their dream halftime performer be? Players quickly followed up by asking “do they have to be alive?” — hey, it’s your dream, so why put restrictions on the playlist?

Going into Saturday, there was a tie between past (Michael Jackson) and present (Rihanna), who performed last year’s halftime in Arizona with five votes each. The winner? Jackson won on the final vote.

The rest were a veritable shuffle of assorted performers — Chris Stapleton (who sang the national anthem at last year’s game) got three votes, and Drake, Future and Bruno Mars got two each.

Michael Jackson: 6
Rihanna: 5
Chris Stapleton: 4
Drake: 3
Bruno Mars: 2
Future: 2
Eminem
50 Cent
J. Cole
Kanye West
Taylor Swift
Justin Timberlake
Tupac
Usher
Jay Z

Fumble through the end zone? It’s a touchback

We like to get a little rules-y in this, so after a few prominent plays, we wanted to ask about the NFL rule that when an offensive player fumbles into the end zone and out of bounds, the ball is given to the defense as a touchback. There had been some criticism that it was too harsh and that the ball should be returned to the spot of the fumble amid other suggestions. So we asked players, and a huge majority said they like the rule — and that it should be a touchback. A few responses:

“You’ve got to take care of the ball.”
“Absolutely, touchback.”
“You should be punished for doing that.”
“Stay how it is.”
“That should be a touchback every time.”
“They should keep that rule the same.”
“I love the rule as it is.”
“I’m one of the few offensive players in favor of that rule. I like it as it is.”
“It’s the right call.”

Only a few answers really kept this from unanimous support: one team-oriented player who said “It should be for the opposing team. For us, we should get the ball back.” One offensive player said the ball should be returned to the offense at the 1-yard line, two said it should return to the point of the fumble, and one said the offense should get it back, but at the 25.

And then there was this impressively creative response from one player:

“Free kick from the 50. If you make it, you keep it at your own 20. If you miss it, it’s a regular touchback. Even if you get it, you’ve got to drive 80 yards. If you don’t get it, they get it at their 20. I think it would be fun.”

Of course, we asked a Taylor Swift question

It wouldn’t be the 2023 NFL season if we didn’t throw in a Taylor Swift question — and we’re here for your angry responses that anonymous Pro Bowl surveys should be about football and not pop musicians.

So we asked: if you have one, what’s your favorite Taylor Swift song? The responses were fairly split — 15 of 35 said they didn’t have one, but the ones who did were clearly fans.

“T-Swizzle!” one replied. “Let me go through the repertoire in my head. Gotta go ‘Love Story.’ That was in our wedding.”

“Love Story” was the clear winner, getting six votes, but “22” got three votes and “Sparks Fly” got two, with 11 different songs named. Also, somewhere in between the fans and non-fans: “What is it, Party in the USA?”

“Love Story” (6)
“22” (3)
“Sparks Fly” (2)
“Our Song”
“Red”
“Shake it Off”
“Teardrops on My Guitar”
“Trouble”
“Wildest Dreams”
“You Belong With Me”
“Never Ever Getting Back Together”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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