2026 NFL Pro Bowl AFC, NFC rosters: The league's top players
Two emerging stars in the Eagles’ defensive backfield in DeJean and Mitchell get their first Pro Bowl nods. It’s safe to say general manager Howie Roseman knocked it out of the park when he selected Mitchell 22nd overall and DeJean 40th in the 2024 draft. Mitchell is tied for fifth (11) and DeJean ninth (10)…
Two emerging stars in the Eagles’ defensive backfield in DeJean and Mitchell get their first Pro Bowl nods. It’s safe to say general manager Howie Roseman knocked it out of the park when he selected Mitchell 22nd overall and DeJean 40th in the 2024 draft. Mitchell is tied for fifth (11) and DeJean ninth (10) in pass breakups this season. Collectively, the Eagles held opponents to the lowest completion percentage in the NFL (56%) entering Week 16. Baun has made two Pro Bowls in as many seasons since joining defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and being moved from edge to inside linebacker. He has 117 tackles, seven passes defensed, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions on the year.
Did you know? Mitchell entered Week 16 leading all corners in catch rate allowed (41.6%) and third in passer rating allowed (61.4). He and DeJean anchor a secondary that is allowing just 192 passing yards per game (7th). — Tim McManus
Not a whole lot worked well for Washington this season, but Way and the special teams coverage units were excellent. Way, 35, is averaging 47.2 yards per punt — his highest since 2021. His net of 43.8 is his best since 2020 and he has landed half of his kicks inside the 20-yard line, the second-highest percentage of his career. Opponents’ average field position after his punts was their own 18.5-yard line — the best in Way’s career. Rookie Jaylin Lane was named a second alternate after returning two punts for touchdowns and will be one to watch in the future. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil had a strong season, but his streak of three consecutive Pro Bowls ended.
Did you know? Washington had two Pro Bowlers last season — quarterback Jayden Daniels and receiver Terry McLaurin. They have combined to miss 15 games so far this season — and played only two full games together. They combined for 70 catches, 944 yards and 12 touchdowns last season compared to 10 for 116 and no scores in 2025. — John Keim
The Bears’ decision to revamp their offensive line in the offseason paid off with two Pro Bowl bids. Thuney is a regular fixture of the Pro Bowl with his fourth straight selection in his second straight season without allowing a sack. Dalman has been pivotal to the development of quarterback Caleb Williams in his second season and was the No. 1 vote-getter at center in the NFC. Byard is having a career resurgence in Chicago with a league-high six interceptions on the Bears defense, which has a league-best 31 takeaways.
Did you know? The red-hot Bears received the most fan votes of any team, which accounts for one-third of the overall vote in determining who makes the Pro Bowl roster. Chicago had five offensive players (Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift, Thuney, Dalman and Darnell Wright), four on defense (Nahshon Wright, Tremaine Edmunds, Byard, Jaquan Brisker) and two on special teams (Josh Blackwell, Devin Duvernay) who were the top vote-getters by the fans at their respective positions in the NFC. — Courtney Cronin
The Lions are amid one of their most successful eras in franchise history under head coach Dan Campbell and received the fifth-most Pro Bowl votes from fans by a team this season. Jack Campbell is the first Lions linebacker to be selected to a Pro Bowl since Stephen Boyd in 2000, while Gibbs has now been selected to a Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons. Gibbs joined Barry Sanders and Billy Sims as the only RBs in team history to earn three Pro Bowl berths in the Super Bowl era.
Did you know? Gibbs has established himself as one of the most electrifying players in the league, passing Sanders for the most touchdowns in NFL history by a player under the age of 24 (48) and the most touchdowns by a player in his first three seasons. “I am so happy for Jahmyr and his teammates,” Sanders told ESPN of Gibbs’ record-breaking start. “It is really incredible when you think he was able to score so many times with so many other weapons on offense. And he is not done yet I hope. It is a real testament to his ability to consistently create big plays.” — Eric Woodyard
Parsons was the only Packers player to be selected, and he’s out for the season after tearing his left ACL in Week 15. He is the first defensive player to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons since Aaron Donald of the Rams. Parsons became the first player in NFL history with at least a dozen sacks in his first five seasons. Parsons finished with 12.5 in 2025. It marks the second straight season the Packers have had a Pro Bowler make it during their first season in Green Bay. In 2024, running back Josh Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney made the Pro Bowl after joining Green Bay during the offseason.
Did you know? Jordan Love is still looking for his first Pro Bowl selection. Love’s numbers (23 touchdowns, six interceptions, 72.8 Total QBR) don’t compare to NFC starter Matthew Stafford (40/5/72.0) but are on par with the other two NFC Pro Bowl QBs: Dak Prescott (28/10/73.0) and Sam Darnold (24/13/60.8). — Rob Demovsky
A complete shutout from the Pro Bowl is an exclamation point on the Vikings’ expensive failure this season. The team committed nearly $350 million to its 2025 roster, hoping to support first-time starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy with experienced talent at nearly every position. But some of their top players dealt with injuries, including linebackers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel and left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Receiver Justin Jefferson, meanwhile, is straining just to reach a 1,000-yard season amid McCarthy’s struggles. The only other time Jefferson missed the Pro Bowl was 2023, when he missed seven games because of a torn hamstring. Long-snapper Andrew DePaola, who won the fan voting and was elected to the previous three Pro Bowls, was the only obvious snub.
Did you know? This season was the third in team history without a single player chosen for the initial Pro Bowl season. The other two were in 1983 and 2014. — Kevin Seifert
NFC SOUTH
Pro Bowlers: OG Chris Lindstrom (4); RB Bijan Robinson (2)
Robinson was a no-brainer. He leads the league in yards from scrimmage (2,026) and is fifth in rushing yards (1,250). More than that, he has been the engine of an injury-plagued Falcons offense. In his third season, Robinson has become one of the top running backs in the league and among the most versatile with a career-high 776 receiving yards. If Robinson is the engine, Lindstrom is the conductor. He is the Falcons’ best run blocker, and his pass protection has improved every season. Lindstrom is also one of the team’s captains.
Did you know? Robinson is the first player with 1,000 rushing yards and 750 receiving yards in a season since Christian McCaffrey in 2019. McCaffrey also has accomplished that feat this season. — Marc Raimondi
Pro Bowlers: CB Jaycee Horn (2)
Horn became the first Carolina player since DE Brian Burns (2021-22) to make consecutive Pro Bowls, and deservedly so. He is tied for second in the NFL in interceptions with five and is a true shutdown corner. The surprise is that DL Derrick Brown didn’t make his second Pro Bowl. He has been a difference-maker as a run stopper, as has been his reputation, but also as a pass rusher.
Did you know? The Panthers still haven’t had multiple players selected to the Pro Bowl since 2022, but that comes with an asterisk. RB Christian McCaffrey and DE Brian Burns made it that year, but McCaffrey was traded to San Francisco in October, so he played only six of 17 games for Carolina. In ’21, Burns and cornerback Stephon Gilmore made the team, but Gilmore made it as an alternate. So you really have to go back to 2019 when LB Luke Kuechly and OG Trai Turner were initial selections. — David Newton
This is the second straight season the Saints have had no players on the initial Pro Bowl roster, although Erik McCoy and JT Gray made last year’s roster as alternates. It’s a sign of where the Saints (5-10) are as they try to emerge from a five-season streak of missing the postseason. The Saints would have to go back to the Pro Bowls for the 2015 and 2016 seasons to find a similar pattern, as neither of those teams had players initially named to the Pro Bowl. Later, Cam Jordan (2015) and Drew Brees (2016) would make the rosters as alternates.
Did you know? Juwan Johnson was briefly among the top 10 tight ends in the fan voting portion, but no Saints players made the top 10 at their position when the final fan votes were tallied. Former Saints wideout/kick returner Rashid Shaheed, who was sent to the Seahawks at the trade deadline this year, made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist after returning two kicks for TDs in Seattle. — Katherine Terrell
Pro Bowlers: FS Antoine Winfield Jr. (2); OT Tristan Wirfs (5)
This marks Wirfs’ fifth consecutive Pro Bowl selection in six seasons (2021-25) and Winfield’s second selection (2021). Both were members of the Bucs’ 2020 draft class, going 13th and 45th overall, respectively. In 11 games this season, Wirfs has posted a 95.2% pass block win rate — third best in the NFL for tackles, and he has surrendered just 3.0 sacks. Winfield is the only defensive back, and one of three players with at least 75 tackles, multiple interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery through Week 16 this season.
Did you know? Wirfs’ five Pro Bowl selections give him the third most in team history, behind only Mike Evans and Mike Alstott (6). Wirfs and Alstott are the only Bucs offensive players to earn five straight Pro Bowl selections. Wirfs becomes the first Buc to accomplish this feat since defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (2012-17). Winfield joins Pro Football Hall of Famer John Lynch (1997, 1999-2002, 2004-07) as just the second safety in team history to be named to multiple Pro Bowls. — Jenna Laine
NFC WEST
Pro Bowlers: SS Budda Baker (8); TE Trey McBride (2)
There may not have been a more obvious choice for the Pro Bowl than McBride. He is the NFL’s sixth-leading receiver. Not just among tight ends — among everyone. And the next closest tight end is Atlanta’s Kyle Pitts Sr., who ranks 22nd. McBride has established himself as the preeminent tight end in the NFL, which earned him his second straight Pro Bowl nod. Baker has been able to use a Sharpie, not a pencil, on his calendar to schedule a trip to the Pro Bowl. This is his eighth overall selection and seventh straight. He’s the only safety in the NFL to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of the past seven seasons. Linebacker Josh Sweat, who was named as an alternate, is sitting ninth in the NFL in sacks for a defense that has allowed the seventh-most yards this season.
Did you know? McBride is the second tight end in the Cardinals long history to be named to consecutive Pro Bowls. Jackie Smith, who went to five straight Pro Bowls from 1966 to 1970, was the first. — Josh Weinfuss
Pro Bowlers: WR Puka Nacua (2); QB Matthew Stafford (4); LB Jared Verse (2); LB Byron Young (1)
The Rams have four Pro Bowl selections: two on each side of the ball. Stafford is playing some of the best football of his career, leading the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns through Week 16. His top target has been Nacua, who ranks second in receiving yards this season despite missing a game (and nearly two more halves) due to injury. On defense, the Rams have been led by their pass rush, especially Verse and Young. Young leads the team with 11 sacks this season and has earned his first Pro Bowl selection.
Did you know? Verse has now made the Pro Bowl in his first two NFL seasons. He was the Rams’ lone initial selection last season. — Sarah Barshop
Pro Bowlers: OT Trent Williams (12); FB Kyle Juszczyk (10); TE George Kittle (7); RB Christian McCaffrey (4); LS Jon Weeks (2); ST Luke Gifford (1)
Williams and Juszczyk continue to be Pro Bowl mainstays. Williams has bounced back strong from an injury-plagued 2024 and Juszczyk’s 10 selections are the most ever for a fullback. Gifford’s and Weeks’ selections provide evidence of how far the Niners special teams have come from one of the worst units in the NFL in 2024 to one of the best in 2025, though kicker Eddy Piñeiro should have at least been an alternate. McCaffrey and Kittle continue to be standard-bearers at their positions with McCaffrey aiming for a second career season with 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving.
Did you know? Williams’ 12th Pro Bowl selection ties him with Hall of Famers Randall McDaniel and Will Shields for the second most by an offensive lineman in league history. With two more nods, Williams can tie Bruce Matthews’ 14 for the most ever. — Nick Wagoner
Pro Bowlers: QB Sam Darnold (2); DE DeMarcus Lawrence (5); KR Rashid Shaheed (2); WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2); DL Leonard Williams (3); CB Devon Witherspoon (3)
The Seahawks’ breakthrough in Year 2 under Mike Macdonald yielded six Pro Bowl selections, tied with Baltimore, Denver and San Francsico for most in the NFL. Darnold hasn’t thrown as many touchdown passes as Jared Goff (32 to 24) nor does he have as good of a Total QBR as Jordan Love (72.8 to 60.8), but those two NFC quarterback counterparts don’t have their teams in the driver’s seat for the conference’s top playoff seed. After making the Pro Bowl as injury replacements last season, Smith-Njigba and Williams were easy choices on the original ballot. JSN has an NFL-high 1,637 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns while Williams is tied for second among defensive tackles with 7.0 sacks.
Did you know? Witherspoon is the fourth Seahawks player to be named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three NFL seasons, joining linebackers Fredd Young and Lofa Tatupu and quarterback Russell Wilson. His latest selection is a testament to what Macdonald said recently about how well Witherspoon is playing despite not consistently filling up the stat sheet. — Brady Henderson
AFC roster
Quarterback: Josh Allen*, Buffalo Bills; Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers; Drake Maye, New England Patriots
Running back: De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins; James Cook, Buffalo Bills; Jonathan Taylor*, Indianapolis Colts
Fullback: Patrick Ricard*, Baltimore Ravens
Wide receiver: Ja’Marr Chase*, Cincinnati Bengals; Nico Collins*, Houston Texans; Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens; Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders*; Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive tackle: Joe Alt*, Los Angeles Chargers; Garett Bolles*, Denver Broncos; Dion Dawkins, Buffalo Bills
Offensive guard: Quinn Meinerz*, Denver Broncos; Quenton Nelson*, Indianapolis Colts; Trey Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Center: Creed Humphrey*, Kansas City Chiefs; Tyler Linderbaum, Baltimore Ravens
Defensive end: Will Anderson Jr.*, Houston Texans; Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders; Myles Garrett*, Cleveland Browns
Interior linemen: Zach Allen, Denver Broncos; Chris Jones*, Kansas City Chiefs; Jeffery Simmons*, Tennessee Titans
Outside linebacker: Nik Bonitto*, Denver Broncos; Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers; T.J. Watt*, Pittsburgh Steelers
Inside/middle linebacker: Azeez Al-Shaair, Houston Texans; Roquan Smith*, Baltimore Ravens
Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots; Derek Stingley Jr.*, Houston Texans; Pat Surtain II*, Denver Broncos; Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
Free safety: Jalen Ramsey*, Pittsburgh Steelers
Strong safety: Kyle Hamilton*, Baltimore Ravens; Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
Long-snapper: Ross Matiscik*, Jacksonville Jaguars
Punter: Jordan Stout*, Baltimore Ravens
Place-kicker: Cameron Dicker*, Los Angeles Chargers
Return specialist: Chimere Dike*, Tennessee Titans
Special-teamer: Ben Skowronek*, Pittsburgh
NFC roster
Quarterback (3): Matthew Stafford*, Los Angeles Rams; Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks; Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
Running back (3): Jahmyr Gibbs*, Detroit Lions; Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers; Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Fullback (1): Kyle Juszczyk*, San Francisco 49ers
Wide receiver (4): Puka Nacua*, Los Angeles Rams; Jaxon Smith-Njigba*, Seattle Seahawks; George Pickens, Dallas Cowboys; Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Tight end (2): Trey McBride*, Arizona Cardinals; George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Offensive tackle (3): Penei Sewell*, Detroit Lions; Tristan Wirfs* Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Offensive guard (3): Tyler Smith*, Dallas Cowboys; Joe Thuney*, Chicago Bears; Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons
Center (2): Drew Dalman*, Chicago Bears; Cam Jurgens, Philadelphia Eagles
Defensive end (3): Aidan Hutchinson*, Detroit Lions; Micah Parsons*, Green Bay Packers; DeMarcus Lawrence, Seattle Seahawks
Interior linemen (3): Jalen Carter*, Philadelphia Eagles; Leonard Williams*, Seattle Seahawks, Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys
Outside linebacker (3): Brian Burns*, New York Giants, Jared Verse*, Los Angeles Rams; Byron Young, Los Angeles Rams
Inside/middle linebacker (2): Jack Campbell*, Detroit Lions; Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles
Cornerback (2): Jaycee Horn*, Carolina Panthers; Devon Witherspoon, Seattle Seahawks
Free safety (2): Kevin Byard III*, Chicago Bears; Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Strong safety (1): Budda Baker*, Arizona Cardinals
Long-snapper (1): Jon Weeks*, San Francisco 49ers
Punter (1): Tress Way*, Washington Commanders
Placekicker (1): Brandon Aubrey*, Dallas Cowboys
Return specialist (1): Rashid Shaheed*, Seattle Seahawks
Special-teamer (1): Luke Gifford*, San Francisco 49ers
* indicates starter
