About a week ago, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah weighed in on the potential talent disparity in the Super Bowl. Perhaps contributing to the 4.5 points that Vegas is giving the Seattle Seahawks is – according to Jeremiah – a two-to-one ratio in the talent pool, in Seattle’s favor.
The tireless researchers at Field Gulls put this to the test, and discovered that All-Pro voting gives almost the exact same ratio.
The Seahawks have 16 players either voted to the Pro Bowl or receiving All-Pro Votes. They are – with one exception – exactly who you’d guess. The New England Patriots had nine.
And thus, according to science of some very scrutable kind, the 30 best players in Super Bowl 60:
20(ish) for 30 – Seattle Seahawks
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- Sam Darnold
- Leonard Williams
- Devon Witherspoon
- Ernest Jones
- Nick Emmanwori
- DeMarcus Lawrence
- Byron Murphy
- Rashid Shaheed
- Michael Dickson
- AJ Barner
- Gray Zabel
- Julian Love
- Coby Bryant
- Jason Myers
- Robbie Ouzts
The surprise here would be seeing neither Charles Cross nor Abraham Lucas receive any recognition. The transition from elite passing game in the first half of the season to elite run game in the second half and playoffs would simply not be possible without standout tackles. In fact, even Pete Prisco has both players in his top-10 most talented players in the Super Bowl.
So let’s add them. That gives us 18, and as greedy as it would be to ask for another, it would be a crime to leave the postseason’s best rusher off the list. Give Kenneth Walker some love as one of the 30 best players in the game this Sunday.
10 (or more!) for 30 – New England Patriots
- Drake Maye, QB
- Christian Gonzalez, corner
- Milton Williams, defensive tackle
- Jaylinn Hawkins, safety
- Hunter Henry, tight end
- Stefon Diggs, receiver
- Michael Onwenu, this may shock readers, but he’s the only right guard between the two teams on this list.
- Marcus Jones, outside linebacker and punt returner
- Brendan Schooler, special teams gunner
For those that missed it, Maye and Gonzalez are the only Pro Bowl or All-Pro winners for the Patriots. The others received a smattering of votes towards the awards. To fill out the list, we’ll go with Morgan Moses, right tackle, and Carlton Davis, the other standout corner for the Patriots. That leaves 19 on Seattle and 11 for New England, in this indisputable breakdown of the Super Bowl talent.
The most troubling news for New England when the list lays out like this is how mismatched the offense looks against the Seattle defense. Their run game is okay, but Drake Maye doesn’t have much to work with against a three-tiered monster of a defense.
Conversely, Seattle’s not as talented overall on offense either, but the best player on either team is JSN, and while Sam Darnold didn’t get All-Pro like Maye he earned his own Pro Bowl vote after playing MVP-type ball for six weeks.
In a few days time, the talent will take the field in hopes for a second Lombardi Trophy coming back to the Pacific Northwest.
