December 07, 2023
The NFL released the numbers so far for its Pro Bowl fan vote on Wednesday, and to little surprise, Jason Kelce is leading the vote at center for the NFC.
But to a bigger surprise: Reed Blankenship is the frontrunner at strong safety.
Kelce's appeal in a fan vote is pretty obvious right now, given the success of the New Heights podcast he co-hosts with his brother and star Chiefs tight end, Travis, the release of the second Philly Special Holiday album, and his jump into the mainstream spotlight with an appearance in People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" issue, all on top of still being one of the league's best centers at age 36.
Blankenship doesn't have anywhere near that level of mass appeal but has made a considerable jump in performance from year 1 to year 2, especially as a tackler in the open field, and fans seem to have taken notice.
The Pro Bowl switched away from the traditional 11-on-11 all-star game setup last season in favor of a series of skills contests and then a flag football game that frees up players to go outside of their traditional positions.
It's all in an attempt to shake up and ignite interest in an annual event that has long been stale, but it's also still the week before the Super Bowl, so when you're a team with championship aspirations like the Eagles, you'd rather not see your players appearing in it anyway.
The full fan vote stats can be seen at NFL.com HERE.
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