NFL Pro Bowl 2019: 5 Players undeserving of selection
By Randy Gurzi
2. Melvin Ingram, DE, Los Angeles Chargers
At the defensive end spot for the AFC, we have J.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, and Melvin Ingram. Of those three, Watt and Garrett deserve the spot but Ingram seems like a bit of a stretch. Again, like all the players on this list, Ingram is a great player but there have been others who have outperformed him that weren’t named to the Pro Bowl.
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With defensive ends, the key stat is sacks, so we look there for examples. On the seasons, Ingram has seven sacks which puts him in a tie for 13th in the conference. Players ahead of him who were excluded include Calais Campbell of the Jaguars, who has eight sacks, and Chris Jones from the Chiefs who is third in the NFL with 14 — just a half-sack behind the leaders, Watt and Von Miller.
You can even go beyond sacks and see that the others have put up better numbers. Ingram has four pass defenses and an interception to go along with 39 tackles. Campbell has 62 tackles and a defensive touchdown. Jones has two fewer tackles than Ingram but has six pass deflections and a pick-six.
While Ingram is a force at defensive end, this spot should have gone to a more deserving player.