NFL: 25 Most Surprising Pro Bowl Picks This Century: 15. 2010 Vince Young
How do you explain the career of Vince Young? He was someone who came into the league with superstar potential. After a ridiculous career at the University of Texas, including beating Matt Leinart and the USC Trojans in one of the best college football games in history, he was the third-overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Young was named the NFL Rookie of the Year. It was a strange year for sure, but he won it and he sprung that into a Pro Bowl appearance. That one isn’t so surprising. Young might not have been one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but winning the Rookie of the Year represents something. The one that really throws us off was Young making it after the 2010 season.
In 2009, Vince Young made 10 starts because Kerry Collins won the starting job over him in training camp (more on that later). Young would eventually take the job back after Collins started the season 0-6. Young came in and looked really good. Well, he was at least not losing games for the Titans. He finished the season with 1,878 yards and just 10 touchdowns in 10 starts.
Where he made the Pro Bowl is on wins. He won eight of his 10 starts, salvaging a .500 record and likely saving Jeff Fisher’s job. He also made it because Phillip Rivers got hurt, and Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger declined the invite to replace him. The NFL had to dig deep to roster the Pro Bowl, and that’s how Young made it on the list twice.