Trevor Lawrence, Kyle Pitts Highlight Snubs for 2026 Pro Bowl Games

Other standout players left behind were Saints receiver Chris Olave, Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter, and Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner.

Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars meets fans after beating the Broncos 34-20 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver on Dec. 21, 2025. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

The rosters for the 2026 Pro Bowl Games were revealed Tuesday, with 86 players receiving the honors.

As is the case every year, the number of deserving players exceeded the number of spots available. Since selections are determined by votes of fans, players and coaches, with each group’s vote counting as one-third toward the total, we don’t know who to call out for the snubbing of certain players. Nonetheless, these are the top players who were overlooked.

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars

Fan voting ended after Week 15, which means Lawrence’s amazing Week 16 performance wasn’t taken into account. On Sunday, he had three passing touchdowns plus a rushing touchdown in a road win over an elite Denver defense, and against a team that was on an 11-game win streak. The former No. 1 overall pick has 14 total touchdowns, with no turnovers, over the last four games, and Jacksonville is riding a six-game win streak. Lawrence is fourth in the NFL with 26 passing touchdowns and third among quarterbacks with seven rushing touchdowns, and he has the Jags back in the playoffs.

WR Chris Olave, Saints

After various injuries over the last few years, Olave admitted he contemplated retirement before this season. New Orleans is glad he reconsidered as he’s having a Pro Bowl-worthy season. Among wideouts who did not make the Pro Bowl, Olave leads in both receptions (92) and receiving yards (1,044). He just ended up a victim of the number’s game in the NFC, as he certainly would have made the Pro Bowl if he were in the AFC. Of the four AFC Pro Bowl wideouts—Ja’Marr Chase, Nico Collins, Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton—only Chase has had a better season. Olave has over 20 more catches than both Collins and Sutton, six more touchdowns than Flowers, and more receiving yards than Collins, Sutton and Flowers.

TE Kyle Pitts, Falcons

It took five years, but the highest drafted tight end in NFL history finally has his breakout season. Pitts ranks second among all tight ends in both receptions (80) and receiving yards (854), trailing only Trey McBride of Arizona in both. While McBride received one of the two NFC Pro Bowl nods for tight ends, veteran 49er George Kittle got the other. That’s despite Kittle missing one-third of the season and not even ranking in the top 10 at his position in either receptions (52) or yards (599). Playing for a playoff team certainly helped Kittle over Pitts, but name recognition and popularity may have played even more of a role in him getting chosen over Pitts.

G Kevin Dotson, Rams

Matthew Stafford is the MVP favorite partly because of his O-line, with Dotson one of the best guards in the game. He’s started all 15 games, logged 886 offensive snaps, and committed just three penalties all season, including a lone holding flag. His advanced metrics back up his being a snub, as Pro Football Focus ranks him as the third-best guard in football this season. The two ahead of him—Quinn Meinerz (first) and Chris Lindstrom (second)—both made the Pro Bowl. However, Dotson was snubbed in favor of Dallas’s Tyler Smith, who ranks as just the 17^th-best guard in football.

DE Danielle Hunter, Texans

Hunter’s fellow Texans’ DE, Will Anderson Jr., did get selected for the Pro Bowl, and deservedly so, but Houston could have had a pair of pass rushers participating. Hunter actually has more sacks and tackles than Anderson, and the former reached a milestone in-season when he reached the 100-career sack plateau. He’s done this all in a meaningful way, as the Texans have the league’s No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 total defense. Houston did land three defensive players on the AFC roster, but it should have been four.

LB Bobby Wagner, Commanders

Bottom-feeding teams such as the Giants, Raiders, and Cardinals all were rewarded with Pro Bowlers, with Arizona getting two, so why can’t Wagner get the distinction, even though he plays for a lousy Washington defense? He’s had his typical year amassing tackles, as he ranks fourth (147) in total tackles and sixth in solo tackles (73). But Wagner also had one of his best playmaking seasons at the age of 35. His two picks are tied for the second-most of his career—and as many as he had in the past three seasons combined—while Wagner’s 4.0 sacks are the fourth-most across his 14 NFL seasons. He is one of just three players in 2025 with at least 4.0 sacks and two interceptions, and neither of the other two had more than 43 total tackles.

RS Isaiah Williams, Jets

Yes, even the Jets deserve some love from the Pro Bowl. Williams is a former college QB who went undrafted in 2024 and was signed off the Bengals’ practice squad by New York earlier this year. All he went out and did was have a league-high-tying two punt return touchdowns, rank second in the NFL in yards per kick return (30.2), and place sixth in yards per punt return (14.1). This is all from a guy who had more pass completions (30) than punt returns (27) in college, and he never returned a single kick prior to joining the NFL.