Clayton: Broncos more talented than team without Pro Bowlers

When you are the 13th seed among 14 playoff contenders in the AFC, you probably don’t get the respect you deserve when it comes to the Pro Bowl.

That clearly was the case for the Denver Broncos. Not a single player was among the 44 players selected the AFC roster. Two-thirds of the votes were done by coaches, general managers and players.

It’s not as if the Broncos are short on talent. They ended up with six players being selected as Pro Bowl alternates. Naturally, most of the selections were from the secondary: Pat Surtain II, Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons. Simmons should have been selected, but wasn’t. Same thing for Jackson. The surprise was that Bradley Chubb made it even though he has missed a good portion of the season.

Garrett Bolles was selected as an alternate at left tackle. Javonte Williams made it at running back.

The great thing for the Broncos is that Surtain and Williams are rookies and the team’s first two picks in the draft. General manager George Paton did an incredible job with this draft. Getting two Pro Bowl candidates is huge. They also got four other draft choices who ended up getting playing time this year.

The Broncos are more talented than a team that didn’t have a Pro Bowl selection. That helps for the future.

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