Back when the Pro Bowl list initially dropped, George Pickens was not on the list of AFC wide receivers. Not only that, but Pickens expressed his displeasure for not getting the Pro Bowl selection on his Instagram.
Pickens posted an Instagram story with the caption “F the prow bowl” after revealing that list. Following the team’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, he would expand upon those thoughts even more.
“That’s what I said today, the refs and politics. The Pro Bowl, the stats show it’s just politics. There’s going to come a time where people are going to start watching the games and knowing that it’s political over everything — who was on the team, what type of players the team has — it’s for sure political.”
The four wide receivers named to the AFC squad on Wednesday night were Keenan Allen of the Los Angeles Chargers, Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals, Amari Cooper of the Cleveland Browns and Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins.
And now, when Cooper withdrew, George Pickens was not selected as the first receiver to go to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Instead, it was Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs had more touchdowns, receptions, and yards than Pickens, so it’s not hard to see why, but it is something that Pickens was not pleased with before this occurred. And at the time the Pro Bowl rosters were revealed, Pickens was fifth in receiving yards.
Pickens has had a strong second season, statistically. After posting 52 catches for 801 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie last year, he had 63 catches for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns this season.
The Pro Bowl rosters were selected by a combined vote between fans, players and coaches, with each group counting as one-third toward the total. Pickens was not among the top 10 in fan voting as his position. The NFL does not release player or coach voting totals.