4 Vikings who deserved a Pro Bowl selection this season

Eric Kendricks – LB

Eric Kendricks being left off the NFC roster this season really has more to do with how the NFL misclassifies players in certain position groups for the Pro Bowl.

Chandler Jones, Khalil Mack, and Shaquil Barrett are all going to the Pro Bowl this year, but the problem is that they are all listed as outside linebackers for the NFC.

Technically, this is the position their teams have them listed as too. However, anyone who has seen these three play knows that Jones, Barrett, and Mack are utilized mostly as pass rushers and not as traditional linebackers.

This misclassification leaves someone like Kendricks on the outside. Since the Vikings’ nickel defense is essentially their base defense, Kendricks assumes the duties of both an inside and an outside linebacker for most of each game.

Only two inside linebackers were selected for the NFC this season and Kendricks was not included in this group either. Instead, the spots went to Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly.

Kendricks has been having an outstanding year for Minnesota and it’s unfortunate that he wasn’t included on the initial 2020 Pro Bowl roster because the league uses outdated position classifications to determine their selections.