Seven Lions players were named to the Pro Bowl roster, which was announced Thursday. Safety Kerby Joseph was not one of those seven. Instead, it was Green Bay Packers’ safety Xavier McKinney who got the nod at free safety.
The NFL’s interceptions leader was not named to the initial Pro Bowl roster. In fact, he’s not even the first alternate at the position. He’s the second alternate.
McKinney certainly had a case for the Pro Bowl with seven interceptions. But Joseph has more interceptions (9 vs. 7), passes defended (12 vs. 10) and has a pick-six. Joseph was the voting leader among fans at the free safety position, but the roster is ultimately comprised of consensus voting of fans, players and coaches, with all three counting for one-third.
Kevin Patra of NFL.com named Joseph as his No. 2 snub overall, behind Houston’s Danielle Hunter.
Voters might have chosen the wrong Lions safety. I jotted down that line before Joseph came up with two additional interceptions, changing the game in a Week 17 win over San Francisco. That’s not a knock on Brian Branch, who has been sensational; it’s just that Branch’s play seems to have somehow overshadowed Joseph’s. The Lions free safety owns a league-high nine INTs, two more than the next-closest player (Packers Pro Bowler Xavier McKinney). The majority of those have come in high-leverage situations, with Joseph taking away points via end-zone interceptions (four). The ballhawk’s advanced metrics blow those of other DBs out of the water. Per NGS, he’s No. 1 in target EPA (-55.3) this season (No. 2 is Cooper DeJean at -28.3), EPA per target (-1.84; McKinney is at -0.75) and ballhawk rate, or the percentage of targets where the nearest defender made a play on the football via a pass defensed or INT (40%). The Lions’ defense might have become a sieve due to injuries, but Joseph has helped keep the patchwork crew from completely crumbling.
Ultimately, Joseph and the Lions want to be in New Orleans, anyway, for Super Bowl LIX. But leaving him off the Pro Bowl still has to sting. Joseph has had an incredible season, but perhaps the name recognition of Xavier McKinney overshadowed that play. Joseph will have a chance to prove the doubters wrong in the playoffs.
