5 Buffalo Bills who truly deserve their first Pro Bowl nominations

Give these players what they deserve.

The Buffalo Bills will have a preseason-like game in Week 18 when they travel to Foxborough, MA for a 1PM matchup against the New England Patriots. After locking up the #2 seed in the AFC, the Bills aren’t expected to play their starters much, if at all this coming Sunday.

Head coach Sean McDermott has already said that Josh Allen will start but it won’t be long until he is pulled for the rest of the game, per Maddy Glab. Long story short, it will be the Mitch Trubisky show for the Bills against the Patriots.

This is the time of year when conversations are had about which playoff teams are expected to make a run in the postseason, who could come away with the MVP award, as well as who will be voted as Pro Bowl players.

Year-in and year-out, Bills players get disrespected by not getting the recognition they deserve. For example, Terrel Bernard’s 2023 season was statistically better than Matt Milano’s All-Pro season in 202, yet Bernard wasn’t recognized at all. While it’s not the main goal to get individual awards, getting the recognition that players deserve does matter.

The Pro Bowl voting is currently taking place in the NFL and we will soon learn about the players who earned themselves the honor of being voted as some of the best players in football.

There are five Bills who should be voted as first time Pro Bowlers. Who are they? Let’s take a look.

CB Taron Johnson

Fun fact, Taron Johnson just played his 100th career game this past Sunday. Not bad for a guy that was drafted in the 4th round in 2018. Johnson is one of the league’s best nickel corners, and has demonstrated that he is a versatile player in Sean McDermott’s defense over the years.

Johnson always finds himself near the ball and he can play some excellent all-around football. Need him to play man-to-man coverage? No problem. Need him to attack the line of scrimmage? No issue whatsoever.

It’s a shame that Johnson isn’t recognized as one of the better players in the NFL. Maybe this will be the season that the narrative is changed.

OT Spencer Brown

It’s been a great past two seasons for the Bills’ starting right tackle. Brandon Beane wanted to make sure that Josh Allen was protected at all costs and he kept the continuity for the foreseeable future by gifting Spencer Brown at 4-year deal to stay in Buffalo beyond 2024.

With a massive improvement in his pass protection, adding it to a close elite run-blocking ability, Brown is starting to become a franchise player for the Bills. He is part of an offensive line that has allowed the fewest sacks (14) and has helped James Cook to solidify himself as a top-ten back in the league. Brown deserves some credit outside of the Bills’ organization.

CB Christian Benford

Aside from Taron Johnson, Christian Benford has become a bit of a shutdown corner this season. He doesn’t give up big plays, and he has been able to shutdown receivers all season long. Benford is coming off a Week 17 performance where he received a grade of 86.0 per PFF and that includes the interception he got from Aaron Rodgers. The only teammate of his that finished higher than him was Josh Allen.

WR Khalil Shakir

Having a career year, Khalil Shakir has become Josh Allen’s go-to guy in this offense. He has caught 76% of his targets that have gone to him and has set career highs in targets, receptions, yards, touchdowns, and first downs. He is the perfect slot receiver for this offense as he has become “Mr. Reliable”.

DE Greg Rousseau

The Bills may afterall have their franchise pass-rusher in Greg Rousseau. Buffalo picked up Rousseau’s fifth-year option of his rookie contract this past offseason and he is showing the Bills that they made the right choice. As he is looking to get a big payday, Rousseau is putting together a season that will make him one of the highest paid edge rushers in the game.

He tied his career high in sacks last week (8) and has set new career highs in total tackles, forced fumbles, and QB hits. If anyone deserves their first Pro Bowl appearance from the Bills, it’s Rousseau and it’s not even close.