Not that surprising Saints only have one Pro Bowl selection

The Pro Bowl selections are out, and only one New Orleans Saints player got the nod. This shouldn't be too shocking given Saints 2023 season to this point.

While the NFL Pro Bowl/Pro Bowl games have lost some of their luster in recent years (to put it about as kindly as humanly possible), being named a Pro Bowler is still a legacy-builder for the players when it's all said and done, plus it always ends up being a talking point. For the New Orleans Saints, only one player was voted as a Pro Bowler, and depending on which Saints fans you ask, they're surprised they even got that much.

If the Saints were to only have a single Pro Bowl selection, there are a few options. Alvin Kamara has been awesome since coming off of suspension, but said suspension mixed with the competition at the position made it a tough hill to climb. Chris Olave has perhaps been the team MVP for 2023. Defensively, Carl Granderson has stood out, and Tyrann Mathieu was the Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for the Saints, which does take into account play on the field. However, none of them got the call either.

Now as you're probably well aware of, Rashid Shaheed didn't get voted into the Pro Bowl due to his skills as wide receiver, even if those skills have greatly improved. The lone Pro Bowler for the Saints was voted in as a return specialist. That's right the Saints could only get to the Pro Bowl via special teams.

Of course there is another potential reasoning as to why this happened...

In all seriousness though, Shaheed absolutely deserves the recognition. He is a skilled returner, and his raw speed and explosiveness plays a big part. His return touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau being a prime example.

For those keeping score at home, Shaheed has become the fourth returner in the history of the Saints to be named a Pro Bowler. The other three were Deonte Hardy in 2019, Michael Lewis (a personal favorite of this writer) in 2002, and Tyrone Hughes in 1993.

While it isn't a surprise that the New Orleans Saints only have one Pro Bowl selection, perhaps the player that was selected is a bit of a surprise. Still, Rashid Shaheed deserves his flowers, and it should be exciting to see what the future holds.