Pro Bowl draft begins with Luck
For the second year in a row, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was the first pick in the Pro Bowl draft.
Luck was selected by Team Carter, which is led by Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter and captains J.J. Watt, a Houston Texans defensive end, and Antonio Brown, a Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver.
“It’s nice, I guess,” Luck said. “The reality is that everybody is deserving of it. There’s a bunch of No. 1 picks in there, but it’s nice, I guess.”
Asked how he felt after losing the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots on Sunday night, Luck said, “It’s sort of, the energy is sort of sucked out of you. You do feel deflated.”
Luck didn’t intend the comment to be a jab at the Patriots over the underinflated footballs that they apparently used during the title game. He went on to say he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary with the balls.
Team Irvin, led by Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin and captains DeMarco Murray, a Dallas Cowboys running back and Joe Haden, a Cleveland Browns cornerback, made Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo its first selection.
“This is a special event, just for anybody who gets to play in the Pro Bowl,” Romo said. “It’s just an honor to really play in the game. I don’t care if your first or last or any of that stuff, it’s just lucky to be a part of it.”
The two-day draft began Tuesday with each side selecting three defensive linemen, three guards, two centers, one fullback, one punter, one kicker, one returner and one special teams player.
The rest of the players were chosen during the televised portion of the draft Wednesday night.
Added Team Carter’s offense on the second day were Luck, quarterbacks Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals; running backs Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs, Justin Forsett of the Baltimore Ravens and Alfred Morris of the Washington Redskins; wide receivers A.J. Green of the Bengals, T.Y. Hilton of the Colts, Jordy Nelson of the Green Bay Packers; tight ends Martellus Bennett of the Chicago Bears and Greg Olsen of the Carolina Panthers; offensive tackles Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49ers, Duane Brown of the Houston Texans and Ryan Clady of the Denver Broncos.
Team Carter’s defense added linebackers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali of the Chiefs, C.J. Mosley of the Ravens, Connor Barwin of the Philadelphia Eagles and Lawrence Timmons of the Steelers; cornerbacks Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie of the Arizona Cardinals, Aqib Talib of the Broncos and Sam Shields of the Packers; and safeties Donte Whitner of the Browns, Glover Quin of the Detroit Lions and Antoine Bethea of the 49ers.
Joining Team Irvin’s offense were Romo and quarterbacks Matthew Stafford of the Lions and Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons; running backs Mark Ingram of the Saints and C.J. Anderson of the Broncos; wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. of the New York Giants, Golden Tate of the Lions, Randall Cobb of the Packers and Emmanuel Sanders of the Broncos; tight ends Jimmy Graham of the Saints and Jason Witten of the Cowboys; and offensive tackles Tyron Smith of the Cowboys, Joe Thomas of the Browns and Trent Williams of the Redskins.
Team Irvin’s defense picked up defensive ends Cameron Wake of the Miami Dolphins, Robert Quinn of the St. Louis Rams and DeMarcus Ware of the Broncos; linebackers Luke Kuechly of the Panthers, Von Miller of the Broncos, Clay Matthews of the Packers, Elvis Dumervil of the Ravens and D’Qwell Jackson of the Colts; cornerbacks Vontae Davis of the Colts, Brent Grimes of the Dolphins and Chris Harris of the Broncos; and safeties T.J. Ward of the Broncos, Eric Weddle of the San Diego Chargers and Mike Adams of the Colts.
The Pro Bowl will be played Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz.
