Pat McAfee finishes first among punters in fan voting for the Pro Bowl

The fan voting for the Pro Bowl has ended, and one Colts player led his position in the results: punter Pat McAfee.

McAfee received 84,660 votes, the most of any punter in the NFL.  The fan voting accounts for one-third of the overall Pro Bowl vote, with coaches and players providing the other two-thirds.  The players and coaches will cast their votes today, and then the Pro Bowl roster will be announced on Tuesday, December 22 on NFL Network at 8:00 p.m.  After that, players will be assigned to teams in the annual Pro Bowl draft, held this year on Wednesday, January 27, before the Pro Bowl takes place on Sunday, January 31 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

McAfee was the most prominent Colts player in the fan voting results as he led his position group in voting, but he wasn't the only Colt to finish in the top ten at his position.  Tight end Coby Fleener came in fifth among all tight ends with 158,626 votes, behind New England's Rob Gronkowski, Carolina's Greg Olsen, Cincinnati's Tyler Eifert, and Cleveland's Gary Bamidge.  Inside linebacker D'Qwell Jackson came in fourth among inside linebackers with 133,077 votes, behind only Carolina's Luke Kuechly, Green Bay's Clay Matthews, and San Francisco's Navorro Bowman.  Strong safety Mike Adams finished third at his position with 103,213 votes, behind only Oakland's Charles Woodson and Seattle's Kam Chancellor.  And lastly, kicker Adam Vinatieri was tenth among kickers with 41,630 votes.

Again, just because a player is featured prominently in the fan voting doesn't necessarily mean he will be in the Pro Bowl, as two-thirds of the vote has yet to be collected.  I highly doubt Coby Fleener will garner enough votes among the players and coaches to be included in the Pro Bowl this year, while I wouldn't be surprised to see Adam Vinatieri rise a bit in the final rankings.  Maybe he won't make the Pro Bowl (I think he has been Pro Bowl caliber this year), but he might get some more credit from the other voters.  One thing, however, seems clear: it looks like Pat McAfee is headed for another Pro Bowl season, and a very well-deserved one at that.