At the end of each season, the National Football League asks its fans, coaches and players to vote for the best players in each position. The winners are called Pro Bowlers and go on to participate in a week-long celebration.
The election is not like any other. A fan can vote multiple times or “early and often,” as they say in American politics. In the end, the results create as much controversy as Nigerian elections. Most of those selected deserve their votes, but every year, some top performers get excluded and some players appear to have won on the basis of only their popularity.
But it is what it is and the NFL announced yesterday that the voters had spoken again this year. Among the pro bowlers the voters selected are David Njoku of the Cleveland Browns and Justin Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens . Njoku is a Tight End (TE) and Madubuike is an Interior (Defensive) Lineman. Both are US-born children of Nigerians who emigrated to the United States.
Some hours after the first announcement, the NFL published a list of alternate pro bowlers. These get named pro bowlers if the actual pro bowler could not join the celebrations for a variety of reasons — personal choice, injury or other commitments. A notable alternate was Foye Oluokun, a line backer with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Njoku’s parents came to the US in 1987. He was born in New Jersey but has stayed connected with Nigeria. According to the Akron Beagle, Njoku has made multiple trips to Nigeria where his charity work earned him a chieftaincy title. Madubuike’s parents left Nigeria for New Jersey in 1994. He was born in Texas.
Njoku, who is 27, played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and has been with the Browns for seven years. His position as TE combines the duties of a Wide Receiver to catch the ball and that of a line man to protect whoever has the ball — mainly the quarter back (QB) and the running backs (RBs). Njoku had one of his best games on December 29, 2023 against the New York Jets
Madubuike is 26 and joined the Ravens in 2020 after playing college football at Texas A&M University. Defensive linemen (DLs) are the tall and fat, but agile, players at the front of the defense. Their job is either to harass the QB of the opposing team to prevent him from throwing the ball or to tackle a RB if the QB calls a running play. Madubuike was a difference maker in multiple games
Oluokun’s performance has been chronicled in this blog multiple times. He led the league in tackles in the past two seasons, but never caught the eye of the pro bowl voters. He ranks third in that category this season.
