In an effort to make the Pro Bowl more engaging, the NFL has announced it will add a Pro Bowl Skills Showdown. The competition will feature AFC and NFC players facing off in dodgeball, a power relay challenge, and other events that will almost certainly be more exciting than the actual Pro Bowl game.
NFL adds dodgeball to try to make 2017 Pro Bowl more fun
The league is adding a skills competition that will almost certainly be more entertaining than the game itself.
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
The Pro Bowl Skills Showdown will be produced by the group that does American Ninja Warrior, and will consist of Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball, the Power Relay Challenge, Precision Passing, and Best Hands competitions.
Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball is precisely what it sounds like — Pro Bowlers competing in a game of dodgeball. Imagine some of the most thrilling plays Pro Bowl-caliber athletes are capable of in the NFL, like Odell Beckham Jr. hauling in a ridiculous one-handed catch. Now, imagine how those skills will translate to dodgeball.
Honestly, the NFL could just cancel the actual Pro Bowl game and just let us watch AFC and NFC players face off in dodgeball instead, and they probably wouldn’t get many complaints.
The Power Relay Challenge is a timed relay race, and given the speed of some of the players who will surely be selected to the Pro Bowl, this could be a lot of fun to watch. Think about seeing Julio Jones pair up with DeSean Jackson, Patrick Peterson and Brandin Cooks — all of whom ran sub-4.4 40-yard dashes before their respective drafts. This event instantly makes the Pro Bowl more exciting.
In the Precision Passing challenge, two players from each team will show off their accuracy while trying to hit targets of varying distance that are moving at various speeds. The Best Hands competition is another quarterback-focused competition. They’ll pair up with wide receivers from their conference to complete as many passes as possible in a specific time frame.
The release from the NFL specifies that the Best Hands competition is for wide receivers, but Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson wants in.
This year, the Pro Bowl will revert to an AFC vs. NFC format after spending three years in an unconferenced structure where teams were decided by a draft. The AFC team captains will be Jerome Bettis and Ray Lewis. Representing the NFC will be Tony Gonzalez and Charles Woodson.
The Pro Bowl will be held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. It will air on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Perhaps the dodgeball competition should also air on ESPN 8, The Ocho.
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