Mitchell Schwartz
At this point, it’s laughable. To use a dated reference, Mitchell Schwartz has turned into Susan Lucci.
If you’re unfamiliar with Lucci, she was an acclaimed soap opera actress on the show Days of Our Lives. She was nominated 18 times for an Emmy Award without ever winning. Eighteen. That is until she was finally honored, in 1999, for Best Actress, a turn that ended a long, miserable streak.
I guess I could have used something cooler here—say, other recent award-less turns that lack understanding a la Martin Scorsese without an Oscar—but suffice it to say, Schwartz is the Susan Lucci of the Pro Bowl.
Schwartz has been named an All-Pro for the last three seasons, including a First-Team All-Pro honor in 2018. There are far less slots on an All-Pro team than the Pro Bowl, yet somehow Schwartz is considered one of the two best right tackles in the entire NFL for years by the Associated Press and not even one of the best in his own conference by Pro Bowl voters.
What’s crazier is that even other metrics, like Pro Football Focus, point to Schwartz’s elite status among offensive lineman, a flawless technician who is not only one of the game’s most well-rounded players but who also never, ever takes a game off.
In a Pro Bowl round of voting that sent even injured Chiefs like Tyreek Hill and Chris Jones to Orlando, it seems absolutely stupid to not add Schwartz. It’s as if some gatekeeper absolutely has it out for him.
One final note about Schwartz (rather, it’s about the position): this year’s roster includes Trent Brown of the Oakland Raiders. Trent. Brown. Schwartz has played 929 snaps to only 582 for Brown, a difference of 347 snaps. Brown has allowed 5 penalties to only 3 for Schwartz in that same time. Both have allowed a single sack. As for PFF grades, Schwartz has an 83.7 rating to Brown at 69.1.
What are the voters smoking? Schwartz could end this year with 4 straight All-Pro nods and remain without a single Pro Bowl entry.