Phillip Lindsay’s first professional football season began with no invite to the NFL Combine, a non-selection in the NFL Draft, and last-place spot on the Broncos’ five-man running back depth chart.
It quickly catapulted to Lindsay making the Broncos’ 53-man roster, to starting tailback, to three, 100-yard rushing games, and to now a Pro Bowl berth.
Lindsay became the first NFL offensive player in history to make the Pro Bowl as an undrafted rookie when the former standout of Denver South High School and the University of Colorado learned Tuesday he had been honored with a berth in what is the NFL all-star game.
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Everson Walls is the only defensive player to make the Pro Bowl as an undrafted rookie when he was selected in 1981.
Lindsay will be joined on the AFC Pro Bowl roster by Broncos’ teammate Von Miller, an outside linebacker and pass-rushing star.
Miller, a Pro Bowler for the seventh time in his eight-year career, is tied for second in the league with 14.5 sacks. He is the only Bronco was named Pro Bowl starter and he’s also the defending Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player.
Three other Broncos were named Pro Bowl alternates: Chris Harris Jr. was a first-alternate cornerback, rookie Bradley Chubb was a second alternate outside linebacker and Emmanuel Sanders is a fifth-alternate receiver.
Harris and Sanders were having Pro Bowl-caliber seasons until they went down with season-ending injuries in a four-day span. Harris suffered a fractured fibula in the Broncos’ 12th game at Cincinnati, and Sanders blew out his Achilles during practice three days later.
Chubb, the Broncos’ No. 5-overall draft pick in the first round, leads all NFL rookies with 12.0 sacks. Harris has three interceptions. Sanders still leads the Broncos with 71 receptions and 868 yards, numbers he produced in just 12 games.
Lindsay joins kicker David Treadwell (1989) and Miller (2011) as the only Pro Bowl rookies in Broncos’ history. Running back Donnie Stone (1961) and linebacker/punter Jim Fraser (1962) were the only other Broncos rookies who were similarly honored when they were selected to play in the AFL All Star Game.
Lindsay’s Pro Bowl berth, though, will generate the greatest celebration as his was the least expected, at least based on what NFL scouts and executives thought of him coming out of CU earlier this year.
There were 32 running backs invited to the combine. None of them were named Phillip Lindsay. There were two fullbacks and 20 running backs drafted, including the Broncos’ Royce Freeman in the third round and David Williams in the seventh. Lindsay wasn’t among them.
Phillip Lindsay Through the Years
The Broncos gave him a decent, $15,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent, but when Lindsay reported with the full-squad Broncos during organized team activities (OTAs), he went to the rear of the running back line behind Devontae Booker, De’Angelo Henderson, Freeman and Williams.
From these depths, Lindsay exploded into the AFC lead with 937 rushing yards and the league with 5.8 yards per carry through 12 games. Although opponents have zeroed in on him while holding him to 54 yards on 1.9 yards per carry in his past two games, Lindsay is still second in the AFC with 991 rushing yards, just four behind the conference leader, Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon.
It was the league’s coaches and players who carried Lindsay to his Pro Bowl nod as he didn’t finish in the top 10 among running backs in fan voting. Miller was second among the league’s outside linebackers in fan voting and Chubb was fifth.
The Pro Bowl game will be played Sunday, Jan. 27 in Orlando.
