When an all-star team gets released, the story right away is always about who didn’t make it.
And there were plenty of Pro Bowl snubs.
The worst snub was probably Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who has had a tremendous season but did not get a spot. He probably should have grabbed Denver Broncos tackle Ryan Clady’s spot, because Clady's play has been more up and down than usual.
But offensive linemen don’t move the needle, so there are probably three snubs everyone will focus on: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham and Detroit Lions receiver Golden Tate.
Wilson’s case is a little harder to argue because it’s tough to remove any of the six quarterbacks who made it, but Beckham or Tate should have made it over Detroit Lions star Calvin Johnson or A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals. Johnson made it despite an injury-plagued season in which he barely got more than 1,000 yards and had just six touchdowns. Even though Johnson is headed to the Hall of Fame, this year’s Pro Bowl selection was a pick made on reputation. The same argument can be made for Green, who has just 959 yards this season but made it to the Pro Bowl.
Who are some others that were snubbed? Dallas tight end Jason Witten, Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker, New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Fletcher Cox, Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy, Oakland Raiders receiver Khalil Mack, New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins, San Francisco 49ers safety Antoine Bethea and Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith all have good resumes and were left off the team. Others have good cases too.
The teams weren’t picked by conference. The best at each position were selected and the teams will be selected playground-style by Hall of Fame receivers Michael Irvin and Cris Carter before the game in Glendale, Ariz. on Jan. 25. It's the second straight year for that format. Here are the players who Irvin and Carter will be picking from (although some will be dropping out due to injuries or if their team makes the Super Bowl), the 2015 Pro Bowl rosters:
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo
Running backs
Le’Veon Bell, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray
Fullbacks
John Kuhn, Marcel Reece
Receivers
Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton, Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, Jordy Nelson, Demaryius Thomas
Tight ends
Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Julius Thomas
Offensive tackles
Ryan Clady, Jason Peters, Tyron Smith, Joe Staley, Joe Thomas, Trent Williams
Centers
Travis Frederick, Jason Kelce, Nick Mangold, Maurkice Pouncey
Guards
Jahri Evans, Mike Iupati, Kyle Long, Zack Martin, Josh Sitton, Marshal Yanda
Defensive ends
Calais Campbell, Robert Quinn, Cameron Wake, DeMarcus Ware, J.J. Watt, Mario Williams
Defensive tackles
Marcell Dareus, Aaron Donald, Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Williams
Outside linebackers
Connor Barwin, Elvis Dumervil, Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Clay Matthews, Von Miller
Inside linebackers
Luke Kuechly, C.J. Mosley, Lawrence Timmons, Bobby Wagner
Cornerbacks
Vontae Davis, Brent Grimes, Joe Haden, Chris Harris, Patrick Peterson, Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman, Aqib Talib
Safeties
Kam Chancellor, Tashaun Gipson, Glover Quin, Earl Thomas, T.J. Ward, Eric Weddle
Kickers
Stephen Gostkowski, Adam Vinatieri
Punters
Kevin Huber, Pat McAfee
Kick returners
Devin Hester, Darren Sproles
Special teams
Justin Bethel, Matthew Slater
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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