In a surprise, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa gets more Pro Bowl votes than any other player

It’s not like the Pro Bowl vote matters much. It’s not even the Pro Bowl anymore, it’s the “Pro Bowl Games” because the football game itself has been replaced. And fan votes aren’t the best measure of anything.

But Tua Tagovailoa getting more votes than anyone else? That’s unexpected.

The NFL announced Tagovailoa got 306,861 Pro Bowl votes from the fans, which was the most of any player and easily the most among quarterbacks. Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins teammate Tyreek Hill was second with 293,679 votes, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was third with 271,541 votes. The top NFC quarterback leader was Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles with 215,634. Hurts is the favorite to win NFL MVP. Mahomes is second.

But Tagovailoa is the choice of the fans.

The fan vote for the Pro Bowl roster counts as one-third of the total, with the votes from players and coaches counting a third each. The 88 Pro Bowl players will be announced on Wednesday.

Tagovailoa topping the fan vote says a few things. First and foremost, Dolphins fans did a good job voting. Also, Tagovailoa’s story has apparently resonated with fans. Tagovailoa was criticized often through his first two seasons, written off by many as a draft bust. That proved to be premature. The Dolphins built a good offense around Tagovailoa, most notably trading for Hill, and he has had an excellent season. In 12 games, he has 3,238 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. He suffered a scary concussion early in the season and has come back strong.

Tagovailoa is having a good season but the consensus is that Hurts, Mahomes and Josh Allen have been better than him, and perhaps Joe Burrow as well. There’s nothing wrong with having a top-five season at quarterback, it just makes those 306,861 votes a bit surprising.

It would be a pretty big deal for Tagovailoa to make the Pro Bowl, in many ways. Daniel Oyefusi of the Miami Herald pointed out that the salary on Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option, which the Dolphins will clearly pick up barring something unforeseen, jumps from a projected $22 million to $28 million if he makes the Pro Bowl. That’s not a bad bonus.

Being the top Pro Bowl vote-getter among fans is a nice honor. It says something about his popularity, particularly among Dolphins fans. He has come a long way in a year.