3 Cowboys who will have Pro Bowl seasons in 2025

While the NFL’s new Pro Bowl format has altered the occasion, being named to the NFC or AFC side remains a memorable experience for athletes.

The Dallas Cowboys had seven Pro Bowl players this season, trailing only the 49ers with nine.

Three more Cowboys were added to the roster as replacements this week.

Most of Dallas’ Pro Bowlers had previously received this award.

Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons make their third trip, while future Hall of Famer Zack Martin receives his ninth vote.

Dallas received four first-time Pro Bowl selections: DaRon Bland, Jake Ferguson, Tyler Smith, and rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey.

These rookies to the Pro Bowl had big seasons despite not receiving a lot of attention; you can guarantee Dallas will have similar stories next year with people breaking onto the limelight.

We know who is a lock to return each year, but who are the players who could make their first trip after the 2024 season ends?

Here are the three Cowboys that could make their first Pro Bowl appearances next season.

LB/S, Markquese Bell

In an otherwise disastrous season for the Cowboys’ linebacker room, second-year linebacker conversion Markquese Bell emerged from nowhere.

Bell, originally picked as a safety, transitioned to linebacker this year to improve depth and thrived.

Bell has 94 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 4 passes defended, and two fumbles forced during his sophomore season.

This year, Bell again started only eight of his seventeen games.

His defensive back build allows him to move quickly from sideline to sideline, while being small for the front seven position.

We should expect Dallas to buff up the linebacker room this off-season, but Bell has earned his place as a guy you have to have on the field, especially if he bulks up some before next season.

When you project Bell’s 2023 production with more playing time and experience at linebacker, we might be looking at a 140+ tackle season with a few interceptions to boot.

If Bell does put up numbers like that in 2024, you can expect him to punch his ticket to his first career Pro Bowl.

Tackle, Terence Steele

This might be a controversial opinion, but it makes a lot of sense once we dig into the specifics of Terence Steele’s 2023 performance.

The Cowboys set Steele up for a “disappointing” season when they extended him to an $86M deal while recovering from a major knee injury.

That contract extension put out the assumption that Steele would be one of the league’s top tackles this season, and for a 26-year-old coming off a torn ACL and MCL, that is simply not possible.

Rather, the contract Steele received is about what the Cowboys believe he can and will become, which is a Pro Bowl-level right tackle.

We saw the flashes this year, especially in the run game, it was more so pass blocking against quick edge rushers that gave Steele fits.

Steele may completely grow into the $86 million player the Cowboys perceive him as with one healthy off-season spent refining his abilities rather than mending his knee.

If he can improve his pass protection and run-blocking abilities, he has the potential to be an excellent offensive lineman.

Steele’s 2023 struggle cannot be blamed solely on his knee. It takes a long time for offensive lineman to recover from injuries.

Steele’s fans should expect an improved, and possibly Pro Bowl-caliber, season in his fifth year in Dallas.

DT, Osa Odighizuwa

Osa Odighizuwa appears to be on the verge of a breakthrough year.

Odighizuwa has steadily increased his total tackles, tackles for loss, and quarterback hits throughout his three NFL seasons.

Odighizuwa’s lone stat that did not increase this season was his sack total.

In year four, the Cowboys’ top defensive lineman is nearing the end of his deal. We all know how hard players work before becoming free agents.

Dallas hopes to benefit from Mazi Smith’s second year, which may divert focus away from Odighizuwa.

All of this points to a huge breakthrough.

The five NFC defensive tackles in this year’s Pro Bowl had an average of 8.5 tackles for loss. Odighizuwa had nine this season.

All he needs to do to make his first Pro Bowl next year is boost his sack total.

If he does that and continues to establish career highs in every other area, his name can be added to the Cowboys’ Pro Bowl roster right now.

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