ORLANDO, Fla. —It's time for the best of the best to try to earn bragging rights.
The 2018 NFL Pro Bowl kicks off today at 3 p.m. ET from Orlando's Camping World Stadium, where the AFC and NFC squads will try to get the best of each other to earn just a little more trash-talking material heading into the 2018 offseason.
The AFC squad, of course, features two Indianapolis Colts players this year in wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle.
For Hilton, it's his fourth-straight Pro Bowl appearance, as "The Ghost" has continued to establish himself as one of the best receiving threats in the league. Despite having a brand new quarterback, Jacoby Brissett, learning the offense on the fly throughout the season after his acquisition just before the start of the season, Hilton was still able to catch 57 passes for 966 yards (16.9 yards per reception) and four touchdowns.
Hilton tallied the fourth-best yards-per-reception mark in the league, while his reputation as one of the league's most feared deep threats continued, as well; his 11 receptions of 25 yards or more were tied for the seventh-most in the NFL.
So while Hilton is very familiar with the Pro Bowl process — what to expect at practices, media obligations, community appearances, the game itself — Doyle has been experiencing everything for the very first time this past week.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers' coaching staff leading the AFC team, Doyle said it's been interesting trying to get the watered-down playbook down both offensively and on special teams so that he can execute in today's game.
"It's been fun," Doyle told Colts.com's Caroline Cann. "Just trying to figure out the plays so you don't look dumb in the game is the main key. So yeah, just trying to pick up on things and trying to enjoy it at the same time."
Doyle, who is known league-wide as a dependable target from the tight end position — his 80 receptions in 2017 were the second most among tight ends in the NFL, and were the second most in a single season in franchise history (Dallas Clark had 100 receptions back in 2009) — he will also like be counted on today to play various roles on the AFC's special teams units.
Doyle — who also had a career-best 690 receiving yards and added four touchdown receptions in 2017 — said it's been interesting seeing how another team approaches the various aspects of gameplanning.
"It's just different offense, different things to do, different ideas," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's all the same for the most part — it's just football. So you can kinda see what they're doing there and kinda compare it back to what we did this past year."
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2018 NFL Pro BowlTime/date:3 p.m., today
Location:Camping World Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
TV:ABC/ESPN
Stream:WatchESPN
TV crew:Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Mass Hasselbeck (color)**
AFC RosterOffense (21):**
QUARTERBACKS (3)
TIGHT ENDS (2)
Derek Carr, Oakland
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
Delanie Walker, Tennessee
Alex Smith, Kansas City
TACKLES (3)
WIDE RECEIVERS (4)
Taylor Lewan, Tennessee
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Russell Okung, Los Angeles Chargers
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis
Jarvis Landry, Miami
GUARDS (3)
David DeCastro, Pittsburgh
RUNNING BACKS (3)
Richie Incognito, Buffalo
Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh
Kelechi Osemele, Oakland
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City
LeSean McCoy, Buffalo
CENTERS (2)
Rodney Hudson, Oakland
FULLBACK (1)
Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh
Roosevelt Nix, Pittsburgh
Defense (18):
DEFENSIVE ENDS (3)
INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (2)
Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh
C.J. Mosley, Baltimore
Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles Chargers
Joe Schobert, Cleveland
Yannick Ngakoue, Jacksonville
CORNERBACKS (4)
INTERIOR LINEMEN (3)
A.J. Bouye, Jacksonville
Geno Atkins, Cincinnati
Casey Hayward, Los Angeles Chargers
Jurrell Casey, Tennessee
Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville
Malik Jackson, Jacksonville
Aqib Talib, Denver
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (3)
FREE SAFETY (1)
Von Miller, Denver
Eric Weddle, Baltimore
Telvin Smith, Jacksonville
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore
STRONG SAFETIES (2)
Kevin Byard, Tennessee
Reshad Jones, Miami
Specialists (5):
PUNTER (1)
RETURN SPECIALIST (1)
Brett Kern, Tennessee
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City
PLACEKICKERS (1)
SPECIAL TEAMER (1)
Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh
Brynden Trawick, Tennessee
LONG SNAPPER (1)
Clark Harris, Cincinnati
**NFC Roster
Offense (21):**
QUARTERBACKS (3)
TIGHT ENDS (2)
Drew Brees, New Orleans
Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota
Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
Jason Witten, Dallas
Russell Wilson, Seattle
TACKLES (3)
WIDE RECEIVERS (4)
Duane Brown, Seattle
Davante Adams, Green Bay
Joe Staley, San Francisco
Doug Baldwin, Seattle
Andrew Whitworth, Los Angeles Rams
Adam Thielen, Minnesota
Michael Thomas, New Orleans
GUARDS (3)
T.J. Lang, Detroit
RUNNING BACKS (3)
Trai Turner, Carolina
Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
Larry Warford, New Orleans
Mark Ingram, New Orleans
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans
CENTERS (2)
Travis Frederick, Dallas
FULLBACK (1)
Alex Mack, Atlanta
Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Defense (18):
DEFENSIVE ENDS (3)
INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (2)
Michael Bennett, Seattle
Kwon Alexander, Tampa Bay
Cameron Jordan, New Orleans
Deion Jones, Atlanta
Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas
CORNERBACKS (4)
INTERIOR LINEMEN (3)
Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans
Mike Daniels, Green Bay
Patrick Peterson, Arizona
Linval Joseph, Minnesota
Xavier Rhodes, Minnesota
Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay
Darius Slay, Detroit
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (3)
FREE SAFETY (1)
Thomas Davis, Carolina
Earl Thomas, Seattle
Chandler Jones, Arizona
Ryan Kerrigan, Washington
STRONG SAFETIES (2)
Keanu Neal, Atlanta
Harrison Smith, Minnesota
Specialists (5):
PUNTER (1)
RETURN SPECIALIST (1)
Johnny Hekker, Los Angeles Rams
Pharoh Cooper, Los Angeles Rams
PLACEKICKERS (1)
SPECIAL TEAMER (1)
Graham Gano, Carolina
Budda Baker, Arizona
LONG SNAPPER (1)
Jake McQuaide, Los Angeles Rams
