-- Stars will be realigned during Pro Bowl Draft Show live at 7:30 PM ET Tonight on ESPN2 --*
-- NFL Legends Captains Michael Irvin & Jerry Rice To Select Teams --**
The 2016 Pro Bowl Draft Show presented by USAA will be nationally televised during a live two-hour primetime telecast on ESPN2 at 7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT, tonight, Wednesday, January 27.
All 88 Pro Bowl players are expected to be in attendance for the live show, which will be held at the Army's historic Wheeler Army Airfield in Hawaii.
The initial selections for the 2016 Pro Bowl were made on Tuesday by the NFL Legend team captains, Pro Football Hall of Famers MICHAEL IRVIN and JERRY RICE. Five-time Pro Bowler DARREN WOODSON (Team Irvin) and two-time Pro Bowler ERIC DAVIS (Team Rice), who are serving as defensive co-captains, assisted Irvin and Rice in the selection process.
Rice won a coin toss at Tuesday's press conference and elected to choose New York Giants WR ODELL BECKHAM, JR. and St. Louis Rams DT AARON DONALD, the active player captains, to help determine the roster as the first members of Team Rice.
Irvin was assigned Cincinnati Bengals DT GENO ATKINS and Atlanta Falcons RB DEVONTA FREEMAN, the other players designated as active player captains. Irvin was also awarded the first selection in Tuesday's pre-selection and Wednesday's draft because Rice picked the active captain pairing.
The 34 players (17 per team) who were drafted yesterday from certain position groups – tackles, guards, centers, interior defensive linemen, inside/middle linebackers, fullbacks, punters, kickers, return specialists and special teamers – will all be revealed for the first time during the live show on ESPN2.
The remaining players will be drafted tonight during ESPN2's live telecast. Taped elements of the previous day's pre-selection process also will be featured.
The 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA will be played on Sunday, January 31 and televised live on ESPN at 7:00 PM ET from Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.
Fans can purchase tickets to the 2016 Pro Bowl by visiting ProBowl.com or by calling 1-844-4PB-TKTS.
The 2016 Pro Bowl presented by USAA is an extension of USAA's Official Military Appreciation Sponsorship of the NFL, which delivers military appreciation experiences to military, veterans and their families at NFL games, training camps and on military bases throughout the NFL season. USAA and the NFL will honor the more than 52,000 military men and women in Hawaii with a number of military appreciation initiatives throughout the week of Pro Bowl. During the week, USAA will also honor and commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Wheeler Army Airfield was one of the first sites hit during the December 7, 1941, attack.
2016 PRO BOWL DRAFT RULES
Front Office Structure
- NFL Legend Captain (Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice)
* Legend captain has final say in the draft
* NFL Legend Defensive Co-Captain (Eric Davis and Darren Woodson)
Active Player Captains
- The top two offensive vote getters and the top two defensive vote getters will be appointed as captains
- Captain groups will be:
* Top offensive vote getter and second-highest defensive vote getter.
* Top defensive vote getter and second-highest offensive vote getter.
Coin Toss
- Determines who owns the first draft choice during Tuesday's pre-selection and Wednesday's draft and how the alumni captains will be paired with active player captains.
- The winner chooses between the captain group or first pick in the Tuesday pre-selection and the Wednesday draft.
- The winner of the coin toss will choose between the captain group or first pick in the Wednesday draft.
* If the winner of the coin flip chooses a captain group, the loser will be assigned the other captain group.
* If the winner of the coin flip chooses first pick in the Wednesday draft, the loser will pick a captain group.
* The loser of the coin toss will have the first pick in the Tuesday draft.
Team Rosters
Offense:Each Pro Bowl team must have 21 players on Offense in the following positions:
- Four (4) Wide Receivers
- Three (3) Tackles
- Three (3) Guards
- Two (2) Centers
- Two (2) Tight Ends
- Three (3) Quarterbacks
- Three (3) Running Backs
- One (1) Fullback
Defense: Each Pro Bowl team must have 18 players on Defense in the following positions:
- Three (3) Defensive Ends
- Three (3) Interior Linemen
- Three (3) Outside Linebackers
- Two (2) Inside/Middle Linebackers
- Four (4) Cornerbacks
- Three (3) Safeties
Special Teams: Each Pro Bowl team must have five (5) players on Special Teams in the following positions:
- One (1) Punter
- One (1) Placekicker
- One (1) Special Teamer
- One (1) Returner
- One (1) "Need" Player selected by coach (e.g., long snapper)
Draft Eligible Players
- There are 88 players that participate in the Pro Bowl
- 82 of these 88 players are draft eligible
* Four (4) of the 88 players will be Captains as described above
* Two (2) of the 88 players are chosen by coaches because they are "need" players and therefore not drafted.
* A maximum of 64 players will be drafted
* A minimum of 18 players will be assigned (at least one per position)
* Once a team fills its roster limit for a position, the opposing team is assigned the remaining players at that position.
* Assignments do not require the use of a draft choice
* For example, if Team Rice has only picked two WRs when Team Irvin selects its fourth WR, the remaining two WRs will be assigned to Team Rice and Team Rice will have the next pick in the draft
Tuesday
- 34 players – 17 per team – are drafted or assigned from the following position groups
* Geno Atkins and Aaron Donald (both Interior Linemen) will be chosen before the pre-draft selection as Captains
* Three (3) Tackles
* Three (3) Guards
* Two (2) Centers
* Three (3) Interior Linemen
* Two (2) Inside/Middle Linebackers
* One (1) Fullback
* One (1) Punter
* One (1) Placekicker
* One (1) Returner
* One (1) Special Teamer (<span style="text-decoration: underline;">e</span>.<span style="text-decoration: underline;">g</span>., coverage player)
* Picks are in alternating order
* There will be a minimum of 10 players assigned
* There will be a maximum of 24 actual selections
* After Tuesday, each team will have 19 players (38 total players)
* 17 drafted/assigned during Tuesday's draft
* 1 "need player"
* 2 Captains
Wednesday
- Players selected/assigned during the pre-selection draft will be recognized at the outset of the show
- The remaining players are drafted in a two-hour live show on ESPN2 on Wednesday night January 27, 2016 at 7:30 PM ET.
* No set clock will be used
* Alternating Order
* 48 players, 24 per team, will be drafted or assigned from the following position groups:
* Odell Beckham, Jr. and Devonta Freeman will have been already assigned on Tuesday with the captain groups
* Four (4) Wide Receivers
* Two (2) Tight Ends
* Three (3) Quarterbacks
* Three (3) Running Backs
* Three (3) Outside Linebackers
* Four (4) Cornerbacks
* Three (3) Safeties
* Three (3) Defensive Ends
* There will be a minimum of eight (8) players assigned.
* There will be a maximum of 40 players drafted.
* At the conclusion of the draft, the team that chooses second will draft the coaching staff (and need player assigned to that coaching staff).
