Bradley Chubb struggled to hide his emotions Monday, as he recalled a conversation he had with his dad in September of last year when he tore his ACL.

“I called my dad crying,” Chubb said, breaking down in tears during a Zoom press conference. “He just told me to keep my head on straight, put my head down and keep working. And that’s what I did, man.”

Now, a year later, Chubb was chosen for his first Pro Bowl, alongside Broncos safety Justin Simmons, who was also chosen for the first time. It marks the 40th-straight season that the Broncos have had at least one player make the Pro Bowl. Due to COVID-19, the Pro Bowl will not be played this year. 

For Chubb, who was chosen fifth overall by Denver in the 2018 draft, the honor means more than most may realize. 

“I’m sorry for getting emotional. I’ve just been through a lot this year,” Chubb said, apologizing several times for choking up. “I remember right before we played the Jets, I went to talk to Von (Miller) and we had a conversation about what I really wanted out of the season. He just kept asking me what type of leader I wanted to be, what type of player I wanted to be. Once I had that conversation with him, I started to get out of my own head. I started to realize I could really be in this league.”

Chubb said the news came as a bit of a surprise at first. His numbers this season aren’t as good as they were his rookie season, in which he totaled 12 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 60 total tackles. This season he’s had 7.5 sacks. nine tackles for loss and 42 total tackles. He ranks fourth in the AFC in sacks (7.5), quarterback knockdowns (18), pressures (25) and hurries (41). 

But considering how far he’s come since his ACL injury, he couldn’t be happier with the selection.

“I felt like after my rookie season, I felt like that was a Pro Bowl season with double-digit sacks,” Chubb said. “I felt like this year I was still working back and stuff and I didn’t feel like I was playing to the highest level I could have played at.

“At the end of the day, I’m still grateful for the opportunity, I’m still grateful to be in this position.”

One person who shouldn’t have been surprised is Simmons, who many thought got snubbed a season ago. 

The fifth-year safety finished the 2019-20 season as an All-Pro first-team selection by Pro Football Focus and second-team selection by the Associated Press. 

“It means so much,” Simmons said. “I think the toughest part was last year feeling like I kind of earned a spot. I think what stunk the most was not even being an alternate.”

Simmons’ past two seasons have been the best of his career since he was drafted by Denver in the third round in 2016 out of Boston College. Following a career season last year, in which he totaled 93 tackles and four interceptions, Simmons played this season on the franchise tag, meaning he’ll be a free agent after this season if he and the Broncos don’t agree to a deal. 

He bet on himself and it’s certainly paid off. He’s tied for second in the league in interceptions by a safety with four and is one of only six players in the NFL to play all of his team’s defensive snaps this season. He’s totaled 89 tackles, seven pass deflections, four interceptions and one fumble recovery. 

He’s also taken home two off-the-field accolades, after being nominated by the Broncos as their Walter Payton Man of the Year for the second consecutive season and being voted by the local media as the Darrent Williams Good Guy Award recipient for the third time in his career.  

“This year has been the hardest year of my career,” Simmons said. “Dealing with the pandemic in and of itself has been tough. We played a game without a quarterback. Cornerbacks have been shuffled in and out. I could go down the list of how many guys we’ve lost. … It’s been the most difficult, but also the most rewarding.”

The only Bronco left off the Pro Bowl team that may come as a surprise is starting left tackle Garett Bolles. 

Bolles has started nearly every snap for the Broncos this season, missing only the Panthers game due to illness. He’s ranked as fourth-best tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, allowing zero sacks. Baltimore’s Orlando Brown, Houston’s Laremy Tunsil and Kansas City’s Eric Fisher were chosen as the AFC’s tackles.

Meanwhile, Chubb and Simmons join 19 other Broncos that President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway has drafted, signed or extended the contracts of in his 10 seasons as an executive. Those 21 players have combined for 42 Pro Bowl nominations.

And for Chubb and Simmons, while they hope this won’t be their only Pro Bowl, they’re certainly going to cherish it. 

“It’s still sort of surreal,” Simmons said. “I kind of said it last year, but I really just want to kind of enjoy this moment.”