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The NFL released its annual Top 100 Players ranking as voted on by active players themselves, and the New Orleans Saints tied the Baltimore Ravens for the most total selections in the entire league (seven each).
Interestingly, another list breaking down the best players in the game today comes from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield. They recognized eight Saints as belonging in the top tier of NFL talent. However, they left out cornerback Marshon Lattimore (ranked at No. 76 on the NFL’s list) and running back Alvin Kamara (No. 42) while including center Erik McCoy, free safety Marcus Williams, and left tackle Terron Armstead. Here’s where each Saints player finished in Touchdown Wire’s rankings:
- C Erik McCoy, No. 96
- DE Cameron Jordan, No. 75
- FS Marcus Williams, No. 54
- LT Terron Armstead, No. 51
- LB Demario Davis, No. 43
- RT Ryan Ramczyk, No. 29
- QB Drew Brees, No. 22
- WR Michael Thomas, No. 7
Jordan being listed so low is an interesting choice. He’s not just one of the lower-ranked edge defenders overall, he’s one of the lowest-ranked members of his own team, which doesn’t match up with his consistent production (which Farrar and Schofield pointed out in their writeup). It’s tough to buy that he’s not a top-five player on the Saints’ roster.
Still, it’s great to see Williams and Armstead get their due credit. Except for a few high-profile mistakes in coverage, Williams has held down one of the toughest jobs in the NFL. He’s created more interceptions than any other Saints defensive back from 2010 to 2019, and he just started playing in 2017. Armstead is the most physically gifted member of the offensive line, and has put in the work at refining his technique to match it. He just needs to stay healthy long enough to catch more of the national spotlight.
So there isn’t much to nitpick on this list, except for Jordan’s 50-spots-or-so too-low placement. What’s up with that?
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