Tag: nfl top 100 players

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce voted No. 10 on NFL Top 100 Players list for 2022

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce lands at the No. 10 spot on the NFL Top 100 Players list for 2022.

For the seventh consecutive season, Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has been recognized by his NFL peers as one of the best players in the league.

The 2021 NFL season was Kelce’s highest ranking yet at No. 5, which was the top ranking by a tight end ever in NFL Top 100 Players list history. This year he slid a few spots down the list to No. 10, but he’s still the highest-ranked tight end in the league. Kelce has certainly come a long way since 2016 when he was the 91st-ranked player in the league according to his peers.

He is now the second Chiefs player to appear on the list, following defensive counterpart Chris Jones (who also slid a few spots from last year’s ranking). Kelce is one of just three Chiefs players to make the list this season along with Patrick Mahomes, who inches closer to the top spot.

“Trav is the best tight end in the NFL,” Eagles C Jason Kelce said. “He’s almost in some regards has this artistic savant-like mindset that is really suited for football.”

Kelce is coming off yet another dominant season, his sixth consecutive season with over 1,000 yards. He’s the only tight end to ever accomplish that achievement and continues to lift the position group to new heights with each passing season.

“It’s hard to even know what he’s doing on film,” Bills TE Dawson Knox said. “The way he sets up defenders. . .  He’s like Picasso.”

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DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett Snubbed from NFL Top 100 List

It is truly hard to envision an NFL where there are actually 100 better players than these two.

One of the final steps in each NFL offseason is the reveal of the coveted Top 100 Players list. As a celebration of the league’s best of the best, the Top 100 Players list showcases the remarkable talent across the NFL landscape. Of course, with every list, there are continued issues with ranking placement… and glaring omissions.

Although the final top-20 players are yet to be ranked, their names have already been revealed, and as such, fans across the country now know who is and is not on the list. For Seattle there are two names missing:

Wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

For years now, Metcalf and Lockett have established themselves as two of the league’s best at the position. They are the reason Seattle has one of the most dynamic receiving duo’s of any team. The 2021 Seahawks may have fallen well short of their usually lofty expectations, but Lockett and Metcalf were among those who put forth outstanding seasons.

Metcalf may have finished the year with 75 receptions for “only” 967 yards, but he found the end zone 12 times. This trailed only rookie phenom Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp for most in the league.

As for Lockett, he posted his third-straight 1,000-yard season. The only other Seahawk to accomplish such a feat? Steve Largent. Not to mention his eight receiving touchdowns to go along with all the yards.

The biggest point worth mentioning here is the fact Lockett and Metcalf were able to do this without Russell Wilson throwing them the ball for a significant portion of the season. Wilson missed three games, but even during his return his finger injury was clearly hindering the quality of his play.

It is truly hard to envision an NFL where there are actually 100 better players than these two.

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Kyle Pitts lands at No. 91 on NFL’s Top 100 players of 2022

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts was voted onto the #NFLTop100 players of 2022, coming in at No, 91.

The Atlanta Falcons knew what they were doing when they selected explosive tight end Kyle Pitts fourth overall back in 2021 — the highest a tight end has ever been drafted.

Pitts’ rookie year lived up to the hype as he caught 68 balls for 1,026 receiving yards and one touchdown. That early success impressed his peers, who voted Pitts onto the NFL Network’s top 100 players of 2022 countdown.

The former Florida Gators star landed at No. 91 on the list, one spot ahead of Cowboys LT Tyron Smith and one spot behind WR Odell Beckham Jr.

No matter how talented a player is, it’s tough for rookies to find early success in this league unless they’re really, really good.  Pitts never shied away from the absurd expectations placed upon him during the draft process. He attended the Travis Kelce’s Tight End University summit two years in a row, showing a dedication to his craft right out of the gate.

Watch Pitts’ full top 100 players segment, as shared on the NFL’s official YouTube channel below.

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Chiefs TE Travis Kelce top-ranked tight end in NFL Top 100 Players list history

#Chiefs TE Travis Kelce is making history by moving up 13 spots in the NFL Top 100 players list.

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has secured his spot as one of the 10-best players in the NFL by a vote of his peers.

For the sixth consecutive season, Kelce has been recognized by NFL players as one of the best in the league. This year, they’ve recognized him as the best tight end in the game. 2021 marks his highest ranking yet, coming in at No. 5. It’s also the top ranking by a tight end ever on the NFL Top 100 Players list. He’s truly changing the game and bringing a new level of respectability to the tight end position.

Kelce is the fourth Chiefs player to appear on the list, following teammates Tyrann Mathieu (58), Chris Jones (34) and Tyreek Hill (15).

Kelce is coming off yet another dominant season, his fifth consecutive with over 1,000 yards. He’s the only tight end to ever accomplish that achievement.

“Travis Kelce is the most dangerous tight end that I’ve ever seen,” Buccaneers LB Lavonte David said.

“One of the best, man,” Broncos DB Justin Simmons explained. “Just his ability to always get open.”

Kelce finished the 2020 NFL season with 105 catches, 1416 yards and 11 touchdowns. With three consecutive playoff games of over 100  yards receiving, the veteran tight end is showing no signs of slowing down heading into the new year.

“The highest a tight end has been ranked, right?” Kelce said. “It’s kind of weird, though, because I’m a big team guy. There’s so much that goes into my success on the field. . . It’s definitely cool that by all my peers, I’m able to gain that respect.”

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Demario Davis finds his spot on the NFL Network Top 100 Players of 2021

Saints linebacker Demario Davis finds his spot on the NFL Network Top 100 Players of 2021, via @KadeKistner

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Demario Davis is among a number of New Orleans Saints to find themselves on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2021 list. Davis comes in a No. 64, which is impressive considering he is 32-years-old and still in the middle of a career renaissance.

Davis has been an a consistent force his entire pro career, in large part due to his versatile skillset and availability. Davis has never missed a game in his career spanning nine seasons, many of which were with the New York Jets prior to his arrival in New Orleans.

The linebacker lands on this list for what he has been for the Saints over the last few seasons. Since stepping into the New Orleans locker room in 2018, Davis has helped transform the defensive culture of the franchiser. More importantly, he has stepped up into a leadership position.

With quarterback and paragon Drew Brees newly retired, Davis’ role on the team has become that much more magnified this season. While the top-100 list is often fraught with puzzling placements and blatant omissions, it did get one right in including Davis. Arguably, he should be higher if not for his play than for what he provides for this team off the field.

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3 Chargers make bottom half of NFL’s Top 100 players of 2021

A good portion of the annual player rankings were unveiled, and the Chargers had three players that made the cut.

We’re still weeks away from the start of the regular season, which means national sports websites are still putting out their player and team rankings.

On Sunday, NFL Network released the first part of its Top 100 list with players 100-41. And as far as we can tell, three members of the Chargers were unveiled.

First up, center Corey Linsley checked in at No. 60 overall.

Named first-team All-Pro in 2020, Linsley didn’t allow a sack or a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage vs. the run. He allowed just four total pressures on 437 pass-blocking snaps — the lowest pressure total in the NFL.

Linsley made quarterback Aaron Rodgers very happy during his time with the Packers, and he’ll now do the same for QB Justin Herbert.

Speaking of Herbert, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year came next on the list, landing No. 56 overall.

Herbert set rookie records for total touchdowns (36), passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), multi-passing touchdown games (10), games with 300 yards passing (8) and three-passing touchdown games (6).

Heading into 2021, Herbert could be in for an even bigger season, given the revamped offensive line, a promising group of skill players and a new offensive coordinator in Joe Lombardi that will cater specifically to him.

Among the weapons that Herbert will have to distribute the wealth to is wide receiver Keenan Allen, who checked in one spot ahead of him, being ranked No. 55 overall.

After dealing with injuries early on in his career, Allen has stayed relatively healthy since then and has shown why he’s one of the league’s most underrated wideouts.

Averaging 100 receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards making four Pro Bowl appearances in the past four seasons, defensive backs have struggled to find an answer to Allen’s crafty route-running.

The 101 best players in the NFL today

Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Aaron Donald lead Doug Farrar’s and Mark Schofield’s list of the NFL’s top 101 players.

Recently, Mark Schofield and I compiled 14 different lists of the best NFL players at every position. From those names, we then compiled this list of the top 101 players in the NFL today. In this top 101, we forced ourselves to stick to players we had named in the positional lists, to avoid overdoing “skill position players” at the expense of slot cornerbacks, guards and interior defensive linemen. By drawing from a full list of positions as opposed to loading this with the most popular or highest-paid players, hopefully it gives a better and wider sense of the talent around the league than some other lists might.

The lists: Safeties | Slot defenders | Outside cornerbacks | Linebackers | Interior Defensive Linemen | Edge Defenders | Guards | Centers | Offensive Tackles | Tight Ends | Slot Receivers | Outside Receivers | Running Backs | Quarterbacks

For certain positions, we expanded the lists to 15 players, because when you’re reviewing the NFL’s best quarterbacks and receivers, and you’re leaving Matt Ryan, Justin Herbert, D.K. Metcalf, or Mike Evans off because you’re at the self-imposed mercy of your own numbers… well, that’s obviously sub-optimal.

From these lists, Mark and I compiled our list of the 101 best players in the NFL today, regardless of position. Some positional weight was considered (quarterbacks have an edge over centers, etc.), but again, the overall idea was to break out of the most popular positions and really dig into the league’s biggest difference-makers, without overcooking which positions they play.

With all that in mind, and without further ado, here are our 101 best players in the NFL heading into the 2021 season.

101-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9, Page 10, Page 11

Cam Heyward feels disrespected by low ranking on NFL’s Top 100 Players

Despite career-high numbers in 2019, Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward received a low ranking on NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2020.

Defensive end Cam Heyward was the first of three Steelers to appear on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020 countdown.

Heyward immediately took to Twitter to voice his opinion. “The hate has been at a all time high! Thank God that we have a season right around the corner. Need to exercise some demons,” Heyward wrote.

Opposition beware: It looks like Cam will be using the low ranking to his advantage this season.

I think all Steelers fans agree that being placed at No. 84 is way too low, considering he’s the best DE not named Aaron Donald. There’s no question Donald will land in the top 100 — likely in the top 10, if not first.

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CBSSports releases 2020 NFL Top 100 list: Three Georgia players included

Three former Georgia football players made CBSSports’ list of the top 100 NFL players for 2020.

Pete Prisco of CBSSports recently released his list of the top 100 NFL players for the 2020 season and included three Georgia Bulldogs.

Related: If UGA was fielding a starting team based on current NFL players, here’s what it would look like

A few notable players who did not make the list include: Matthew Stafford, Todd Gurley, Justin Houston, Roquan Smith, David Andrews

Here are the Dawgs that did make the list:

53. Geno Atkins

At #53 on the list is Georgia great Geno Atkins.

Atkins has been one of the league’s most dominant interior defensive lineman since entering the NFL in 2010. He has played his full career with the Bengals, is an eight-time pro-bowler, a two-time first-team all-pro and a member of the 2010s NFL All-Decade Team.

Prisco’s thoughts on Atkins:

“His sacks numbers were down to 4.5 last season, the fewest he’s had since 2014. He’s still capable of doing more than sacking the quarterback, but is age (32) starting to slow him down?”

63. AJ Green

At #63 on the list is another Cincinnati Bengals star, former Georgia phenom AJ Green.

Green remains one of the league’s best wide receivers despite missing the entirety of the 2019 season. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best in the league, and some can argue that he is the best.

Let’s see what he can do this year now that he finally has a quarterback in Joe Burrow.

Prisco’s thoughts on Green:

“He sat out the entire 2019 season with an ankle injury, so he’s a tough one to slot. But I still think at the age of 31, he can still be a No. 1 receiver. Health is the key.”

71. Nick Chubb

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Nick Chubb is fresh off of his second season in the NFL that saw him come 46 yards shy of leading the league in rushing.

Chubb is the 7th ranked running back on this list, coming in behind Christian McCaffrey, Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, and Derrick Henry.

Prisco’s thoughts on Chubb:

“With much of the talk about the Browns passing game coming into the season, it was Chubb who was the best offensive player. He was second in the league in rushing with 1,494 yards and also caught 36 passes. He averaged 5.0 yards per rush.”

for the full list, click here

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