Tag: Player Power Rankings

Grading, Ranking every Cowboys player in 2022, how many can be called elite?

The Cowboys have a deep roster, but there is certainly a pecking order. See who currently ranks better and who have the best grades. | From @KDDrummondNFL

How does one define elite? Oxford says to be elite, one must be among a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society. The NFL is certainly the top group of American football (World Cup is popping, don’t want to get a yellow) so compared to college and football the 848 players on rosters and the couple hundred on IR are certainly elite.

Within that 1,000 or so, there’s certainly a handful of elite players at each given position. The 2022 Dallas Cowboys certainly have a handful of players who can be considered among the elite at their positions. Just how many, though? In our latest player power rankings, the first since Week 1, we’re attaching grades to the order. Who are the elite players? Who are the superstars, the stars, the solid contributors and those who need to step it up? Take a walk through the Cowboys’ Top 40 at the Week 12 mini-bye.

Alvin Kamara takes the top spot in our Saints player power rankings after Week 8

Alvin Kamara takes the top spot in our Saints player power rankings after Week 8, Alontae Taylor makes the top-10:

A team’s top performers deserve top billing, and that’s reflected in our latest New Orleans Saints player power rankings after Week 8’s shutout win over the Las Vegas Raiders. There’s a new No. 1 in our list with running back Alvin Kamara’s three-touchdown performance rocketing him to the top of the list. But there’s more shakeup within the top-10 too: rookie cornerback Alontae Taylor clocked in at No. 8 after he helped erase superstar Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams, and right guard Cesar Ruiz continued his march up to the board to reach No. 10.

What about the risers and fallers? Four players fell out of the top-25 altogether: quarterback Jameis Winston (No. 19 last week), defensive tackle Malcolm Roach (No. 22) and David Onyemata (No. 23), and running back Mark Ingram II (No. 25). Kicker Wil Lutz nearly joined them, falling from No. 15 last week to No. 24 after his missed 37-yard field goal against the Raiders. Kamara was the week’s largest riser, climbing four spots from his previous ranking. Let’s run through the full list:

There’s a new No. 1 in our Saints player power rankings going into Week 6

There’s a new No. 1 in our Saints player power rankings going into Week 6: linebacker Pete Werner, always in the right place at the right time.

We’ve named a new No. 1 in our New Orleans Saints player power rankings going into Week 6, and he pulled it off by scoring just one point more than his predecessor. Linebacker Pete Werner has risen to the top spot this week after a fiery start to his second pro season, bumping his All-Pro teammate Demario Davis out of No. 1 and down to No. 2; three different ballots had Davis-Werner at Nos. 1 and 2, but a fourth ballot gave Werner enough of an edge to take over. And, again, Davis isn’t falling far: he trails Werner by just a single point. Odds are he’ll take his seat at the head of the table back very soon.

The new entry to the list this week is tight end Adam Trautman, clocking in at No. 25 and replacing last week’s No. 25, safety J.T. Gray (who was pushed out of the top-25 altogether). Other rises include right guard Cesar Ruiz, who has risen into the top-15, as well as tight end/quarterback/touchdown machine Taysom Hill (moving up 8 spots), left guard Andrus Peat (who moved up 6 spots), as well as running back Alvin Kamara and defense end Cameron Jordan (both moving up 5 spots).

But all of that movement up the board meant some players had to slip down. Wide receiver Michael Thomas fell 11 places while missing another game to injury, as was the case for safety Marcus Maye (who fell 8 spots). Cornerback Paulson Adebo fell 10 spots after a really rough game. Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk is still inside the top-10, but he’s fallen 5 spots. There’s some internal deliberation about whether players missing games to injury should be considered at all, so that’s influencing things.

That’s all of the big movement this week. Let’s explore the top 25 Saints players going into Week 6:

Pete Werner makes the top-5 on our Week 3 Saints player power rankings

Pete Werner makes the top-5 on our Week 3 Saints player power rankings, via @DillySanders, @MaddyHudak_94, @RossJacksonNOLA, and @john_siglerr:

Week 2 is behind us and we’re already on to Week 3’s matchup for the New Orleans Saints, who will travel to face the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday. With practices just beginning to ramp up ahead of their kickoff, it’s a good time to update our Saints player power rankings.

This week’s biggest riser is, again, linebacker Pete Werner – who climbed 7 more spots after leaping 6 places higher last week, this time making the top-5. We also saw tight end Juwan Johnson, defensive end Marcus Davenport, safety Marcus Maye, left guard Andrus Peat, and punter Blake Gillikin each climb 3 spots.

As for the biggest fallers: cornerback Paulson Adebo and running back Alvin Kamara each fell nine spots, seeing as they didn’t play in Week 2 due to injuries, but defensive end Cameron Jordan tumbled furthest of the players who did get on the field (8 spots). Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk also took a step back, losing 4 places, after an uncharacteristically poor day in pass protection. Quarterback Jameis Winston fell 3 spots, too, while players like running back Mark Ingram II, plus safeties Justin Evans and J.T. Gray fell out of the top-25 entirely.

That did open the door for three new arrivals, though: left tackle James Hurst, right guard Cesar Ruiz, and safety P.J. Williams each returned to the top-25 after not making it in Week 2. Williams did give up a late touchdown pass to the Buccaneers, but wide receiver Breshad Perriman got away with a push off on the catch so we aren’t holding it against him too badly.

So with all that said: here is the Week 3 Saints player power rankings.

Cowboys Player Rankings: Micah Parsons assumes top spot in Week 15 shakeup

The Cowboys rookie becomes just the fifth different player to take the top spot in four years of weekly rankings. Here’s how the rest of the top 30 changed from Week 14. | From @KDDrummondNFL

There’s a new king of the hill in the Dallas Cowboys’ pecking order. Make no mistake, Zack Martin hasn’t done anything wrong to change impressions of just how dominant he continues to be in his role, but the instability behind him in a position that relies on cohesion of a position group has destabilized him just a bit. And that crack was just enough for the unstoppable force to wedge through and become just the fifth different name to top these rankings.

Micah Parsons, welcome to the throne.

No player has appeared at the top of the rankings more than Martin, of course. He consistently rises to the top and it will shock no one if he wrestles the throne back in the coming weeks, but there’s simply no denying that Parsons is the team’s most impactful player at the moment. Getting the pass-rush help of DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory skyrockets the impact Parsons can have in Dan Quinn’s defense, which is perfectly captured here.

Other players to grace the top spot remain in good standing, though there’s definitely movement with players such as QB Dak Prescott, RB Ezekiel Elliott and DE DeMarcus Lawrence. What’s the current pecking order? Check below to find the Week 15 Top 30.

Micah Parsons challenges Zack Martin for top spot in Week 14 Cowboys Player Rankings

“Next man up” is a myth of epic proportions coaches tell bench players to instill confidence. The ravaged Cowboys struggled, but look at this talented group. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys may have made it out of their toughest stretch of the season. With injuries mounting and COVID outbreaks ravaging the team, they stumbled through November losing three of four games. What once looked like a promising challenge for the No. 1 seed in the NFC now looks more of a long shot, though not impossible, based on their recent stumbles. But they may be back.

Week 13 saw the return of several of their top-10 players to the lineup, including Amari Cooper after two weeks, CeeDee Lamb after missing one and DeMarcus Lawrence after missing 10 with a broken foot. This was on the heels of Tyron Smith returning the prior week after missing three games of his own. Week 14 will see the return of Randy Gregory after missing four weeks. Don’t forget top-20 players like Michael Gallup and Neville Gallimore, out for most or all of the season. Throw in a missing head coach, OL coach, OL assistant and the majority of the strength-and-conditioning coaches and it’s all apparent. Why are the Cowboys’ stumbling? This is why.

Next man up is a myth. The Cowboys are one of the most talented organizations in football and the fact they overcame so much through the first seven weeks is miraculous. Now that most are back, it’s time to judge them but first, here’s an assessment of just how much talent they do have. Here’s a look at the top-30 players entering Week 14.

Top 30 Cowboys players rankings for Week 11 proves depth perception is no mirage

A look at the Top 30 individual players for the Cowboys going into Week 11’s tilt against Kansas City. It’s power rankings Tuesday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys front office has been in their bag. While the results hadn’t shown it true in the previous two campaigns, in 2021 the job they’ve done to assemble the 70-some-odd players who are in rotation is front and center. Dallas now sports a 7-2 record through nine game after their dominating 43-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Once again, the Cowboys played without several of their star players and once again, the backups proved to be more than capable.

Depth is a key ingredient to a championship run, and it is showing itself week in, week out for Dallas. On Sunday, they played without their offseason projected starting defensive line. 3T Neville Gallimore hasn’t taken a snap all year and Pro Bowl DE DeMarcus Lawrence hasn’t played since Week 1. Brent Urban didn’t win the job as expected, but he has been out of the rotation for a couple weeks and Randy Gregory just went on the shelf for three weeks. It didn’t matter.

Just like moving along without Michael Gallup, La’el Collins and for single games Dak Prescott and Zack Martin, this team is able to play peak football almost every time out there. The one time they didn’t, in a Week 9 blowout loss, they came back the next week and had their best performance in years.

Depth is the reason.

There’s so much depth on the roster, a leading defensive player of the year candidate is barely squeezing into the top 10 this week. We haven’t done a player power ranking since Week 5, so it gives a great look into how things have changed from the quarter mark to halfway into the season.