The top 101 players in the NFL today

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield present their top 101 players in the NFL for the 2020 season.

40. Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

As someone who grew up a New England Patriots fan, and then became lucky enough to cover them professionally, I thought a bright spot of Tom Brady’s departure for the NFC South was that I could avoid the inevitable “Tom Brady Battles” that pop up from time to time on the Twitter timeline. “Won’t be my problem anymore,” I would think to myself while dabbing the salty discharge around my eyes with the front of my #12 jersey. But enough about how I spend my Tuesday nights…

Unfortunately, this assignment was dropped on my desk so I’m wading back in.

Part of ranking Brady over Rodgers right now at this point in their respective Hall of Fame careers are these twin pillars of opinion: First, Brady is going to be playing with some of the best weapons he’s had at his disposal in years. A pair of the game’s best wideouts in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Two tremendous tight ends in O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Along with of course his old buddy in Rob Gronkowski. Second is this, and this fact cannot be understated: Brady is out to prove the world wrong.

Think about it. In addition to changing teams this offseason Brady started his own film production company. His choice of name? “199 Productions,” in homage to his draft slot back in 1999. To this day, with his status on the Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks solidified, Brady is still that sixth-round pick, forced to prove everyone wrong about him. This past season in New England was a tough one for the quarterback, as the speculation about his future and the endless questions, coupled with the team’s poor offensive performances, wore on him. Now in Tampa Bay, people might get a chance to decide who really was responsible for the run in New England: Brady or his head coach. Brady wants to make that answer known to the world.

As someone who has watched him for decades, I would not bet against him.

39. Kevin Byard, S, Tennessee Titans

(Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

A few seasons ago Kevin Byard was a darling of #DraftTwitter, but was left on the outside looking in when invitations to the Scouting Combine were sent out.

Now he is one of the league’s premier safeties.

Byard had another great season in 2019 as he and the Tennessee Titans made a run to the AFC Championship Game. While Derrick Henry and the offense grabbed the lion’s share of the headlines, Byard and the Titans’ defense is not to be overlooked. Byard spent the bulk of his season in a deep safety role, logging 691 snaps in that alignment. A scant majority of those, 397 to be exact, were in some kind of two-high coverage. On this interception of Baker Mayfield, he begins in a two-high alignment before buzzing down underneath, and reads the quarterback perfectly:

Byard has been one of the league’s most dangerous secondary players the past few seasons, tallying 18 interceptions and 17 passes defended since he entered the NFL. His coverage skills and ball-hawking ability keep him near the top of any list of the league’s best safeties.

38. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

(James Snook-USA TODAY Sports)

George Kittle is the definition of teaching tape at the tight end position. In the San Francisco 49ers offense he does everything asked of him at an extremely high level. His numbers are fantastic. He gives you yardage after the catch (Kittle led tight ends with 7.3 YAC per reception as well as 621 total yards after the catch). He is a great blocker in both the run and the pass game. He is everything you want from a tight end, and he’s just 26 years old.

Hard not to appreciate him.

37. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

(Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

Elliott led the league in carries and rushing yards in 2018, but he was even more productive in certain ways last season, and this was reflected in his Football Outsiders metrics — he jumped from ninth to first in DYAR (FO’s cumulative efficiency metric) and from 20th to fourth in DVOA (FO’s per-play efficiency metric). Elliott scored 14 total touchdowns to nine the year before, he broke 48 rushing tackles to 41 in 2018, and his only real downgrade was in explosive plays — he had 28 carries of 15 or more yards in 2018, and only 12 in 2019.

That said, the explosive plays were still evident, and quite often, a product of the fact that if you don’t wrap-tackle Elliott, things are not going to go well for you.

Elliott’s only potential issue in 2020 and beyond is that new head coach Mike McCarthy has exhibited some interesting decision-making when determining the value of his running backs — as we just detailed when writing about Aaron Jones. And with first-round pick CeeDee Lamb joining Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup to form perhaps the NFL’s best receiver trio, Elliott may not get the carries he has in previous years. But we’ll go ahead and assume that even Mike McCarthy will be able to figure out who Dallas’ offense goes through.

36. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

2019 was certainly a down year for both the Atlanta Falcons and their quarterback. After their 2016 season which ended in a Super Bowl loss, and saw Matt Ryan earn both Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player, Ryan’s numbers have trended downward over the past three years. In both 2017 and 2018 he posted identical ANY/A marks of 7.12 (down from his 2016 number of 9.03 which led the league) and in 2019 his ANY/A fell to 6.08, 19th in the league.

Part of this is due to the quarterback of course, and part is also due to the surroundings. Last year Ryan was sacked 48 times, tying him with Russell Wilson for the most in the league. He still performed well under duress, as his Adjusted Completion Percentage of 66.5% when pressured was eighth-best in the league, but those hits and that pressure takes a toll.

Still, Ryan is worth betting on. He continues to have one of the game’s best receivers at his disposal in Julio Jones. Calvin Ridley is an a solid number two across from Jones. Ryan still has the ability to quickly work through his reads and make smart, quick decisions with the football. He remains one of the game’s more accurate passers – bolstered by the difference of 1.4% between his Expected Completion Percentage and his actual Completion Percentage. And while he does not go deep often – just 9.1% of his throws last year were 20 yards or more – he is effective when he does. Ryan’s Adjusted Completion Percentage of 48.2% was fifth-best in the league.

35. Lane Johnson, OT, Philadelphia Eagles

(Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

Philadelphia Eagles’ right tackle Lane Johnson struggled with injuries during the 2019 season, but it should not diminish his overall level of play. Last year Johnson was another stud in pass protection, as he allowed just one sack (Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys) and a total of only four quarterback hits and 23 quarterback pressures.

Another idea bandied about on #OLTwitter is the notion that “finishing is non-negotiable.” If you want an example of that on film, watch what Johnson does against Ryan Kerrigan from their first meeting last season:

On this play against the Green Bay Packers, Johnson takes the fight to Za’Darius Smith, one of the NFL’s top pass rushers:

Finally, here’s some appreciation for the processing and awareness here against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins use a “radar” defensive front, trying to disguise where the pressure is coming from:

In addition to reading the front perfectly, Johnson flashes some impressive lateral movement skills to handle the inside rush attempt and protect Carson Wentz.

The Eagles’ offensive line might look a bit different in 2020, with changes such as Jason Peters kicking inside, but Johnson should remain a rock solid tackle for the Eagles as they try and repeat in the division in 2020.

34. Kenny Clark, DI, Green Bay Packers

(Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports)

I remember the exact moment I first heard the name Kenny Clark. It was back in 2015, and I was writing a preview of a September matchup between Arizona and UCLA during the halcyon days of Inside the Pylon. While studying the Bruins’ defense, I came across this play from a nose tackle, highlighted by the white box pre-snap:

Since that moment, I’ve been a fan.

Clark has lived up to the expectations I, and the Green Bay Packers, had for him when the Packers drafted him in the first round of the 2016 draft. 2019 might have been his best season yet, as he saw a career-high 971 snaps and made the most of them. Clark tallied career-high numbers in pressures (69), sacks (9), hurries (58), tackles (46) and stops (45).

It is rare to see sideline-to-sideline ability from an interior defensive lineman, but Clark brings that to the table, along with great awareness for the position. But you also have to take note of his strength, power and leverage. Watch what he does here on this running play from the Carolina Panthers. Off the snap he drives his left arm into the right shoulder of the center on this zone running play, driving the center back. Once he gets control of the blocker his hands are fast enough that he can flare out his left arm to control the ball-carrier, while using his right arm and shoulder to maintain leverage over the center:

With Clark on the inside and the dueling Smiths on the outside, the Packers defense is in solid shape up front heading into 2020.

33. Chandler Jones, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals

(Rob Schumacher/The Republic-Phoenix)

Which NFL player has the most sacks since the 2012 season? If you guessed Chandler Jones with 96, you would be correct. Both with the Patriots (who selected him in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Syracuse) and the Cardinals (his team since 2016), Jones has done his thing in relative obscurity, but always at a high level. 2019 marked a career high in sacks with 19.0 and total pressures with 75, and he led the NFL in both sacks (17.0) and tackles for loss (28.0) in 2017. Jones’ suddenness off the snap allows him to combine power and speed in interesting ways, and he has the diagnostic abilities to know when to stop heading for the pocket and peel off to take after a running quarterback or running back. He’s always suffered from a lack of recognition in relation to his on-field accomplishments, but Jones has been one of the top handful of edge defenders in the NFL for a long time.

32. J.C. Jackson, CB, New England Patriots

(Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports)

If you’re a cynic when reading Jackson’s preposterous charting stats for the 2019 season, you might insist that Jackson is a man-dominant quarterback, he’s not challenged by No. 1 receivers because he’s got Stephon Gilmore in his secondary, and when a safety like Devin McCourty in his back third, he’s got the cushion to take chances that most cornerbacks don’t. Then, you turn on the tape and you realize that most teams have more than one “No. 1 receiver,” and that Jackson wouldn’t be on the field as much as he is in Bill Belichick’s defense if he wasn’t legit. Which he certainly is.

In this Week 14 interception of a Patrick Mahomes pass, watch how Jackson (at the bottom of the screen) delays his drop on the crossing route, giving the NFL’s best quarterback (spoiler alert!) a false sense of security before dropping the hammer.

So, how preposterous were those charting stats? Last season, Jackson allowed 31 receptions on 65 targets for 328 yards, 146 yards after the catch, one touchdown, five interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 35.9 — by far the best among cornerbacks with at least 50 targets (Richard Sherman finished second at 45.3). Jackson is No. 4 on our list only because he’s not his team’s top cornerback, but he’d be CB1 on most teams. The tape and the stats make that abundantly clear.

31. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Sure, this is human:

That’s just your average, ordinary everyday dude fighting off a jam from a defensive end, erasing the eight-yard cushion from one of the NFL’s better coverage linebackers, making a catch in traffic and forcing a missed tackle from a safety who had a free shot at him. Normal stuff. (Bonus points if you recognize the song lyric used here).

Completely normal things:

Just adjusting to a low throw and outrunning the defense to the end zone. Normal things.

Not human things:

I mean:

Last season he posted a stat line of 86 receptions for 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 15.5 yards per reception. Quarterbacks posted an NFL passer rating of 121.7 when targeting him.

And in 2020, he’ll have Tom Brady targeting him. Whew.

(Oh, and it was “Let’s Get Rocked” by Def Leppard. 15 year-old me loved that tune).

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