The NFL’s Top 100 Players is something to look forward to in the off season. Its where the players vote for who they think are the top players. It’s presented as a countdown in June/July, and is entertaining and well produced. But like any subjective list it has its flaws. Here are the biggest blunders in the 2015 list (released in 2016):
Too High
Rank #2: Tom Brady – Tom Brady is arguably one of the top 5 NFL QBs ever. But he was just a tad better than average last year, certainly not great and not deserving of the #2 spot. In fact, without Gronk he was ordinary. The players got this one wrong. Brady should be in the 40s at best. Aaron Rodgers finished #6 in the rankings and is much better than Tom Brady right now. The jury is still out whether or not he will eclipse Brady as an all-time great, but in 2015 there was a wide gap between the two.
Rank #11: Josh Norman – This ranking is WAY too high. Sure, Josh had a really good year, but there is not a GM in the NFL (other than maybe the Browns) who would take Josh Norman over Patrick Peterson (rank #18) or Richard Sherman (rank #20). He would arguably also not be chosen ahead of either of Denver’s dynamic duo, Chris Harris and Aqib Talib.
Rank #30: Drew Brees – Drew Brees had a pedestrian season and his best days are way behind him. The future Hall of Famer did not belong on the top 100 list this year, making it by sheer reputation. In fact, if Peyton Manning hadn’t retired he was going to rank 35th. Remember the year he had. Reputation often scores far more points than it should.
Too Low
Rank #15: Von Miller – This happened because the players vote before the post-season. Von Miller’s incredibly dominant playoff run that propelled the Denver Broncos to their 3rd Super Bowl wasn’t taken into consideration. I’m sure Von’s new 78 million guaranteed as just reported by Adam Schefter on 104.3 The Fan will help him forget this ranking!
Rank #9: Rob Gronkowski – The Gronk could give Von Miller a run for the best player in the NFL in 2015. There is no way he should be #9, he is an absolute beast and the primary reason New England almost came back to beat Denver in the AFC Championship.
Rank #100: Derek Carr – This is more a sleeper pick than anything as I expect Carr to be in the top 50 next year, he’s an up-and-coming NFL star.
