A week has passed since I put the first list together of notable omissions from the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2016 list. That list consisted entirely of current Los Angeles and former St. Louis Rams. It’s time to widen the net a little and talk about players from other teams who should have made the Top 100. You’ve got a year to make up for this mistake, NFL players.
Here’s Part 2 of my players left off the Top 100 list. In this edition I keep my focus on the AFC with some glaring omissions. Maybe the NFL players should actually watch more football?
Justin Forsett, Running Back, Baltimore Ravens
2015: 151 carries, 641 yards, two touchdowns, 31 catches, 153 yards
Forsett broke his arm in the same game Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco went out for the year with a knee injury. Neither guy played again in 2015 and that’s likely why Forsett didn’t make the players’ list. He was on his way to his second 1,000-plus-yard season with the Ravens after running for 1,266 yards and eight touchdowns in 2014. Forsett’s injury was a freak one as he landed oddly on his arm as he was tackled by Rams All-Universe defensive tackle Aaron Donald. There’s no reason to believe he’ll be hampered by it at all this season.
Joe Flacco, Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens
2015: 64.4 completion percentage, 2,791 yards, 14 touchdowns, 12 interceptions
Flacco is a lot like Eli Manning. He never really gets the respect he deserves even though all he seems to do is win, especially in the postseason when it counts the most. As it was, when Flacco went down against the Rams in a freak injury where his own offensive lineman fell into his knee, he was on his way to a career season, at least statistically. The Ravens know what they have in Flacco, even if some of his fellow players and members of the media don’t.
T.Y. Hilton, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts
2015: 69 catches, 1,124 yards, five touchdowns
Hilton’s absence from the Top 100 list this season is downright egregious. Hilton put up those numbers without Andrew Luck. He was hauling in passes from every janitor, gardener and former Subway sandwich artist the Colts could toss out there and still put up a 1,000 yard season and averaged 16.3 yards per catch. Hilton is not only productive, he’s one of the fastest wideouts in the league and consistently embarrasses top-ranked corners on Colts highlights.
D’Qwell Jackson, Inside Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts
2015: 150 tackles, 89 solo tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one interception, one return for a touchdown, nine passes defended
What else does Jackson have to do to get noticed? Only one player in the league had more tackles than he did last year (NaVorro Bowman of the San Francisco 49ers). Jackson has been one of the best inside linebackers in the league since he was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft by the Cleveland Browns. In his nine seasons he’s had more than 100 tackles seven times and more than 140 five times. He’s also the guy that picked off Tom Brady in the 2014-15 AFC Championship that got him busted for DeflateGate. What else does he have to do to be in the Top 100?
Whitney Mercilus, Outside Linebacker, Houston Texans
2015: 52 tackles, 32 solo tackles, 12 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, two passes defended
J.J. Watt led the league with 17.5 sacks last season and the only reason he didn’t have 30 is because Mercilus could beat him to the quarterback. How does a guy with 12 sacks get left off any “best-of” list. It was a career year for Mercilus, but it’s not like he hasn’t been producing since the Texans drafted him in the first round of the 2012 draft out of Illinois. Last year he had 50 tackles and five sacks. In fact, Mercilus has never had a single season where he recorded fewer than five sacks. He even had six as a rookie and he was barely in the starting line up. Mercilus finished tied for sixth in the league in total sacks for the 2015-16 season.
