I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. It’s true we’re already four episodes in before I start this rundown, but, hey, just think of it as a fun way to recap where we are right now in the NFL Network’s Top 100 players countdown. If you want to blame anybody, blame the NFL Network for programming this at the same time every NCAA spring sport is holding its conference and NCAA regional tournaments. I serve many masters.
This early part of the rankings is always interesting because it’s where most of the newer players make their debut. The number of unranked guys you get shows exactly how fleeting an NFL career can be. Obviously the list is all in fun and a great piece of programming for the NFL Network in a dead part of the offseason. But I am paid to take it seriously and so I will. I think this list should all be about the last NFL season and not the career a guy has laid down in the past.
Onto the list!
100. Joey Bosa, DE, Los Angeles Chargers
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 41 tackles, 10.5 sacks
There was a real worry that the Chargers’ contract shenanegans in the preseason was going to screw up Bosa’s rookie season. The guy was too talented to let that happen. Before the Titans traded off their No. 1 pick, I had them taking Bosa atop the 2016 draft. It turns out he was the first non-QB taken and completely worth it. It makes you wonder why the Chargers haggled over what will turn out to be completely meaningless contract details. Bosa played in just 12 games as a rookie, missing three games early in the season with hamstring issues and was inactive in Week One.
99. Malcolm Butler, CB, New England Patriots
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 63 tackles, 16 passes defensed, four picks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, one sack
This is way too low for Butler and I don’t get it. If anything, holding that Vince Lombardi trophy at the end of the season should boost a player’s value on a ranking like this. I haven’t ranked my current position players, but will before the season starts. It’s difficult for me to see Butler as anything other than a Top 10 corner, so if there’s 10 or more guys ahead of him on this list, it’s bullshit.
98. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Last year: No. 5
2016: 37 carries, 72 yards, no touchdowns, three catches, eight yards
I don’t feel Peterson is done as an NFL player by any means, but to even show up on this list after a three-game season last year is ridiculous. I might feel differently if he’d dominated in those three games, but he finished with just 72 yards and a 1.9 yards per carry average.
97. David Decastro, OG, Pittsburgh Steelers
Last year: Not Ranked
Decastro is a solid choice to make the list that won’t see a lot of interior offensive lineman make the cut at all. This seems to be a consistently undervalued position on the Top 100 rankings.
96. Damon Harrison, DT, New York Giants
Last year: Not Ranked
2016:86 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one pass defended, one forced fumble
Harrison doesn’t put up the sack numbers to get noticed as the elite defensive tackle he is. Those 86 tackles are outrageous. That’s middle linebacker numbers for a guy doing it in the trenches. Harrison is part of a New York Giants defensive line resurgence that could end up netting one more Super Bowl trophy before Eli Manning calls it quits.
95. Kelechi Osemele, OT, Oakland Raiders
Last year: Not Ranked
If you’re going to build a dynasty, you need a star left tackle and Osemele is exactly that for the Oakland (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders. Osemele was a steal for the Raiders, who nabbed him from the Baltimore Ravens’ depth chart last season. The Ravens played him all over the line, but Oakland saw the potential at left tackle and made it happen. Now they’ve got that position solidified and they didn’t even have to waste a first round draft pick to do it.
94. Dont’A Hightower, LB, New England Patriots
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 65 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one safety, two passes defended, one forced fumble
Again, this seems way low for a cornerstone player on a Super Bowl winning defense. Hightower is so good even Bill Belichick wouldn’t move him out of town. Unlike every other star linebacker in recent years, the Pats actively tried to keep Hightower from escaping via free agency and paid him what he’s worth. That alone should put him in the top half of the Top 100 list.
93. Brandon Graham, DE, Philadelphia Eagles
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 59 tackles, 5.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, one pass defense
Graham is my first protest as a Top 100 player. He’s been remarkably consistent over the last four seasons, but at the same time he’s not a dominant player. He’s probably borderline and, really, a lot of that will come down to who got left off once the list is complete. As it is, he’s a good player, but he wouldn’t make my Top 100 rankings.
92. Everson Griffen, DE, Minnesota Vikings
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 48 tackles, eight sacks, one pass defense, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one defensive touchdown
Griffin, on the other hand, should have been on this list for the last three seasons. He had 12 sacks in 2014 and 10.5 sacks last season and still missed the list. I find it hard to believe it took this long for his fellow NFL players, especially the offensive lineman and quarterbacks he faces, to recognize him as a top defensive end.
91. Lorenzo Alexander, LB, Buffalo Bills
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 64 tackles, 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, six passes defensed, one interception
Alexander has floated around the NFL for years and not done much except keep a paycheck coming in. That all changed last season. Alexander set career highs in pretty much every stat in his first season with the Bills. There may be a position change in his future if new head coach Sean McDermott switches to a 4-3, but Alexander’s late in football life explosion in ability and production is nice to see.
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