There’s nothing wrong with sneaking this one in right under the wire. As I said in previous installments, we’ve been batting at about 50 percent from Nos. 100-51 on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2017 when it comes to guys new to the list. I assumed that would change once we hit the Top 50. It did not, but it slowed down a bit.
On to the list!
50. Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 61.2 completion percentage, 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, nine interceptions
Mariota makes his list debut at a solid spot, right at the halfway point after a solid sophomore campaign. Mariota is so good he somehow kept the Titans in the playoff hunt down to the wire in spite of playing for, at the time, the second worst coach in the NFL. Mariota has his work cut out for him this season, with the firing of Gus Bradley in Jacksonville, Mike Mularkey is all alone atop the shitty coaches list and he doesn’t even have Jeff Fisher or Mike McCoy lurking around in the background to usurp his title. Godspeed, Marcus.
49. Jadaveon Clowney, DE/OLB, Houston Texans
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 52 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble, two passes defended
It took three years for Clowney to get healthy, but it was worth the wait for the Texans. Clowney emerged as a star player right when Houston needed him most, after All-Universe defensive end J.J. Watt went down with a season-ending injury. Along the way he made his first Pro Bowl and the Texans squeaked into the playoffs and even picked up their second postseason win as a franchise.
48. Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Last year: Not Ranked
2016: 97 catches, 1,257 yards, 14 touchdowns
Though Nelson wasn’t ranked on the NFL’s Top 100 list last season, he doesn’t count as a new entry. He missed the rankings because he missed the season, tearing up his knee in the 2015 preseason. Nelson looked like his old self, putting up his normal, healthy numbers in 2016 just a year removed from tearing his ACL. He’ll probably surpass this performance in 2017.
47. Trent Williams, OT, Washington Redskins
Last year: No. 45
Williams is our first returner to the list and deservedly so. He continues to be one of the best left tackles in the league and shows why teams will always invest high, first round draft picks in elite tackle prospects. The Redskins drafted Williams with the fourth pick of the 2010 draft and he’s started every game he was healthy since.
46. Michael Bennett, DE, Seattle Seahawks
Last year: No. 59
2016: 34 tackles, five sacks
Ah, Michael Bennett, my old enemy, my old friend. Bennett, for my money, is consistently one of the most overrated players in the league. Sure, you can throw out “hurries” as a stat, but that’s a completely imaginary statistic. How many “hurries” do you think happen on one of Aaron Rodgers’ crazy scramble plays? A defensive lineman can pick up a hurry or two on a play where Rodgers tap dances around and tosses a touchdown. Bennett has one double-digit sack season. One. This last year he missed five games and had the exact same number of sacks as William Hayes of the Los Angeles Rams, a player so expendable, he was traded away for next to nothing. Oh, and Hayes also had more tackles (43). Benett’s a good player. Hell, he might be a Top 100 player, but he sure as hell isn’t the 46th best player in the league.
45. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Last year: No. 27
2016: 107 catches, 1,023 yards, six touchdowns
Just a couple of years ago there was a thought that the Cardinals would move on from Fitzgerald. For three consecutive seasons (coinciding with epically shitty quarterback play), Fitzgerald’s production was down. Then, Arizona smartly moved him into the slot to compensate for his waning physical skills, but take advantage of the hard-won football skills he’d honed over his career. That and better quarterback play have equaled back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and last year Fitz led the entire league with 107 catches.
44. Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
Last year: No. 1
2016: 52.9 completion percentage, 3,509 yards, 19 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 90 rushes, 359 yards, five touchdowns
The Panthers’ Super Bowl hangover messed the team up from the top down. Newton was just as guilty as the rest of his squad of falling victim to it. The good thing about that Super Bowl hangover is it usually just lasts a year. With the NFL, hopefully, doing more to protect Newton from the kind of abuse other QBs don’t have to face, I expect him to bounce right back to his 2015 form. The truth is, I expect him to be better. As it is, this is a big drop, 43 spots, but the man is still in the top half of the list where he belongs.
43. Marshall Yanda, OG, Baltimore Ravens
Last year: No. 37
More love for the interior offensive lineman. I don’t remember this many guys between the tackles making the list before. Yanda is a perennial member, and made his mark this season playing both right and left guard while recovering from a shoulder injury.
42. Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
Last year: No. 98
2016: 94 catches, 1,136 yards, four touchdowns
Landry shows exactly how dangerous a dedicated slot receiver can be in today’s NFL. No team has a legit starting line up at the skill positions anymore. That’s why it’s so ridiculous for there still to be a fullback on the Pro Bowl teams. My guess is 80 percent of the time teams line up with three wide receivers, a tight end and a single back. That makes the slot a starter and one that has to match up with the suddenly relevant “slot corner.” It’s a new NFL.
41. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Last year: No. 50
2016: 227 carries, 1,079 yards, 11 touchdowns, 54 catches, 462 yards, two touchdowns
No player is more frustrating to use when playing Daily Fantasy Football than Freeman because you never know what the Falcons are going to do with him. Needless to say, I guessed wrong a lot, but that isn’t his fault. In a crowded backfield, Freeman has still managed to pile up his second straight 1,000-yard season.
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