Who is the best player in the NFL today?
Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear anyone from Tom Brady to (although he didn’t play a single snap last year) Peyton Manning. Or some may even suggest Eli Manning, the defending Super Bowl MVP.
Eli Manning Super Bowl Trophy (Courtesy: WonderHowTo.com)
Even when the players voted on the ‘Top 100 Players of 2012‘ there wasn’t a unanimous decision. While it’s almost impossible to qualify what makes a player the best, it’s still worth a shot.
Quarterbacks have to know not only their own responsibilities on every play, but also the responsibilities of every offensive player. Especially in today’s NFL, teams rise and fall according to the play of their quarterback.
Are wins more important than stats? Are stats more important than wins? Should a great player be looked at less favorably because he plays on a good team? Are sacks more important than taking up double teams? What do you say about a player who has a bad regular season and a successful postseason, or vice versa? How important is past versus projected success?
All those questions are asked when evaluating the top players in the NFL. While they’re all valid, to me the main question to ask when determining who’s the best is: Would you trust this player with the game on the line?
That said, I’ve come up with a list of who I believe to be the top 100 players in the NFL today.
*These rankings are based on what a player is capable of doing at their fullest potential (assuming each player is 100 percent healthy).
No. 100 London Fletcher, Inside Linebacker, Washington Redskins: Fletcher led the league in tackles (166) in 2011, and finished second in 2009 (142). He’s averaged 141 tackles per season in the five years he’s been in Washington.
No. 99 Torrey Smith, Wide Receiver, Baltimore Ravens: Smith’s first NFL reception was a 74-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Baltimore’s Week 3 win at St. Louis. Smith had three touchdowns (totaling 133 yards) in that first quarter.
No. 98 Dwight Freeney, Defensive End, Indianapolis Colts: Over the last three seasons, Freeney has totaled 32 sacks despite starting only 40 games.
No. 97 D’Qwell Jackson, Inside Linebacker, Cleveland Browns: In his only two full NFL seasons, Jackson led the led the league in tackles (154 in 2008) and finished second in tackles (158 in 2011).
No. 96 Devin Hester, WR, Chicago Bears: Hester
Courtesy: Johnathon Daniel/Getty Images
leads the NFL all-time in punts returned for a touchdown (12). The next closest active player is DeSean Jackson (4).
No. 95 Johnathan Joseph, Cornerback, Houston Texans: Joseph had 44 tackles, 15 passes defensed and four interceptions last season for Houston (finished second in overall defense).
No. 94 Jason Witten, Tight End, Dallas Cowboys: Witten has missed just two starts since 2004. In that time he’s averaged 83 receptions for 945 yards and five touchdowns per season. From 2004-10, Witten made the Pro Bowl every season. In 2010, he was named a First-Team All-Pro.
No. 93 Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons: Ryan is 23-9 since 2010 (71.9 percent winning percentage), when he was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
No. 92 Matt Schaub, Quarterback, Houston Texans: Since 2007 when he joined the Texans, Schaub has never completed less than 61 percent of his passes, while averaging 259.9 yards per game.
No. 91 Jonathan Vilma, Inside Linebacker, New Orleans Saints: Vilma made the Pro Bowl from 2009-10 before playing only 11 games last year due to an injured left knee.
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