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The "Top 100 players of 2018" is over. Another year of rankings has come and gone. And without a doubt, the final results will be used as chart material
But what about the guys that the players missed? And the players ranked too high? Or too low? Is Carson Wentz really one of the top three players in the NFL after only two seasons, which he could not finish due to an injury? Odell Beckham Jr. is not he really a top-75 player?
The rankings are made up of the votes of the best footballers in the world, and we recognize that they know the game better than anyone else. But even the pros make mistakes. Here are the top five in this year's list:
1) Leaving Alex Smith and Anthony Barr on
Listen, we are not shocked that Blake Bortles is not on this list. We knew enough of the scathing criticism of his divisional opponents of his skills to guess that he would not make the "Top 100". But not Alex Smith after his 2017 campaign? Seriously?
Leave your stats argument at home. Here are some numbers for your brain: 4,042 passing yards, 67.5 completion points, 26 touchdowns, five interceptions and a score of 104.7. Ninth in most completions for more than 20 yards (52), third in most completions for more than 40 yards (13). Is that enough to break all the blows (incorrectly) on Smith? It should.
Unfortunately, Smith's unjust and imprecise reputation for being a game manager and a quarterback who enjoys better teammates has worn out his uniform so much that several appearances in the playoffs and top 10 rankings do not place him in the "Top 100" . Smith has fought this stigma since he fought against many offensive coordinators and team-wide struggles in San Francisco before getting a stable situation with Jim Harbaugh, who was snatched from him thanks to Colin Kaepernick's meteoric rise in 2012. The continued success in Kansas City has not been enough to stabilize his reputation. A 12-4 finals final in 2016 led to # 81 last year, even though his stats were significantly worse than his 2017 campaign. A record of 10-6 L & # 39; completely eliminated from the "Top 100". It is an absolute crime.
Alex Smith is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. I'm going to die on this hill.
The absence of Barr is not so blatant, but it is still surprisingly surprising. Barr is one of five linebackers to have played the last three professional bowls (including the most recent) and a key part of the league's best defense. After three years of neglect on this list, Barr seemed ready to make the cut. We can not even blame the relative anonymity after having unintentionally drawn attention to the breakup of Aaron Rodgers' collarbone.
But, as is often the case with these rankings, another year in the NFL's defensive rankings or near the top could allow the Vikings' outside linebacker to crack this list. After all, it can not be ignored forever.
2) … and putting Case Keenum in the top 60
The recency bias undoubtedly influences these rankings. This happens every year, in part because many players are interviewed during the season. Keenum's place on this year's list is perhaps the best example.
Keenum, who placed 51st in the "Top 100", completed 67.6% of his passes for 3,547 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions (98.3 pass mark). His Vikings finished the 2017 regular season as the NFC's North champions with a 13-3 record. Keenum was at the front of the Minnesota train, one of the season's wellness stories, a backup commissioned and playing well above his perceived ceiling.
All this was good and dandy. Keenum was sometimes electric in 2017, and this earned him a new job in Denver as a starter from the Broncos. But compared to Smith 2017 – he was also the starting quarterback for a winning team in the division, he suddenly looks less sterling. And there is a difference of more than 50 points (or more) between the two.
Both are now in new cities with new teams, but if I had to make a closing argument on this point, it is this: we do not know how one or the other stands will have, but we have a much longer record than Keenum. The flashes in the pan tend to blossom into these rankings. We will learn in 2018 whether Keenum is a temporary guest on the list or a pillar. Smith should be the last.
3) Free fall of Odell Beckham Jr.
The recency bias also affects players who simply do not play (although this did not seem to have such a drastic effect on newcomers as in the past, which we will see later).
Take Beckham, for example. The wide has only played four games in 2017 due to an ankle injury. He caught 25 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first season in which he did not beat 1,300 yards and hit double digits, which is virtually impossible to achieve in a quarter season. Is it really a drop of 69 points?
In a word, no.
When he is in good health, Beckham is still a top receiver even not at the peak of his career. We must not look any further than the rumors of his possible move from New York via the trade before the project, which has sparked speculation about its value. Many earned him being rewarded with Cleveland's two first-round picks, both in the top four. It's about as high as a player can be rated – despite the fact that this player was ranked # 77 on this list.
This is perhaps a compliment: Beckham still made the "Top 100" after not having played in 75% of the season. But it's also the strongest illustration that can be found in players sharing the guilt of this league: "What have you done for me lately?" ? Business. These are products of the league's environment, but their rankings show that they remain true to this norm.
4) Carson Wentz debut in the top 10
Carson Wentz did not have the opportunity to play at the Super Bowl, but he did as much as anyone to get the Eagles on the way to a title.
The versatile youngster flourished during Year 2 under the direction of Doug Pederson, brightening the league on fire with his flagship piece of creation. Wentz completed 60.2% of his passes for 3,296 yards and 33 touchdowns (against seven interceptions), and rushed 64 times for 299 yards. When he fell with a knee injury ending at the end of the season, it seemed like the Philadelphia season was over, too. We all know how it happened. But Nick Foles' race at a Lombardi trophy does not distort Wentz's efforts. What is it where he landed in the "Top 100": # 3.
In front of Aaron Rodgers? Drew Brees? Let's go back a bit, guys.
Wentz seems to be the face of the next generation at the quarterback position. Placing it in front of the established stars and the future Hall of Fame seems a bit extreme.
A similar sequence took place a year ago at Derek Carr of Oakland, who made his second appearance in the Top 100 at 9th place. A season of team-wide struggles brought him back to 60th place.
I'm not saying that Wentz is Carr – I think Wentz is better, not in a massive way, but decent – but I suggest that we slow down a bit, just a little bit.
5) Jalen Ramsey better than Patrick Peterson? Jared Goff> Philip Rivers ??
If you've done it here, you know the theme: players have short memories.
Jalen Ramsey (# 17) and Jared Goff (# 38) were two new players in 2017. They have won their rankings, to a certain extent. Where the question lies here is exactly in front of whom they landed.
Ramsey, a sophomore and first all-Pro, has dropped in six positions ahead of Peterson, three-time Pro-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler. We can not rely so much on traditional statistics – since some half-corners are avoided more than others – but we dump them on you anyway.
Ramsey: 16 games played, 63 tackles, 17 defensive passes, four interceptions (the team finished 10-6).
Peterson: 16 games played, 34 tackles, eight defensive passes, one interception (the team finished 8-8).
Ramsey has outstripped Peterson in All-Pro by voting this season, which is motivated by what a player has done in an individual season. For 2017, Ramsey was the best player (on the best team, which matters too), but he still has a long way to go to compile a career with Peterson's cache.
The biggest mistake of these two men is to place Jared Goff, the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, in front of the much-noticed Philip Rivers.
The Goff Rams have also been one of the NFL's best stories in 2017, bouncing from a season of 4-12 to 11-5, winning the NFC West and becoming an important part of the NFL's hierarchy. the league in their second season in Los Angeles. In addition, in addition to a season of 2,880 touchdowns of 3,804 yards, Goff climbed to 38th on the list. He looks like the quarterback of the franchise that the Rams thought they were getting when they picked Goff No. 1 overall in 2016.
Rivers' Chargers narrowly missed the playoffs in 2017, but is one of the league's most promising teams in 2018. He surpassed Goff by eye test and won in passing yards (4,515). But as is often the case here, Goff's team made headlines while his counterpart in the city was flying under the radar after a slow start.
In a single season situation, independent of current coaches, I would bet that more GM would take Rivers than Goff. It could change sooner rather than later, but right now, I'm confident in that statement, even though the rankings do not reflect it.
Follow Nick Shook on Twitter @TheNickShook.
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