The NFL Top 100 is an annual television series counting down the top one hundred players in the National Football League (NFL), as chosen by fellow NFL players. The rankings are based on an off-season poll organized by the NFL, where players vote on their peers based on their performance for the recent NFL season. Only players that are not retired in the next season are eligible for consideration.[1] In the 12-year history of the countdown, only Tom Brady has been voted No. 1 multiple times (2011, 2017, 2018, and 2022) and voted No. 1 in back-to-back years (2017, 2018).
| NFL Top 100 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 69 |
| No. of episodes | 121 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 3–9 minutes (per player) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NFL Network |
| Release | 2011 |
| Related | |
| NFL Top 10 | |
Series overview
| Season | Originally aired | Number 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Player | Team | ||
| 1 | April 30, 2011 | July 3, 2011 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | |
| 2 | April 28, 2012 | June 27, 2012 | Aaron Rodgers | Green Bay Packers | |
| 3 | April 27, 2013 | June 27, 2013 | Adrian Peterson | Minnesota Vikings | |
| 4 | May 10, 2014 | July 9, 2014 | Peyton Manning | Denver Broncos | |
| 5 | May 6, 2015 | July 8, 2015 | J. J. Watt | Houston Texans | |
| 6 | May 4, 2016 | July 6, 2016 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | |
| 7 | May 1, 2017 | June 26, 2017 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | |
| 8 | April 30, 2018 | June 25, 2018 | |||
| 9 | July 22, 2019 | July 31, 2019 | Aaron Donald | Los Angeles Rams | |
| 10 | July 26, 2020 | July 29, 2020 | Lamar Jackson | Baltimore Ravens | |
| 11 | August 15, 2021 | August 28, 2021 | Patrick Mahomes | Kansas City Chiefs | |
| 12 | August 14, 2022 | August 28, 2022 | Tom Brady | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | |
History
The first season of the series was released prior to the 2011 NFL season. NFL Network released ten episodes, each revealing ten players on the list during the 2011 offseason. The first episode, revealing the players ranked #100 through #91 was aired on April 30, 2011. The list's top 10 players were revealed when the tenth episode of the 2011 list was aired on July 3, 2011. The list, and series, began with the #100 ranked player, Washington Redskins quarterback, Donovan McNabb[2] and ended when New England Patriots quarterback and 2010 NFL MVP Tom Brady was selected as the number one ranked player.[3]
The NFL Top 100 list returned for the 2012 NFL season. The season ran from April 28 to June 27, 2012. The list began with Tennessee Titans running back, Chris Johnson,[4] and concluded the reveal of the number one ranked player, and the 2011 MVP, Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.[5] Each episode of the season was followed up by NFL Top 100 Reaction Show, which featured NFL Network analysts reacting and voicing their opinions on the ten most recent players revealed on the list.[6]
The series has run every offseason since, following the same countdown format, and continuing to feature analysts reacting to the rankings.[7][8][9]
Other Top 100 Lists
There are many other companies that compile their own top 100 lists heading into the current season. One such company is Pro Football Network. Since 2019, they have been releasing their version, called the Pro Football Network Top 100.
The rankings are compiled by PFN’s NFL vertical based on film study, analytics, and conversations with current and former players, coaches, and executives around the league.
Since standard top player rankings tend to favor positions seen as more valuable in the NFL, it’s natural to see quarterbacks, pass rushers, receivers, and offensive tackles ranked relatively high. However, PFN’s top 100 ranked players are solely based on the dominance a player displays at his position in a vacuum. That approach led to quite a few names on the list that are ranked in the top 25 that generally would not be in that range due to their position. On the other hand, several notable players fall outside the top 10 and 25 because of this approach.
Click to view the NFL Top 100 from Pro Football Network heading into the 2023 season.
See also
- National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
- The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players
- Ted Lindsay Award, a similar award given out in the NHL.
References
- ^ "Where Would Manning, Megatron & Other Retirees Be on the Top 100 Players of 2016?". NFL - YouTube.com. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ^ "Top 100: Donovan McNabb". National Football League. April 27, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Aashish Sharma (July 4, 2011). "Tom Brady Named NFL's Top Player of 2011: Why He Will Go Down as the Greatest". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Michael David Smith (April 29, 2012). "Chris Johnson falls 87 spots in NFL Top 100 ranking". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Network Ranking (June 27, 2012). "'The Top 100: Players of 2012': Aaron Rodgers". National Football League. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ "Top 100 reaction: Biggest surprise". National Football League. April 28, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Sara Bibel (April 19, 2013). "NFL Network Presents 'The Top 100 Players of 2013'". TV by the Numbers. Zap 2 it. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ Aaron Wilson (April 29, 2013). "Dennis Pitta Named NFL's 100th-best player". Ravens Insider. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ^ NFL (2017-06-26), #1: Tom Brady (QB, Patriots) | Top 100 Players of 2017 | NFL, retrieved 2017-06-27