While the NFL announced its "Top 100" players of 2014, the analysts over at Pro Football Focus have recently concluded a countdown of their own. In creating this list, which can be found here, only the 2014 season was examined (playoffs included), and the intent is to provide a list of the best players overall, rather than the best players at the most important positions.
It is also worth noting that the list is not simply organized by highest overall grade for 2014; PFF also takes into account traditional statistics and their signature stats in compiling this list.
Seven members of the 2014 Green Bay Packers squad made this year's Top 101, six of whom play on the offensive side of the ball. This should come as no surprise, as the team's quarterback earned NFL MVP honors and the unit as a whole led the entire NFL in scoring.
Here are the players representing the Green and Gold on the list:
2014 Top 101 Rank | Player | Position | Overall Grade | 2013 Rank |
2 | Aaron Rodgers | QB | +40.4 | Unranked |
30 | Jordy Nelson | WR | +20.5 | 39 |
35 | Josh Sitton | G | +22.7 | 25 |
51 | Eddie Lacy | RB | +19.8 | 70 |
58 | Randall Cobb | WR | +12.3 | Unranked |
78 | T.J. Lang | G | +23.1 | Unranked |
99 | Mike Daniels | DT | +18.8 | Unranked |
The only player ranked ahead of Rodgers was J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans. Watt had a ridiculous season, finishing with a grade of +107.5 and an absurd total of 119 quarterback pressures over the course of sixteen games.
An interesting trend is that Sitton is ranked significantly higher on the list than Lang, despite earning a slightly lower grade. One possible reason for this is Sitton's better performance as a pass blocker; he allowed just 10 total pressures, while Lang allowed 17. Lang also struggled against the Seahawks in both week one and the NFC Championship Game, while Sitton had his two best games of the season in Seattle.
Which of these players should have been ranked higher or lower? Let us know what you think.