Top 100 NFL Players of 2016: 40-31

40. DT. Kawann Short

The Panthers had a lot of young players breakout and ascend to superstardom, most notably Cam Newton and Josh Norman. But the development of Short was also huge for them and played a major role in the Panthers having such a good defense and going 15-1. Short looked a whole lot quicker this season than in his 1st 2 seasons. Short was dominant with his hands and played with the appropriate level of violence and aggression all year long and guards just had no answer for him.

39. WR. Brandon Marshall

Marshall has been one of the game’s best receivers for a long time now. A lot of people thought he was on the downside of his career because of his 2014 season, but clearly he was just hurt, because he exploded back onto the scene in his first year in New York with 109 catches, over 1500 yards, and 14 TDs. Ryan Fitzpatrick has never been seen as anything more than a below average starting QB by most. However, after 1 year with Marshall as his number 1 receiving option, all of a sudden he had by far the best year of his career and felt he deserves $16 million a year. Marshall remains one of the game’s best at beating press coverage. He’s one of the biggest, strongest, and most physical receivers in the game. He has a huge catch radius and can often be seen making some of the toughest catches on any given Sunday. As great as Marshall was last year, there are 2 knocks on his game. Number 1 is his hands. Marshall had 9 drops last year and has always had a slight problem with concentration drops. As great as he is at making the difficult catches, there are times he lets the routine grabs slip through the cracks. The other thing is his declining speed. Marshall is 32 years old and typically for any athlete at that age the physical traits start to decline and Marshall is no different. He’s never been a burner so it’s not a major deal, but it is noticeable at this point.

38. RB. Jamaal Charles

Charles isn’t the biggest or most physical back, but all he does is average 5 yards per carry. In his entire career Charles has never had a season where he averaged less than 5 yards per carry. Charles is the most slippery back in the NFL. He’s probably the most elusive back in the NFL besides maybe Lesean McCoy. However, the major difference between those 2 is that Charles is less feast-or-famine. What I mean is he rarely is tackled behind the line of scrimmage for a loss and is much better at taking what is blocked for him and not trying to do too much. His vision is absolutely outstanding as he rarely ever makes a bad decision when deciding which hole to run through or when to cut back. And though he isn’t a true power runner when forced to he has the ability to break tackles. Charles, like Bell, is also an elite dual-threat back that excels in the passing game. He can split out and run routes or run different routes out of the back field. He’s a match-up nightmare for opposing linebackers.

37. S. Harrison Smith

If you say Mathieu is a corner or not a true safety then I’d say Smith is the best traditional safety in the NFL. He has great size at 6’2 215 pounds. Smith can literally do it all. He’s elite in coverage, in run support, and by safety standards he even rushes the passer well. Smith’s great recognition skills were often on display as he was usually always in the right position at the right time which is key to playing safety.

36. LB. Jamie Collins

Collins is a special player. The best thing going for Collins is his versatility. He can play as a edge defender, middle linebacker, or the Will and Sam spots. The Patriots are able to play a hybrid multiple front defense in large part due to Collins versatility. I’m honestly trying to figure out what Collins isn’t good at. He can rush the passer and set the edge as a edge defender, and as a more traditional linebacker he has elite pursuit skills and good instincts. And he is good in coverage, both zone and man.

35. QB. Carson Palmer

It’s amazing how well you can play when you stay healthy for a full season. Palmer played in all 16 regular season games for just the 2nd time in his last 5 seasons and I think that fact alone played a huge role in him having the best season of his career. He threw for over 4,600 yards and had 35 TDs and only 11 interceptions. The biggest improvement I noticed in Palmer’s game was his mobility in the pocket. Palmer has always had a huge arm and been really accurate when he has a clean pocket and can throw with his feet set. The problem is that in the NFL a lot times that will not be the case. In past seasons, Palmer really struggled when having to reset and throw from different launch points. However, in 2015 he excelled doing just that. He looked like a new man maneuvering in the pocket and effectively navigating pressure in the pocket while delivering strikes down the field under fire. So why isn’t he in my top 5? He finished 2nd in MVP voting and while it was well deserved, Palmer’s track record doesn’t suggest that he can consistently play at this level and I still have questions about his ability to perform in the clutch. I also just do not believe he is as talented at playing the position in a vacuum as the other QBs I have ahead of him. Palmer had perhaps the best receiving corps in the league in 2015, fantastic run support, and very good O-Line play. As well as he played, when I look at his entire career, I can’t help but wonder if this is the real Palmer or did the stars just align for the Cardinals in 2015 and Palmer went along for the ride. We’ll see in 2016.

34. WR. A.J. Green

Green doesn’t have a lot of flash to his game or personality and I think that gets him overlooked at times but he’s simply Mr. reliable. What has always impressed me about Green’s game is how fluid of a route runner he is at 6’4. Typically, taller receivers just aren’t capable of running routes on the level that he does. He doesn’t have elite speed but he’s fast enough to get behind corners at times and stretch the field and if the space isn’t created he’s big enough and has a wide enough catch radius where you can throw it up and expect him to come down with it. Green’s best trait is probably his hands. He has made a career out of being sure handed and last year was no different as he only had 2 drops.

33. WR. DeAndre Hopkins

I could go into a breakdown of Hopkins’ game (and I will), but there’s really no need. The only thing I really need to tell you is that with Arian Foster missing time to injury, the 2nd and 3rd receiving options being Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts, and 4 different starting QBs for the Texans, Hopkins somehow managed to have 111 receptions, 1521 yards, and 11 TDs. I had to rank him in my top 5 off that alone. Hopkins has a lot of talent but two things stood out most about his game last year. Number 1 was his red zone ability. Hopkins was a fade route master who the Texans just threw the ball up to and hoped that Hopkins would be able to come down with it, and he usually did. Number 2 was his ability to win at the line of scrimmage. Hopkins is great at beating the press. He beats corners who try to jam him at the line of scrimmage with both great technique and physicality. He has big strong hands, and is one of the best contested catch makers in the league. The ability to make contested catches is a big deal for me because when the game is on the line and teams have more than 1 defender focused on you, the passing windows get tighter and the elite receivers have to be able to make those catches and Hopkins can.

32. CB. Josh Norman

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Josh Norman had a breakout season in 2015. He might be the best zone corner in the NFL. But I can’t give him best cornerback in the league title when the majority of the year he was in cover 2, 3 or quarters coverage. A piece done by football outsiders showed how he rarely had to cover crossing routes. In a study tracking his 1 on 1 success against receivers he was only given a 69%. Not bad by any means, but also not elite either. That’s not to say Norman can’t play man coverage but his sample size is just so much smaller than a lot of corners. For those saying, well what about Sherman. Well Sherman doesn’t move around and follow receivers but he does play man coverage. And he’s a much better press guy. There’s no denying that Norman has elite recover speed, great ball skills, and very good instincts. But, one thing is for certain, we’re going to really find out what Norman can do in Washington as they play man coverage more than the Panthers did. Personally I think Washington overpaid and that it’s a reason the Panthers felt Norman was expendable, but we’ll find out soon enough who was right and who was wrong.

31. QB. Ben Roethlisberger

Big Ben is a huge QB that thrives both in the pocket and on the move. He is the absolute best at absorbing contact from potential pass rushers and shrugging them off to avoid sacks. He has big strong hands and protects the ball with a good grip to avoid strip sacks. However, he did have a major problem with interceptions. After only throwing 9 in 16 games during the 2014 season, Ben threw 16 interceptions in just 12 games last year. Now, some of that may be attributed to Ben playing through injury some during the year but some of those interceptions looked to be due to poor decision making more so than physical ailment. Outside of the interceptions, there wasn’t much else to gripe about. He completed over 68% of his passes which was a career high for him and lead 1 of the most potent offenses in the NFL. Since arriving in the NFL he continues to be one of the best at extending plays and turning plays that normally would result in sacks into completions.

Twitter: @The_Coach_Buck