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With the 2022 NFL season just around the corner, it seemed appropriate to take a look at the best players in the league. Ranking players in an individual position is a tricky business. This only gets harder when you expand that to every position and player in the NFL.
Every player on this list is an incredible talent. Many excellent players didn't make the cut. They could easily be on such a list next year after a big campaign in 2022.
Let's count down the top-100 players in the NFL. Here are players 100-91:
T.- #100. Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints & Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills
It felt right to put these two guys together. They both entered the NFL in 2017 and were neck-and-neck in the race for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Now five seasons into their careers, they have both established themselves as two of the best corners in the game today. It's important to note that they are both asked to fulfill different very assignments.
Marshon Lattimore arguably has a tougher job in New Orleans with how much he’s put in man- or match-coverage against some top receivers. But Tre’Davious White has certainly been the bigger play-maker in a zone-heavy scheme for Buffalo. His ability to make plays outside his area, as well as drive on routes in off-coverage, has been fun to watch.
#99. Devin White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
We’ve seen Devin White make so many plays in big games that it’s easy to forget he’s only played three seasons in the NFL. White's ability to chase ball-carriers out to the edges is special.
Having him and Lavonte David next to each other has proved to be a tremendous combination. They've finished first twice and then third in rushing yards allowed over the last three years. He has had issues with coverage. He’s been responsible for completion percentages in the 75 to 83 percent range. But that didn’t include any touchdowns last season and we've seen some high-quality reps against running backs when they blitzed away from him.
More importantly, not using White as part of the rush package on passing downs has been a disservice to him. While he fell to 3.5 sacks this past year, he racked up a career-high of 31 pressures on about three times as many blitzes.
#98. Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
Talking about safeties with great ball-skills, Micah Hyde has been one of the most productive players in the NFL. Ever since stepping into the starting nickel role for Green Bay back in 2014 he's been incredible.
With Buffalo, his usage started putting him further away from the quarterback. The Bills like to use two interchangeable safeties, where they can play cover-two or rotate strong and weak. When they go three-deep, Micah has been more of a designated deep middle player. That’s understandable, because he is one of the most instinctive guys in that role.
He leans one way and then blindly executes speed-turns to fall off to a secondary target as he feels the quarterback progress. That and what he can do jumping routes when he drives down from depth, led to five picks and ten more PBUs last season.
#97. Xavier McKinney, New York Giants
After appearing in just six NFL games as a rookie, Xavier McKinney became the biggest play-maker on either side of the ball for the New York Giants. McKinney intercepted five passes (one returned for a TD) and broke up another ten.
Despite being utilized in deep zone coverage a lot more, he got plenty of action as a tackler (93 total). This was mainly due to bad second-level play from the Giants and he managed to finish those plays well, with a solid ten misses.
#96. Brandon Scherff, Jacksonville Jaguars
Ever since entering the NFL in 2015, Brandon Scherff has been one of the best guards in football every year. He has only missed the Pro Bowl once since his second season (when he only played half the games in 2018). He didn’t give up any sacks in 2021, but the 4.5% pressure rate he was responsible for was the highest of his career.
His performance was hindered by a sprained MCL, but he still earned the highest run-block win rate among guards (77%). He has been one of the most physical players at paving the way from the point he was drafted in. The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is that he has missed 22 games over the past four years.
#95. Joe Mixon, Cincinnati Bengals
Running back isn’t a position that occurs too frequently in this countdown. In the 2021 NFL season, Joe Mixon cracked 1,500 scrimmage yards for the first time and scored 16 touchdowns. He averaged 4.1 yards behind a shaky offensive line that was constantly shuffling pieces around.
His highlight reels are immense and he even threw a touchdown pass in last season's Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams.
#94. Adrian Amos, Green Bay Packers
Underrated safeties have been one of the themes of this list. Adrian Amos is a guy who has fit that bill for two different NFC North teams. Over the last four years, he has picked off exactly two passes every campaign. He's broken up eight or nine passes each season and has been very consistent with his coverage metrics.
Last season, Amos was officially charged with six touchdowns. But those numbers can be skewed by ending up as the closest defender without actually being responsible. He was only responsible for five combined over the previous three years, with a missed tackle rate of only 8.5% despite working primarily from depth.
#93. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
This may seem a little bit low for a quarterback who has just completed 68.8 percent of his passes for nearly 4500 yards, 37 touchdowns and ten interceptions. Prescott led his team to the division title with a 11-5 record when under center.
However, he did face a fairly soft schedule and in their three games against teams that made it to at least the Divisional Round, the Dallas Cowboys went 0-3. Dak Prescott was limited to nine points against the Kansas City Chiefs. He also struggled to put together drives until the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in their Wild Card loss.
Another year away from ankle surgery should be beneficial to his mobility. But last season, he only picked up seven first downs on 48 carries and fumbled an NFL-high 14 times. Putting him just outside the top-ten of quarterbacks is fair.
#92. Jordan Mailata, Philadelphia Eagles
The former Australian rugby standout ascended to being one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. Jordan Mailata did allow three sacks last season, but only 18 total pressures on 437 pass-blocking snaps. He constantly moved the line of scrimmage for the number one rushing attack in the NFL.
For a team that runs a lot of vertically-oriented schemes, he was their most powerful drive-blocker. He earned the fourth-highest run-block win rate among tackles (80%) from to ESPN. That led to a 88.3 overall PFF grade — second among qualifying left tackles — in really just his first season as a full-time NFL starter.
#91. De’Vondre Campbell, Green Bay Packers
The Packers have struck gold with several of their additions on the defensive front and secondary. But the second level remained a problem area for them heading into last year’s offseason.
Former Cowboys Pro Bowler Jaylon Smith was the name people paid attention to once he was cut a month into the year. But De’Vondre Campbell was the man who really paid off for their unit.
He became the first linebacker to be named a first-team All-Pro since Ray Nitschke in 1966. His PFF grade of 86.0 was the best for any full-time off-ball linebacker. His 102 solo tackles and six for loss were impressive, but it was his play in coverage that really stood out. Campbell was responsible for just 4.9 yards per target and one touchdown, with two picks and five more PBUs on his tally.
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