The attitude toward the NFL Top 100 in the fan community is rather ambiguous. Some people see it as a trivial popularity contest, in which places are distributed not on merit, but on friendship and promotion in the media. Others respond to them that who better than professional soccer players know who is the best, because they go up against each other every week on the field. Be that as it may, the top ten rankings often do include the main stars of the season. So it is with these ten players that we will get to know first.
Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers, quarterback)
The first player on this list already exemplifies the debate among fans regarding the Top 100 rankings. Rodgers is considered an incredibly talented quarterback and often successfully proves it on the field. Aaron holds a number of records that validate his top class. He’s won the Super Bowl, won the NFL MVP twice, and made the symbolic All-Pro team twice, which selects the best of the best.
Rodgers missed most of last season due to injury. The quarterback played five games before suffering a broken collarbone in the sixth and was out for virtually the rest of the season. Aaron’s importance to the team is evidenced by the fact that before his injury, Green Bay had four wins with one loss. After his injury, the team played 10 games with a 3-7 record and did not make the playoffs. Rodgers returned for one game late in the season, but failed to lead his team to victory before going off to heal the injury. If the quarterback can avoid injury in the new season, the Packers will have a great chance to get back in the relegation games.
Vaughn Miller (Denver Broncos, linebacker)
One of the best quarterbacks in the NFL who has held up at a high level throughout his career. Selected number two overall in the 2011 NFL Draft, Miller was an immediate and brilliant player, earning All-Star honors as a rookie defensive lineman and making the Pro Bowl All-Star team. Miller’s record also includes three All-Pro appearances, and the pinnacle of Vaughn’s career so far is winning the Super Bowl and being named Super Bowl MVP, which is incredibly cool for his position considering defensive players have only been named MVP 10 times in a history that includes 52 games, including Miller himself.
Vaughn is Denver’s leader and top star, confirming his status as the highest-paid defensive lineman in NFL history. Under a contract signed in 2016, Miller will earn $114.5 million over six years.
Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints, quarterback)
Brees, 39, is considered the most underrated player in the NFL, not getting the recognition and respect he really deserves. This year, his eighth-place finish on the Top 100 list angered many fans who saw him in the top three.
Drew has tremendous talent and yet is a crazy workaholic and a paragon of professionalism. The New Orleans player once recalled that he decided to be sure to arrive at the training base before Brees. He arrived at 7 a.m. and when he entered the base saw that Drew was already sitting in the video analysis room watching game footage of their future rival.
Just one fact speaks volumes about Brees’ toughness — in the history of the NFL, only nine times have quarterbacks finished a season above the 5,000-yard passing mark. On five of those nine occasions, it was Drew Brees.
Brees won the Super Bowl once while becoming the MVP, made the All-Pro team once and was named the NFL’s best offensive player of the season twice. Already this year, Brees will become the all-time record holder in NFL history for passing yards (Brees now has 70,445 yards, leader Peyton Manning has 71,940 yards). Also, Brees is the premier good guy in the league, who just can’t be hated no matter what team you root for.