Top 10 players at each position

[DarrylS]

Was listening to sports talk radio the other day and Mazeroti the miserable was whining about how the Pats have not improved their receiving corps because their recently acquired TE's Smith and Henry were in the bottom of the top 10 TE's because he did not know much about some of the other TE's on the list.. he stood on that soap box for a while and then I went back to Pandora..

Maybe I am a relic but to have 2 TE's on the top 10 list is pretty good, even though there has not been a down played in the NFL yet... sportstalk radio has to whine and create controversy over something..

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Curious about Devin White @BaconGrundleCandy
Is he not on the list or am I too blind to see it?

I definitely forgot some guys. Truth be told I made all the list off the top of my head besides Rush, S, RB & OT. Those positions are kinda deep, needed a little but yeah some guys I just forgot.

I'd bump Milano for White and probably switch him & HT. Again these are kind of rough list.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Was listening to sports talk radio the other day and Mazeroti the miserable was whining about how the Pats have not improved their receiving corps because their recently acquired TE's Smith and Henry were in the bottom of the top 10 TE's because he did not know much about some of the other TE's on the list.. he stood on that soap box for a while and then I went back to Pandora..

Maybe I am a relic but to have 2 TE's on the top 10 list is pretty good, even though there has not been a down played in the NFL yet... sportstalk radio has to whine and create controversy over something..

It definitely is if you're creative. You can essentially bounce back & forth between 10 - 11 & 12 bc of Henry & Smith. Both can line up & are effective inline, detached, slot & X. So we have a ton of versatility and still have the ability to run out of those.

We definitely could use a legit WR1 but the offense is a lot better for sure.

 

[patsinthesnow]

I’m with you mostly on these rankings. It’s good to see you are also a Dak fan - he’s dealt with some horrendous coaching & I think he’s one of the best combos of pocket presence, accuracy & mobility in the NFL.

Care to explain the hot take at TE that nobody has mentioned with Goedert as TE3 above Waller? The latter is a matchup nightmare & could be right there with Kittle & Kelce with a better QB IMO. Is there something on Goedert’s film that he’s a great player that’s been held back so far?

Also Becton is going to be a stud. He’d probably be in my top 10.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Some are saying he did favoured from the blitz heavy ravens defense and had some unblocked sacks I don’t know as I do not watch them enough

Yep, this was my concern as well.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I’m with you mostly on these rankings. It’s good to see you are also a Dak fan - he’s dealt with some horrendous coaching & I think he’s one of the best combos of pocket presence, accuracy & mobility in the NFL.

I love Dak. And that's a really good description if him. Hopefully his line holds up bc that's quite the trio he has to work with.

Care to explain the hot take at TE that nobody has mentioned with Goedert as TE3 above Waller? The latter is a matchup nightmare & could be right there with Kittle & Kelce with a better QB IMO. Is there something on Goedert’s film that he’s a great player that’s been held back so far?

So when I made the list I wrote down a bunch of names and put them in order from there. Goedert is probably a result of forgetting to move him but I think hes a top 4-5 TE for sure.
He was ask to block early on in his career so he wasn't featured as heavily as some others were but I honestly think he's right under those guys.

Kelce is smooth dude, probably the best awareness in general but definitely in the MOF. Kittle & Waller are just freaks.

Also Becton is going to be a stud. He’d probably be in my top 10.

I could see it after a healthy year.

 

[jimnance]

Nice thread BCG, especially now when its boring as hell. Can't wait til camp.
The top 5 qbs are right but I'd change 6-10 to: 6 Allen 7 Dak 8 Herbert 9 Jackson
10 Have no idea. Probably Tannehill but I just cant bring myself to do it
Only other quibbles are leaving out lb White- but like you said, you did a lot of the list off the top of your head so understandable.
And I definitely put Gilmore over Ramsey- assuming full health- because I judge cbs on their man 2 man skills- and nobody is as good as Gilmore. Zone is easier to play and if Gilmore was tasked with playing a lot of zone Im sure hed excel- but would be a waste of his talent.
But good thread.

 

[patsfanfromoversea]

Yep, this was my concern as well.

Yeah I was thrilled by the signing due to his versality and much needed help in our edge run defense. I think he fits really well here. Would maybe count him in the top ten of all can do edge defenders

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I think he’s overrated. He’s had plenty of talent since being the starter and he has 2 playoff appearances in 5 years with only 1 win. He was massively overpaid.

Good thread btw.


We need to see how he does without all that talent he benefited from in Baltimore. Other players commanded more attention before him. He’s a solid player though.

I would say he does everything well like pass rush run defense coverage but he isn’t an elite pass rusher. Some are saying he did favoured from the blitz heavy ravens defense and had some unblocked sacks I don’t know as I do not watch them enough

In terms of their front seven Judon was their best player. Campbell is still very good maybe they're a wash but I think Judon was their 2nd best player on D beside Humphrey. Think he only had 3-4 unblocked sacks the past 2 years. I have clips of his 1 on 1's I'm going to post soon.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Nice thread BCG, especially now when its boring as hell. Can't wait til camp.
The top 5 qbs are right but I'd change 6-10 to: 6 Allen 7 Dak 8 Herbert 9 Jackson
10 Have no idea. Probably Tannehill but I just cant bring myself to do it
Only other quibbles are leaving out lb White- but like you said, you did a lot of the list off the top of your head so understandable.
And I definitely put Gilmore over Ramsey- assuming full health- because I judge cbs on their man 2 man skills- and nobody is as good as Gilmore. Zone is easier to play and if Gilmore was tasked with playing a lot of zone Im sure hed excel- but would be a waste of his talent.
But good thread.

Can't argue with any of this although I need to see Herbert do it year 2 but understandable.

 

[Deus Irae]

Was listening to sports talk radio the other day and Mazeroti the miserable was whining about how the Pats have not improved their receiving corps because their recently acquired TE's Smith and Henry were in the bottom of the top 10 TE's because he did not know much about some of the other TE's on the list.. he stood on that soap box for a while and then I went back to Pandora..

Maybe I am a relic but to have 2 TE's on the top 10 list is pretty good, even though there has not been a down played in the NFL yet... sportstalk radio has to whine and create controversy over something..

That's not what he's said, though.

 

[jimnance]

Can't argue with any of this although I need to see Herbert do it year 2 but understandable.

Thats fair. I was projecting a little w. Herbert- assuming hed show a bit more improvement in yr 2. Now,watch him backslide and make me look stupid

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Thats fair. I was projecting a little w. Herbert- assuming hed show a bit more improvement in yr 2. Now,watch him backslide and make me look stupid

It is just spit balling - you can't look stupid. I agree with all of your post.

 

[DarrylS]

That's not what he's said, though.

Pray tell, what did he say on that Friday afternoon broadcast??

 

[Deus Irae]

Pray tell, what did he say on that Friday afternoon broadcast??

Mazz has said that the receiver corps should be better. There's a difference between "you haven't improved" and such statements as "I don't know how much you've improved", "You overpaid". "It won't matter much if the QB suchs again", etc...

 

[Tony2046]

Stealing this from BSPN, they're doing a top ten at each position. Asking 50 people - players, coaches, executives and more (whoever more is) to vote and come up with a list.

I won't link their stuff, so we can do our own. I'm basically judging this off the last two years, going into this year.

QB
Brady
Mahomes
Rodgers
Wilson
Watson
Dak
Jackson
Allen
Tannehill
Ryan ... Right there - Stafford, Murray, Carr, Burrow, Herbert

IDL
Donald
Jones
Buckner
Heyward
Cox
Vea
Jarrett
Tuitt
Clark
Allen ... Right there - Campbell, Simmons, Williams, Q Williams, Lawrence

WR
Hill
Adams
Hopkins
Jones
Diggs
Thomas
Jefferson
Brown
Robinson ... Right there - Evans, Ridley, Cooper, Godwin, Metcalf

CB
Ramsey
Gilmore
Alexander
Howard
Humphrey
White
Ward
Bradberry
Jackson
JC Jackson ... Right there - Jones, Lattimore, Peters, Davis, Dean

RB
Chubb
Cook
Henry
Caff
Kamara
Jacobs
Jones
Ekeler
Carson
Mixon ... Right there - Elliot, Hunt, Barkley, Gibson, Robinson

Rush/Edge
Watt
Garrett
Mack
J Bosa
Jordan
Lawrence
N Bosa
Barrett
Young ... Right there - Hunter, Sweat, Jones, Smith, Von

OT
Williams
Bak
Armstead
Stanley
Ram
Tunsil
Wirfs
Moton
Bolles
Conklin ... Right there - Decker, Lewan, Brown, Smith, Wynn

LB
Wagner
Warner
David
Kendricks
Leonard
Smith
Jones
Davis
Hightower
Milano ... Right there - Brown, Johnson, Jack, Wright, Bush

OG
Nelson
Martin
Thuney
Bitonio
Scherff
Mason
Marpet
Brooks
Saffold
Norwell ... Right there - Teller, Lindstrom, Zeitler, Onwenu, Jackson

S
Simmons
Smith
Fitzy
Williams
Bates
Johnson
James
Mathieu
Maye
Amos ... Right there - Adams, Baker, Savage, Winfield, Hyde, Poyer

OC
Ragnow
Tretter
Linsley
Hudson
Kelce
Jones
Linder
McCoy
Kelly
Mack ... Right there - Jenson, Andrews, Roullier, Morse, Bradbury

TE
Kittle
Kelce
Goedert
Waller
Hockenson
Andrews
Fant
Gronk
Smith
Henry ... Right there - Ertz, Gesicki, Hooper, Cook, Engram

Good stuff as always BCG.

Do you rank TEs with blocking in mind? Just curious.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Good stuff as always BCG.

Do you rank TEs with blocking in mind? Just curious.

Yup. Overall package matters a lot - but how great a player is at certain things matter a good deal as well.

Like Kittle is an unbelievable blocker inline-out in space, pass blocking, he's effective rec from almost anywhere. He has it all. He's probably a hair or two below peak Gronk imo. Very few weak points. A few more years at this pace, this level. He'll get GOAT talk.

Kelce is a decent blocker - better than given credit for but not a trained killer as Mayock would say. Rec-wise he's almost as good as I've ever seen. Again from the OP he has a keen understanding of where he is - how his defender is playing him and how/where to get open. Superb awareness and understanding of spacing imo. So his pluses in rec, route running etc really factor in for me.

I should have put Waller ahead of Goedert bc even though he's not nearly as complete hes a pretty good blocker. This little tear he's been on has been incredible. Few more like this and he belongs on another tier. Super sudden, zoom acceleration for 6'6/250, just athletically gifted. Unbelievable vertical threat. They also do a good job of using simple stuff and making it work despite the D knowing its coming. Mesh-Crossers, Flat area, to get the ball in his hands for yac. Gruden & Kyle do a great job at getting their guys easy yards.

Goedert is a great blocker and rec threat. Very underrated imo. If not for Ertz he would be talked about in a different way. He's a legit top 5-6 blocker even when you factor in the guys who's only job is to block. He had the mini-Gronk label attached to him coming out of college.

I think Fant is ready to break out if he has competent QB play. Hes a ridiculous athlete that has improved as a blocker.


What I wrote on a rough look ..
Kittle
Kelce
Goedert
Waller
Hockenson
Andrews
Fant
Gronk
Smith
Henry ... Right there - Ertz, Gesicki, Hooper, Cook, Engram

I'd probably go
Kittle
Kelce
Waller
Goedert
Hock
Fant
Gronk
Andrews
Smith
Henry after review lol

 

[DarrylS]

Mazz has said that the receiver corps should be better. There's a difference between "you haven't improved" and such statements as "I don't know how much you've improved", "You overpaid". "It won't matter much if the QB suchs again", etc...

Apparently the wisdom spouted by Paul Simon of yesteryear may be true, "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest".. what I heard was skepticism that the Pats did not improve their receiving options with the signings of Smith and Henry.. It is probably better that I listen less to sportstalk radio as all they want to do is create controversy and dissension among the fans.