NFL Top 100

The NFL Top 100 is an annual list that features the greatest one hundred players in the National Football League (NFL), as chosen by fellow NFL players. The rankings are based on an off-season poll organized by the NFL, whereby players vote on their peers based on the performance of the previous season and their belief of how the player will perform in the coming season.

2011
Prior to the start of the 2011 NFL season, NFL players ranked the 2010 AP NFL Most Valuable Player&mdash;New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady&mdash;as the number 1 player for the coming season. Of the 32 teams in the NFL, only the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills did not have players ranked on the list. The Green Bay Packers had the most players on the list with 7. The position with the most players on the 2011 list is wide receiver, with 18. The highest ranked 2010 rookie player on the 2011 list, at number 51, was the 2010 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year&mdash;Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

The NFL Network released the rankings in 10-player blocks over a number of weeks during the off-season, starting with the announcement of the 100th to 91st ranked players on April 30, 2011, and culminating with the top 10 players on July 3, 2011.



2012
Prior to the start of the 2012 NFL season, NFL players ranked the 2011 AP NFL Most Valuable Player&mdash;Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers&mdash;as the number 1 player for the coming season. All of the 32 teams in the NFL are represented by players on the 2012 list. The teams with the most players are the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers, with 7 players each. The position with the most players on the 2012 list is running back, with 15. The highest ranked 2011 rookie player on the 2012 list, at number 40, was the 2011 Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year&mdash;Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. This is eleven spots higher than the highest ranked rookie on the 2011 list.

The 2012 list returns 61 players from the 2011 list and introduces 39 new additions. The largest drop&mdash;while remaining on the list&mdash;was Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson, who fell 87 spots from his 2011 ranking. The Indianapolis Colts had 4 players fall off the list.

The NFL Network released the rankings in 10-player blocks over a number of weeks during the off-season, starting with the announcement of the 100th to 91st ranked players on April 28, 2012, and culminating with the top 10 players on June 27, 2012. The Network followed up each week's release with the NFL Top 100 Reaction Show, with NFL Network analysts reviewing the rankings. For the 2012 list, then Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, ranked number 50, was considered a controversial ranking as he did not play the 2011 season.

An anonymous player rater expressed his opinions on the ratings of the 2012 list on Twitter. Bleacher Report reported that the anonymous player rater is Sean Weatherspoon.