This week the NFL Network concluded their countdown of the Top 100 players in the league. What makes this list unique and worthy of attention is it’s decided by the votes of other NFL players. Not analysts or writers, but by their peers.
This year the Raiders had four players make the Top 100 — an indication of the kind of elite talent they possess which helped them to a 12-4 record last season.
Those players were Khalil Mack (5), Derek Carr (11), Amari Cooper (53), and Kelechi Osemele (95).
Where this lands them in the grand scheme of things depends on how you measure it. So, let’s look at the data to see how things stack up.
Most players in Top 100 (average player ranking):
- Seahawks 8 (42.25)
- Cowboys 7 (46.14)
- Chiefs 6 (44)
- Patriots 6 (61.33)
- Titans 6 (65.67)
- Packers 5 (59.4)
- Falcons 4 (23.5)
- Steelers 4 (33)
- Cardinals 4 (40.25)
- Raiders 4 (41)
- Giants 4 (46.5)
- Panthers 4 (55)
- Dolphins 4 (57)
- Washington 4 (60.25)
These are the 14 teams with 4 players or more in the Top 100, with the Raiders making the top 10 based on average player ranking. Since this gives us a nice median for the upper tier of the NFL, let’s work with these teams to find some other top tens.
Top teams by average player position:
- Falcons 23.5
- Steelers 33
- Cardinals 40.25
- Raiders 41
- Seahawks 42.25
- Chiefs 44
- Cowboys 46.14
- Giants 46.5
- Panthers 55
- Dolphins 57
Just using average can tend to penalize teams with more players in the Top 100, but who are in the higher numbers. So, to make it more fair, we’ll try this another ranking.
Top teams based on average of top four players:
- Falcons 23.5
- Cowboys 24.25
- Chiefs 26.75
- Seahawks 27.25
- Steelers 33
- Cardinals 40.25
- Raiders 41
- Patriots 43.75
- Giants 46.5
- Panthers 55
Now to merge the ranking for the top ten teams by total number of players and average of the top four in those rankings:
- Seahawks 8 (27.25)
- Cowboys 7 (24.25)
- Chiefs 6 (26.75)
- Patriots 6 (43.75)
- Titans 6 (65.67)
- Packers 5 (53.25)
- Falcons 4 (23.5)
- Steelers 4 (33)
- Cardinals 4 (40.25)
- Raiders 4 (41)
And in case your were curious, here are the teams which were the least represented, including three teams that didn’t have a single player mentioned in the Top 100:
15. Broncos 3 (34)
16. Buccaneers 3 (46)
17. Eagles 3 (73.67)
18. Vikings 3 (77.33)
19. Chargers 3 (79)
20. Texans 2 (42)
21. Bengals 2 (42.5)
22. Colts 2 (56)
23. Saints 2 (57)
24. Bills 2 (59)
25. Rams 1 (15)
26. Browns 1 (25)
27. Lions 1 (31)
28. Ravens 1 (43)
29. Jaguars 1 (83)
30. Bears 0
31. 49ers 0
32. Jets 0
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