Steven Cheah's NFL Top 100 Players in 2022: #1 - #10
Wrapping up my week-long series of the NFL's Top 100 Players for the upcoming season. I have vetted this complete list with a couple people inside the league with different teams whose jobs it is to evaluate players, so I think this is a pretty good water mark for how the league stacks these their Top 100.
In case you missed the lead up, here's the rest of the list:
10) EDGE Myles Garrett - Cleveland Browns (2021 Rank: 18)
The guy is a monster. He's 6'4" 272 lbs., fast with long arms, just the ideal body for an EDGE rusher. He's a looks like Tarzan, plays like Tarzan type guy. He finished the year 3rd in the league with 16.0 sacks and 2nd in the league with 17 QB Knockdowns.
He does everything well from hand placement, to having the right about of bend. He can convert speed to power and just straight up run through you. Garrett made his 2nd straight Pro Bowl and 2nd straight 1 Team All-Pro. He's everything you hope for when you take an EDGE Rusher 1st overall.
9) OT Trent Williams - San Francisco 49ers (2021 Rank: 8)
The man who just became the first ever Offensive Lineman to be a 99 overall in Madden! He is an absolute LOAD in the run game and is a regular nominee for my Block of the Year award, including this nominee from last season:
But he's also a stud in pass pro too. For a guy that is his size, being put in motion should be illegal!
8) LB Micah Parsons - Dallas Cowboys (2021 Rank: NR)
My 8th ranked player after his rookie season - insane! Micah Parsons took the league by storm. I tried to tell you all…
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Parsons is such a freak show because he not only an incredible pass rusher, using his other worldly speed and strength to dominate bigger, slower Lineman, but he is great in coverage too!
Not only do we see him take on a switch designed to attack him, but he has the speed to recover and beat the opposing team's #1 Receiver to the spot. He is an incredible player that I like to win Defensive Player of the Year this coming season.
7) WR Cooper Kupp - Los Angeles Rams (2021 Rank: 81)
We tried to tell you before last season that Kupp is the real deal. Both Mintzy & I were the only fantasy analysts on record to question why people were ranking Robert Woods over his teammate Cooper Kupp. With the addition of Matthew Stafford, it didn't make sense.
And boy did Kupp deliver. 145 catches for 1,947 yards and 16 TDs and NFL Offensive Player of the Year. The dude is just nasty. Sean McVay does a nice job moving him around so make it harder for the defense to key on him, but his route running is just phenomenal.
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And you think slot Receiver and picture a smaller guy like a Wes Welker or Julian Edelman, but Kupp has good size and is solidly built at 6'2" 208 lbs. The guy was clutch time after time this season, including the playoffs. Especially in the play that absolutely broke my heart.
But you can't help to respect the guy. My top non-QB Offensive Player on the list.
6) EDGE T.J. Watt - Pittsburgh Steelers (2021 Rank: 6)
T.J. Watt has increased his sack total in each of his first five seasons. It'll be tough to do next season as Watt just set the single season sack record with 22.5. And I don't want to hear any of this 17 game season stuff, because the guy only played in 15 games!
Watt can play both the run and the pass and his instincts are top notch which leads him to make game changing plays like this:
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5) QB Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers (2021 Rank: 2)
Rodgers is the reigning MVP. Coming off a season in which he threw 37 TDs to just 4 INTs Rodgers still has the juice at age 38. He's still mobile enough to buy some time and his arm is as strong as ever.
If you couldn't tell by those gaudy numbers, Rodgers is wildly accurate. But with his top target, Davante Adams now gone, I'm expecting some fall off.
4) QB Tom Brady - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2021 Rank: 1)
While he's not #1 this year, TB12 didn't really see a drop off last year in season 22. He even posted a career high with 5,316 passing yards to go along with 43 TDs to just 12 INTs. When he signed in Tampa, the concern was his arm strength was starting to go. But having broken down his tape for each throw as a Buccaneer, that sure hasn't been the case yet!
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And we all know Tom Brady can carve teams up from the pocket which his football intelligence, arm strength, and accuracy, but this year we saw a mobile Brady scrambling for some nice runs!
3) QB Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs (2021 Rank: 3)
Speaking of scrambling, Patrick Mahomes is elite at scrambling to buy time to either throw it down field or just take off and run. He ran the Bills defense tired last year in the playoffs:
But much like Aaron Rodgers, Mahomes will now be without his top Wideout as Tyreek Hill has been dealt to Miami. Will Andy Reid & co. be able to replicate some of his on-field speed with other lesser experienced players?
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2) QB Josh Allen - Buffalo Bills (2021 Rank: 10)
Josh Allen may have lost to Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs, but in reality, he just ran out of time. The overtime rules are changed and I'm giving him the credit he deserves and ranking him as my #2 overall player and top Offensive player. He's continued to grow to the point where mentally he's able to really maximize his physical gifts.
He will unfortunately be without his Offensive Coordinator in Brian Daboll who is coaching the Giants now, but the offense will remain in tact with former QB Coach Ken Dorsey taking over the playcalling duties. The Bills are built to win now and with Allen under center, they have a real shot to.
1) DT Aaron Donald - Los Angeles Rams (2021 Rank: 4)
He didn't win Defensive Player of the Year again, but I think he'll take his other trophy. Donald was a terror in the Super Bowl with 2.0 sacks and made the game clinching play on this 4th down with Cincinnati driving down to try and win it.
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He's so good both against the run and pass that he's actually unguardable and regularly sees 2-3 people responsible for blocking him on a single play. Yet he still finished with 12.5 sacks and 10 QB Knockdowns last year.
He was always known as a game wrecker and someone that could singlehandedly collapse an Offense, but now he will forever be remembered as being a Champion. Aaron Donald is my #1 player in the NFL.
As for the full list, I'll compile all of that for release tomorrow to put a nice bow on this whole thing. Thank you so much for reading! I can't wait for football to start back up!