Top 100 Taxonomy: Breaking down Prisco's list of the NFL's best players
There are more players at QB and DE than any other position, while the NFC West leads the way with the most representatives
By
Jared Dubin
•
7 min read
Earlier on Wednesday, CBS Sports Senior NFL Writer Pete Prisco unveiled his list of the Top 100 NFL Players for the 2016 season. Be sure to check out the full list, as well as a breakdown of five players that just missed the cut, and his full quarterback rankings.
Take your time reading and then come back; we'll be waiting right here ... Back? OK. Great.
As you read through Prisco's list, you may have been wondering things like how many players there are at each position and which teams are most well-represented.
Lucky for you, that's why we're here. Let's break it all down.
| POSITION | PLAYERS | HIGHEST RANKED |
| QB | 14 | Aaron Rodgers |
| RB | 5 | Adrian Peterson |
| WR | 13 | Antonio Brown |
| TE | 5 | Rob Gronkowski |
| T | 8 | Tyron Smith |
| G | 4 | Marshal Yanda |
| C | 2 | Travis Frederick |
| DE | 14 | J.J. Watt |
| DT | 8 | Aaron Donald |
| OLB | 8 | Von Miller |
| MLB | 2 | Luke Kuechly |
| CB | 11 | Patrick Peterson |
| S | 6 | Tyrann Mathieu |
Quarterback (14): Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, Andy Dalton, Blake Bortles
Nearly half the league's starting quarterbacks made Prisco's list. With 14 players, QB tied with defensive end as the most well-represented position group. Three of them (Rodgers, Brady, Roethlisberger) made the top-10 and five more (Newton, Palmer, Brees, Luck, Wilson) made the top-50.
Running back (5): Adrian Peterson, Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, Jamaal Charles, Doug Martin
Befitting the NFL's firm status as a passing league, only five running backs made it onto the list this year. Four of the five are players that serve as the foundation of their offense alongside quarterbacks that can be considered average or slightly below. Only Bell plays with an elite QB.
Wide receiver (13): Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, A.J. Green, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham, Demaryius Thomas, Alshon Jeffery, Larry Fitzgerald, Allen Robinson, Jordy Nelson, Julian Edelman
There are receivers of all different sizes and types on the list, from monster-sized possession guys like Marshall to smaller, shiftier types like Edelman. There's also a pretty even AFC-NFC split here, with seven from the former and six from the latter. Marshall, Fitzgerald, Nelson, and Edelman are the only four out of the 13 that will play this season at age 30 or older.
Tight end (5): Rob Gronkowski, Greg Olsen, Tyler Eifert, Jimmy Graham, Jordan Reed
Gronkowski is the only one of this year in the top-50. Eifert, Graham, and Reed are all ranked between 84 and 93. It's notable that the tight end position is now very obviously dominated by pass-catchers, when that wasn't necessarily the case 15-20 years ago.
Offensive line (14): Tyron Smith, Marshal Yanda, Josh Sitton, Joe Thomas, Terron Armstead, Joe Staley, Kyle Long, Andrew Whitworth, Zack Martin, Jason Peters, Travis Frederick, Trent Williams, T.J. Lang, Weston Richburg
This group includes eight tackles, four guards and two centers. Smith is the only one in the top-10, while Yanda, Sitton, Thomas, Armstead, Staley, and Long all made the top-50 along with him. All eight of the tackles play on the left side of the line, both centers on the list hail from the NFC East, and two of the four guards are on the Packers.
Defensive end (14): J.J. Watt, Khalil Mack, Fletcher Cox, Muhammad Wilkerson, Michael Bennett, Robert Quinn, Ezekiel Ansah, Calais Campbell, Cameron Jordan, Mike Daniels, Olivier Vernon, Jurrell Casey, Sheldon Richardson, Carlos Dunlap
It's here where we see an interesting split. Because of the differences in the responsibilities of 4-3 ends and those that play in a 3-4, there are players that serve wildly different functions on their teams within the list. Still, half of the 14 ends are 4-3 guys and half play primarily in a 3-4. Both ends from the Jets wound up making the list, which is notable as well.
Defensive tackle (8): Aaron Donald, Geno Atkins, Gerald McCoy, Kawaan Short, Ndamukong Suh, Malik Jackson, Linval Joseph, Leonard Williams
This group, meanwhile, contains only one player that works out of a 3-4 front. That makes a good deal of sense, since 4-3 tackles are given much more of an opportunity to attack and actually make plays in the backfield themselves, while 3-4 tackles are more often asked to occupy blockers and let the players next to and behind them make the tackle.
Linebacker (10): Von Miller, Luke Kuechly, Jamie Collins, Clay Matthews, Donta Hightower, Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright, Anthony Barr, Pernell McPhee, Chandler Jones
Much like defensive end, this is a group of players that have wildly different responsibilities. There are two 4-3 middle linebackers (Kuechly and Wagner), two 4-3 outside linebackers (Wright and Barr) and six 3-4 linebackers that all serve different purposes within their team's systems.
The position Miller plays has a lot more in common with, say, Ezekiel Ansah than it does with K.J. Wright. And McPhee, even though he's technically a 3-4 outside linebacker, is used more like Michael Bennett than he is like any of the Patriots linebackers that made this list.
Cornerback (11): Patrick Peterson, Chris Harris, Richard Sherman, Desmond Trufant, Josh Norman, Darrelle Revis, Marcus Peters, Darius Slay, Jason Verrett, Aqib Talib, Trumaine Johnson
There are a bunch of familiar faces on this list (Peterson, Harris, Sherman, Norman, Revis, Talib), but also a bunch of young, fresh names. Trufant, Peters, Slay, Verrett, and Johnson are all 26 or younger, and only Johnson is working on a deal that isn't his rookie contract. It shouldn't be a surprise that this is one of four positions, along with quarterback, defensive end, and wide receiver to have double-digit representatives. It's a passing league, after all.
Safety (6): Tyrann Mathieu, Earl Thomas, Harrison Smith, Eric Weddle, Reshad Jones, Eric Berry
Mathieu defies categorization and is listed as a safety here because that's how the Cardinals list him, but it's worth noting that four of the other five safeties on the list are ball-hawking free safeties and only one plays the strong safety spot. Again, passing game responsibilities trump all else.
Let's break this down by team, now.
| DIVISION | PLAYERS | HIGHEST RANKED |
| NFC East | 13 | Smith |
| NFC North | 15 | Rodgers |
| NFC South | 13 | Kuechly |
| NFC West | 18 | Donald |
| AFC East | 12 | Brady |
| AFC North | 12 | Roethlisberger |
| AFC South | 7 | Watt |
| AFC West | 10 | Miller |
NFC East (13): Cowboys (5), Giants (4), Eagles (2), Washington (2)
Somewhat hilariously, the number of representatives per team is the reverse order of finish from 2015's division standings. Washington won the East but still came away with only two players, one of whom (Norman) wasn't on the team last year. All five Dallas players are from the offense, obviously.
NFC North (15): Packers (6), Vikings (4), Bears (3), Lions (2)
The Packers have the list's No. 1 overall player, while the Vikings have the top running back. Nine of the 15 players from this group play defense.
NFC South (13): Panthers (5), Falcons (3), Saints (3), Buccaneers (2)
The Panthers are one of eight teams with five-plus players on the list, led obviously by Newton and Kuechly finishing just outside the top-10. If they'd retained Norman, they'd be one of only five teams with six players or more on here. Three of the division's four quarterbacks made it, and it wouldn't be a surprise if they got all four on the list next season (if Jameis Winston develops as expected).
NFC West (18): Seahawks (7), Cardinals (6), Rams (4), 49ers (1)
It should come as no surprise that the NFC West leads the way with 18 players. The division also features the top player at defensive tackle, cornerback, and safety, though none of them are from the Seahawks, who lead the league with seven players on the list. Half the Legion of Boom is here, obviously, while the Seahawks also got two linebackers and a defensive lineman on the list, in addition to Russell Wilson and Jimmy Graham. The Rams have the division's highest-ranked player in Donald, while the 49ers' only rep is tackle Joe Staley.
AFC East (12): Patriots (5), Jets (5), Dolphins (2), Bills (0)
It's here where we get to our only team that does not have a single player on the list: the Buffalo Bills. Sorry, Sammy Watkins and Marcel Dareus.
New England obviously leads the way here, with two players in the top-10. The Jets got all three of their starting defensive linemen onto the list, as well as Revis and Brandon Marshall, who surprisingly ranked third among wide receivers.
AFC North (12): Bengals (6), Steelers (3), Ravens (2), Browns (1)
The Bengals have as many players on the list as the rest of the division combined, the only team in the league for which that is true. Still, two of Pittsburgh's three players are in the top-10, both of Baltimore's are in the top-50, and Cleveland's lone rep is at No. 25.
AFC South (7): Jaguars (3), Texans (2), Colts (1), Titans (1)
In a development that should surprise nobody, the AFC South has the fewest representatives of any division. It does have the highest-ranked defensive player in J.J. Watt, though. Both Houston reps (Watt and Hopkins) are ranked higher than any other player in the division. The next closest player is Andrew Luck at No. 44 (17 spots behind Hopkins).
AFC West (10): Broncos (4), Chiefs (3), Chargers (2), Raiders (1)
Last but not least, the AFC West, home of the Super Bowl champs. The Raiders were crowned King of the Offseason this year, but only got one player into the top-100. Khalil Mack is the second highest-ranked player in this division, behind only Von Miller. Both of Denver's top corners are also on the list, while two Chiefs defensive backs (Marcus Peters and Eric Berry) and a Chargers corner (Jason Verrett) made it as well.
