More than 400 current NFL players were polled by NFL Network about who they considered to be the Top 100 players in the game today. NFLN has been rolling out the list gradually, a wise move considering how scant news has been during the ongoing lockout. As of early this week, picks No. 100 through No. 41 have been filed. Sports Illustrated's Peter King, also in search of material to write about, decided to do his own list concurrently, a fun idea that makes the exercise more fun for all. Rather than just looking at one list, there's two to compare.
↵Let's take a look at the first 60 picks and see which, if any, Tampa Bay Buccaneers made the cut.
↵Buccaneers In Top 100 (Players' List Ranking; King's List Ranking)
↵- ↵
- Davin Joseph (N/A ; 64th) ↵
- Mike Williams (83rd ; N/A) ↵
- Josh Freeman (86th ; 90th) ↵
Thoughts:
↵- ↵
- No huge surprise to see Freeman crack both lists. In his second season, Freeman led the Bucs to a ten-win season (their first since 2005) just one year removed from a 3-13 season. For as promising as the future seems to be for Freeman, the next challenge -- and it's a big one -- is to take that next step towards becoming a great QB.
↵ - I was fairly surprised to see Williams make the players' list. Not too many rookies garnered such recognition from their peers. Hauling in 11 TD passes will force people to take notice of you though I suppose. ↵
- Solid selection by King to include G Davin Joseph. Something tells me that Joseph's colleagues around the league haven't quite noticed him as appreciatively.
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