Kansas City Chiefs: Five Players Make ESPN Top 100

On Tuesday, ESPN.com released an interesting piece where they ranked the top 100 players in the entire NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs had a nice showing, having players featured throughout the list.

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This ESPN.com list opens by stating, “This is not an MVP vote. The directions were simple: Rate players based on greatness. That’s what you see below: the top 100 players in the NFL in 2015, based on how good they are — not what positions they play or how many endorsements they have.”

The panel voting on this list consisted of “More than 70 voters. NFL analysts, reporters and statisticians — both from ESPN and outside ESPN — including former players and NFL front-office members.”

Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt comes in as the best player in the league with an overall rating of 98.87. Watt was followed closely by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers whose score was listed at 98.34. Tom Brady (95.14), Ndamukong Suh (94.56) and Rob Gronkowski (94.51) rounded out the top five.

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) is pressured by Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) during the game at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs defeated the Texans 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs ended up with five players on the list, led by outside linebacker Justin Houston who came in at number 16 with an overall rating of 91.13. Running back Jamaal Charles (30th, 88.14), outside linebacker Tamba Hali (67th, 81.99), defensive tackle Dontari Poe (82nd, 80.82) and tight end Travis Kelce (99th, 79.32) were the other Chiefs’ players who made the list.

There was a write-up on each player from ESPN, describing why the ranking was made. Here is what they had to say about Charles:

"Think about this: For his career, Charles has averaged 5.5 yards per rush. The only running back in NFL history with a better per-carry average is Marion Motley, who never topped 160 carries in a season, and retired … in 1955. Charles has averaged more yards per carry than Jim Brown (5.2) and a full half yard more than Adrian Peterson. And despite his lean frame (5-foot-11, 199 pounds), he has played in 15 or more games in all but one of his seven NFL seasons. Add it up: Charles has scored 33 TDs the last two seasons, the most in the NFL among non-QBs."

To see what they had to say about Houston and the rest of the Chiefs, or any other player on the list, be sure to check out the entire list over at ESPN.com.

The Chiefs did very well on this top 100 list. Clearly, they still have some elite talent on their roster, which is obviously great to see as we move forward. However, I cannot ignore some players who appear to be excluded from the ranking.

Before his battle with cancer, safety Eric Berry undoubtedly would have been on this list. I personally think he still should have been, but I do not have a huge problem with him being left off based on all of the time he missed last season. I would also push my support for cornerback Sean Smith, who has become one of the best corners in the entire NFL. I do realize though, that his play has gone unnoticed by the mainstream, which is why he missed out.

The exclusion that really has me scratching my head is wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who joined the Chiefs as a free agent this off season. Maclin has always been a good NFL receiver, but he exploded with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, bringing in 85 receptions for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Aug 28, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (19) celebrates after scoring during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

To be fair, aside from the absolute elite guys, wide receivers did not tend to be featured much on this list. Only one WR was mentioned in the bottom half of the list, and that was DeSean Jackson at number 63. Jackson is an incredible deep threat, but his boom-or-bust game makes him an incredibly inconsistent player.

I have no problem with Jackson being on the list (although 63 does seem high), but if he is the sixty-third best player in the NFL, Maclin is undoubtedly in the top 100. They are different players, but their talent level and productivity are similar. In fact, if anything Maclin is the rising talent in this case.

While I think Maclin got robbed, the Chiefs did do well on this list. When it comes down to it, they basically have as much elite-level talent as anybody in the league. This is a team that can compete on a major level going forward, if they can get production out of some key positions. I am looking at you, Alex Smith.

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