2021 NFL’s Top 100: 80-71
Yesterday I revealed my list for players ranked 81-90. If you want to go check out that list here is a link for it.
Now lets reveal the players that rank from 71 to 80 on my list of the NFL’s top 100 players for the 2021 season.
80.) Odell Beckham Jr. (Cleveland Browns)
Coming in at number 80 on my list is Odell Beckham Jr. who is coming off of a season ending ACL injury. He has only played in 16 games once in his career which stinks because of how talented he is. I can see this being a top tier season for him though. If he is fully healthy he will finish a lot higher on my list at the end of the year. For now he is down in the 80th spot due to inconsistency of being able to stay on the field. Him and Baker Mayfield have a good thing going chemistry wise right now. We need to see this duo on the field to see the full potential of this Cleveland Browns team in 2021.
79.) Tre’Davious White (Buffalo Bills)
Coming in at number 79 is the two time Pro Bowler and one time All-Pro corner back for the Buffalo Bills Tre’Davious White. White has been an absolute menace since coming into the league in 2017. He is a big part of why Buffalo’s defense is as good as it has been. This team is a much better team with him on the field. He has pulled down multiple interceptions every year that he has been in the league.
White is also taking opposing teams number one receivers and shutting them all down for the most part. He was top ten in pass breakups last season and top ten in separation allowed per target as well. With the way that White has played so far in his career he can easily be a top 40 player in the league. We are just waiting for that next step where he goes from a fantastic corner back to an elite corner back.
78.) Danielle Hunter (Minnesota Vikings)
Coming in at number 78 is the two-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter. Hunter missed last season with a neck injury. The two previous seasons that he played he got 14.5 sacks in each year and made the Pro Bowl. If he is fully healthy which I believe he will be this year, he is going to be an absolute beast for the Vikings defense. Minnesota needs him on their defense and watch for him to get double digits sacks yet again this year.
77.) Justin Simmons (Denver Broncos)
Coming in number 77 is Justin Simmons from the Denver Broncos. Simmons is one of the best young safeties in the league today. He can’t come to terms with Denver on a contract so they keep hitting him with the franchise tag. Watch for Simmons to finally get over 100 tackles in a season this year, and to keep being great at pass deflections.
76.) Keenan Allen (Los Angeles Chargers)
Coming in at number 76 is Keenan Allen. Allen was banged up last year and still managed to get 100 receptions for the third time in the last four seasons. With Justin Herbert throwing Allen the ball, he is going to be a Pro Bowler year after year. He tied a career high in receiving touchdowns last season and I can see his numbers sky rocketing in Herbert’s sophomore campaign. Keenan Allen is poised to have his best season of his career in 2021 with a second year quarterback that he has a lot of chemistry with.
75.) Harrison Smith (Minnesota Vikings)
Coming in at number 75 is Harrison Smith. Smith had to deal with a bunch of new faces in the secondary last year. Which led to him having a “down” year. He is still one of the best safeties in the game, and is going to continue to be a nightmare for opposing offenses. Even at 32 years old he is still a big time player and I believe that he will be a whole lot better than he was a season ago.
74.) Myles Jack (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Coming in at number 74 is Myles Jack. Jack had his best year last year, but nobody talks about it because of how bad the Jaguars were last year. He had a career high in tackles with over 100. There reports that Jack was on the block at times last season, but Jacksonville never pulled the trigger and thank goodness for them. With the team looking better and on the come up, we should hear more about Myles Jack this year.
73.) Stephon Gillmore (New England Patriots)
Coming in at number 73 is Stephon Gillmore. The former AP Defensive Player of the year is looking for a big time bounce back year in 2021. With all the trade rumors going on that the Patriots could move him, we saw Gillmore’s numbers take a hit in 2020. Now with the players who sat out last year for the Patriots defense coming back, we can see a huge uptick in Gillmore’s numbers this year. We need to see the AP Defensive Player of the year in Gillmore this year for the Patriots defense to take that next step. If he does get moved during the season, if the fit is right we could still see him have a crazy 2021 season.
72.) AJ Brown (Tennessee Titans)
Coming in at number 72 is AJ Brown. In a offense that is focused on getting Derrick Henry the football, we have seen AJ Brown have a solid start to his career. Back to back 1,000 yard receiving seasons and we saw a huge uptick in his targets and receptions last year. Brown is the big threat for the Titans on the receiving end. In his two seasons in the league he averages 17.4 yards per reception, and has 19 touchdowns under his belt. We could see Brown take a huge step forward this year as he could easily get over 100 receptions with guys like Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith taking their talents elsewhere. Watch out for the name AJ Brown as he could easily find his way in the top forty after the year is done.
71.) Ronnie Stanley (Baltimore Ravens)
Coming in at number 71 is Ronnie Stanley. Boy did the Ravens need Stanley last season. Baltimore’s offense took a big hit with Stanley out of the lineup. Stanley played in 6 games last season after he needed two surgeries to repair his ankle. The 27 year old will look to bounce back and have another Pro Bowl type season like he had in 2019. Lamar Jackson desperately needs this guy up front in order to succeed. With him healthy the Ravens might be a threat again in the AFC.
Stay Tuned as 70-61 will be out Monday 6/7/21.
-Chris Jones (@cjoneswho1212)