NFL Network is revealing its annual list of the top 100 players in the NFL this week and as always, it’s a highly criticized ranking – oftentimes for good reason. Sure, there are fanbases that overreact to one of their favorite players being snubbed, but there are also players who are universally questioned for being ranked so high.
Relating to the Rams, a large contingent of fans can’t believe Todd Gurley was ranked 51st on this year’s list after a terrible season in 2019. That’s ahead of Chris Jones, Zack Martin, Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs and Myles Garrett.
The reactions on Twitter were about what you’d expect, eliciting 208 replies as of this writing – one of the highest totals of any player revealed thus far. For comparison, Cooper Kupp’s reveal as the 89th-best player received only 20 replies.
Here are some of the responses.
On last year’s list, Gurley was ranked fifth heading into the 2019 season. That was after he was named a first-team All-Pro once again in 2018 and put together a strong campaign outside of missing the end of the season.
His production fell off a cliff last season as his touches were limited and his yards per carry dropped from 4.9 to 3.8. He finished 20th in rushing yards with 857, while his 3.8 yards per carry ranked 11th-worst among qualified players. It didn’t help that he fumbled it three times and dropped seven of the 49 passes that came his way, either.
This isn’t to pile on Gurley for one bad year, but calling him the 51st-best player in the NFL right now seems misguided. But as so many other fans point out, the list is voted on by players, and sometimes that can skew the actual value of it.
