Much like the NFL released their Top 100 list ahead of the 2019 season in celebration of their centennial year, Pro Football Focus is now releasing their list of the best 101 players from the past season, but with a few differences. This time, PFF notes that the rankings are based on 2019 performance only, and all positions are created equal.
With those rules in place, two members of the Washington Redskins were named to the PFF Top 101 list thus far, with the Top 25 yet to be revealed. Rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin leads the way at No. 51, the second-highest-rated rookie as of yet, and cornerback Quinton Dunbar gets the nod at No. 73.
McLaurin, who finished the year with 919 yards receiving and seven touchdowns despite missing two games with injuries, was the second-most productive rookie receiver in the NFL, trailing Tennessee’s A.J. Brown. PFF went as far as to call it one of the most impressive seasons they’ve seen from a young player.
McLaurin immediately became the No. 1 receiver in Washington, averaged a top-15 yards per route run figure (2.05), generated a quarterback a passer rating of 118.3 when targeted, and he did it all without any kind of quality quarterback play over the season. Only a few too many drops saw McLaurin slip from being ranked among the very best receivers in the game, but his 85.7 overall PFF grade was still good enough to rank sixth over the season.
As for Dunbar, a breakout season saw him named as a Pro Bowl alternate for the first time, and he ranked as one of the highest-graded cornerbacks in the NFL, according to PFF, despite spending the end of the year on the IR.
For a period of the season, Quinton Dunbar was the best-graded cornerback in the NFL, and the injury that caused him to miss the end of the season is the only reason why he slips this far down the list. No matter what way you look at his coverage numbers, Dunbar was fantastic this year. He allowed a passer rating of just 56.9 when targeted, and he had six games in which he surrendered 25 or fewer receiving yards.
With the anticipated rise of a number of young players, plus the hopeful addition of DE Chase Young in April, there’s a good chance that Washington will have several more players on this list come 2021.
