Aaron Rodgers Only Ex-Cal Player on PFF's List of Top-50 NFL Stars

It comes as no surprise that former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on Pro Football Focus' list of the top 50 players in the NFL, but two things about the ranking are unexpected:

---Rodgers is not in the top five and barely makes the top 10.

---Rodgers is the only ex-Cal player on the list, with Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan being noticeably absent. A few weeks ago, Jordan was ranked No. 32 on CBS Sports' ranking of the top 100 NFL players. (Another former Cal player, Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, was ranked 76th on the CBS Sports' list.)

Pro Football Focus prides itself in using a metrics system to grade every play, and it notes in the introduction to its top-50 list that this is a projection of how players will perform in 2021, as stated here:

The ranking below is a projection of what we think will happen and not necessarily a reaction to a spectacular or underwhelming 2020 season. Additionally, positional value is not considered here, so safeties, guards and even running backs have just as good a chance to rank highly as quarterbacks, who would dominate the list if positional value was heavily factored.

Those factors might explain why Rodgers is ranked only 10th in the PFF rankings despite being the 2020 MVP.

However, he is behind two quarterbacks -- Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, who is No. 2, and Tampa Bay's Tom Brady, who is ranked No. 7.

We get why the 25-year-old Mahomes is ahead of Rodgers, based on a projection of 2021 performance, but Brady's ranking is a bit of a puzzle. Rodgers had a passer rating of 121.5 with 48 touchdown passes and five interceptions in 2020, while Brady had a passer rating of 102.2 with 40 TD passes and 12 picks. Brady will be 44 years old when the 2021 season begins, and Rodgers will be 37.

I get that Brady led his team to the Super Bowl last season, and that run included a win over Rodgers' Packers, but it's difficult to believe that Brady's projected individual performance in 2021 will be better than Rodgers'. You may recall that the Packers' 13-3 regular-season record last season was better than the Bucs' 11-5 regular-season mark.

Rodgers' performance this coming season could suffer because of his holdout, which will limit his practice and meeting time. The possibility that he could be with another team could also affect his 2021 success. There is also the possibility that Rodgers will not play at all this season.

Presumably PFF's ranking does not consider any of those hypotheticals, though.

Here is what PFF said about Rodgers:

Rodgers would have been slipping down this list a season ago, but perhaps motivated by the team drafting his successor, he not only went out and had the best season of his career but put on one of the best single-season performances we have ever seen at the position.

Rodgers led the NFL with a PFF passing grade of 94.3. He came away with 48 touchdowns along with the highest big-time throw rate in the league (7.7%), with just five interceptions and the second-lowest turnover-worthy play rate (2.0%, behind only Tom Brady at 1.8%) working against him.

Rodgers is not even the highest ranked player on his own team, coming in behind wide receiver Davante Adams.

The omission of Jordan probably has to do with his decline in big-play production in 2020.

Although he was named to the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in 2020, his sack total dipped to 7.5 in 2020 after having 15.5 sacks in 2019, 13 in 2018 and 12 in 2017.

Jordan will turn 32 on July 10.

Here are the top five of PFF's rankings:

1. Aaron Donald, defensive line, Los Angeles Rams

2. Patrick Mahomes, quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

3. Travis Kelce, tight end, Kansas City Chiefs

4. Quenton Nelson, guard, Indianapolis Colts

5. Davante Adams, wide receiver, Green Bay Packers

Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Dan Powers, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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