Three Former Cal Athletes Among Top 100 NFL Players for 2022

CBS Sports came out with its annual ranking of the top 100 NFL players for the 2022 season, and once again Cal rules the Pac-12 roost. Well, actually the Golden Bears co-own the roost with Oregon, with three former players each ranked among the top 100.

No other Pac-12 school has more than one representative in the top 100 for 2022, and only six colleges nationwide have more former players on this list than Cal.

---At the end of this story are a list of the top-100 representatives from each Pac-12 school and a list of the colleges with the most top-100 players.---

Three former Cal players -- Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan and Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen -- have been regular members of CBS Sports' top 100 NFL players the past few years, and they are on the list again.

The only concern is their age and how much longer they can remain in the top 100. Rodgers, Jordan and Allen have played a combined 37 NFL seasons and none is younger than 30 years of age

Rodgers is the most noteworthy Cal representative this time, coming in at No. 2, behind only Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. It's hard to believe that two years ago, Rodgers was not even ranked among CBS Sports' top 15 when it projected the top 100 players for 2020. Rodgers has won two MVPs since then.

You may recall that former Cal star Jared Goff was listed as the No. 87 player on CBS Sports' list of the top 100 players heading into the 2019 season. He is nowhere to be found this year.

Here are the three ex-Cal players on the list, with this year's CBS Sports comments about them, where they rank at their position, as well as where they ranked the previous three years.

No. 2: Aaron Rodgers, No. 1 among quarterbacks

He was the 2021 MVP, which was his fourth. His level of play has not gone down at all. It will be interesting to see what he does without Davante Adams. I wouldn't worry too much.

2021 ranking: 3

2020 ranking: 16

2019 ranking: 6

Seasons at Cal: 2003, 2004

No. 39 Cameron Jordan, No. 6 among defensive ends

He tied for seventh in the league with 12.5 sacks last season. It took him a while to get going, not getting his first sack until Week 6. Age is starting to be a concern since he turns 33 in July

2021 ranking: 32

2020 ranking: 23

2019 ranking: 18

Seasons at Cal: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

No. 65 Keenan Allen, No. 10 among wide receivers

He is coming off a season with a career-best 106 catches and remains a big part of the Chargers offense. He isn't a big-play threat down the field, with an average of 10.7 yards per catch, but he is a reliable chain mover.

2021 ranking: 76

2020 ranking: 77

2019 ranking: 64

Seasons at Cal: 2010, 2011, 2012

Number of top-100 representatives from each Pac-12 school:

Cal -- 3

Oregon -- 3

USC -- 1

Washington -- 1

Utah -- 1

UCLA -- 1

Oregon State -- 1

Stanford -- 0

Arizona State -- 0

Arizona -- 0

Washington State -- 0

Colorado -- 0

Most top-100 representative from all colleges

Oklahoma -- 7

Ohio State -- 5

Alabama -- 4

Florida State -- 4

Clemson -- 4

Mississippi State -- 4

Cal -- 3

Wisconsin -- 3

Texas A&M -- 3

LSU -- 3

Iowa -- 3

Notre Dame -- 3

Maryland -- 3

Cover photo of Cameron Jordan grabbing Aaron Rodgers is by Crystal LoGiudice, USA TODAY Sports

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