Tracking the Jets in 2023 NFL Top 100
It's become an annual summertime tradition for NFL Network — unveiling the league's Top 100 players heading into a new season.
"The Top 100 Players of 2023" have been determined by a vote of the players themselves.
Running the New York Jets' total to four Top 100 honorees, the team's two defensive centerpieces landed in the Top 40 this week.
Fresh off signing his record-setting four-year contract extension, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams claimed the No. 40 ranking. After an All-Pro rookie campaign, second-year cornerback Sauce Gardner debuted at No. 23 overall.
The 25-year-old Williams, who can also swallow up the run, has totaled 25.0 sacks and 10 pass deflections over his last 44 games.
Gardner, who turns 23 at the end of the month, recorded a NFL-high 20 passes defensed and limited opposing receivers to 5.3 yards per target in 2022.
By the halfway point of the Top 100 reveal, which kicked off on July 24, two Jets had appeared. That was an instant improvement over 2022 when the team had no representatives.
First, second-year receiver Garrett Wilson landed at No. 74 overall, one spot behind Arizona Cardinals' safety Budda Baker and only two slots in back of Baltimore Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Wilson, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, has watched his stock take off after gaining 1,103 yards on 83 receptions in 2022. Fantasy football experts are viewing the rising star as a Top 10 WR option worthy of a second-round draft pick.
Unfortunately, Wilson's preseason has been interrupted by a minor ankle injury he sustained during Thursday's training camp practice. Robert Saleh did not provide a timetable, but the third-year head coach didn't sound like he was expecting a prolonged absence.
Gang Green's new starting signal caller was the next Jet to pop up on the NFL Top 100 list. Despite being destined for the Hall of Fame, Aaron Rodgers finished barely outside the Top 50 at No. 51 overall heading into the 2023 season. Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, ranked five spots better than Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott.
The 39-year-old Rodgers has earned Top 100 status every year since the rankings were established in 2011. He ranked as the No. 3 overall player heading into the 2022 campaign with the Green Bay Packers.
Sports Illustrated will name its version of the NFL Top 100 during the fourth week in August.
QB Aaron Rodgers during Jets' Training Camp
© Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
2023 NFL Top 100 Jets
75. Garrett Wilson, WR
51. Aaron Rodgers, QB
40. Quinnen Williams, DT
23. Sauce Gardner, CB
A new group of 10 players will be revealed every weekday through Thursday, Aug. 3. The series concludes with a two-hour live show — "The Top 100 Players of 2023: The Top 10" — on Monday, Aug. 7, on NFL+.
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