Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson Lead Four Vikings Named to Player-Voted NFL Top 100
Four Vikings stars — Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Eric Kendricks, and Adam Thielen — were voted by their fellow players onto the 2021 edition of the NFL Top 100.
Cook leads the way at No. 20, one spot up from his placement on the 2020 list. He's the third-highest running back on the list, trailing only Derrick Henry and Alvin Kamara. It's a well-deserved ranking for someone who has established himself as one of the game's elite backs over the past two years.
Jefferson came in at No. 53 after a historic rookie season. He's the highest-ranked player from the 2020 draft class, ahead of Offensive Rookie of the Year Justin Herbert at 56 and DROY Chase Young at 61.
Kendricks makes his second straight appearance on the list, moving up from 83 last year to No. 70. That feels entirely too low for someone as talented as he is, especially when you see other top off-ball linebackers much higher (Fred Warner at 21, Bobby Wagner at 25, Devin White at 28).
Rounding out the Vikings on the list is Thielen at No. 80. He was in the top 40 in 2018 and 2019, but fell off of last year's list after an injury-riddled 2019 season. Thielen bounced back with 14 receiving touchdowns last fall.
Perhaps just as notable as the four who made the list are the big names who didn't. Both Harrison Smith and Kirk Cousins saw five-year streaks of appearing on the NFL Top 100 end this year, making it the first list since 2015 without both players. Cousins and Smith were both in the top 65 last year.
Also dropping off the list is Danielle Hunter, who was 57th in 2019 and 40th last year but missed all of last season to injury.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Hunter, Cousins, and Smith earn their way back onto the 2022 version of the top 100 with big seasons. Michael Pierce, Brian O'Neill, and Irv Smith Jr. stand out as players who could potentially debut on the list next year.
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