Skip to main content

Three Vikings Have Made the NFL Top 100 Players Ranking So Far

The NFL Top 100 on NFL Network is a yearly ranking voted on by the league's players.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:

The NFL Top 100 is an annual rankings show on NFL Network that unveils the league's 100 best players, as voted on by current players. It began on Sunday with Nos. 100 to 71 and continued Monday with 70 to 41. This is the tenth year the league has done this, and it's always interesting – and sometimes surprising – to see who the players think are the NFL's best. 

Thus far, three Vikings have made the list. It seems like a safe bet that at least a fourth will be added when the top 40 are announced on Tuesday.

Eric Kendricks: No. 83

2019 ranking: N/A

On Sunday, Kendricks became the first Viking to appear on the Top 100, checking in at No. 83. This is his first season on the list, and it's a well-deserved honor after a breakout season. With that said, it's hard not to think that Kendricks should be much higher than 83rd. Pro Football Focus rated him as the second-best linebacker in the league in 2019 with a grade of 90.1. He was tied for the league lead among LBs with 12 passes defended, put up a fourth-straight season of 100-plus tackles, and forced two fumbles.

PFF ranked Kendricks 14th in their top 101 players of 2019. He has earned some love from his fellow players, but deserves even more.

Video segment:

Harrison Smith: No. 64

2019 ranking: No. 83

Talk about another player who is too low on this list: Smith checks in at No. 64 in his fifth consecutive appearance on the NFL Top 100. Perpetually underrated, Smith has never been higher than No. 46 despite being consistently one of the best safeties in the league for half a decade. PFF graded Smith as the third-best safety in the NFL last year and placed him 35th on their Top 101.

Video segment:

Kirk Cousins: No. 58

2019 ranking: No. 78

It's cool to see Cousins get some respect from his fellow players, especially because he's often unfairly ridiculed by the national public. Cousins had the best season of his career in 2019, grading as PFF's sixth-best QB and ranking fourth in passer rating. He also changed some of the narratives surrounding his career by winning a couple big games, including a Sunday Night Football win in Dallas and a clutch playoff upset in New Orleans.

Video segment:

Other Notes

  • Former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs checked in at No. 54 on the list. It seems like the national recognition of his elite talent has only increased since he was traded to the Bills.
  • Vikings who could appear in the top 40: Danielle Hunter, Dalvin Cook, Anthony Harris, and Adam Thielen.
    • Hunter is a lock. If he's not in the top 40, there will be riots in the streets. He was No. 57 last year.
    • Cook could also make the top 40, though I'm not sure it'll happen. He had an outstanding 2019 season and seems to have a lot of respect across the league.
    • Harris and Thielen would surprise me. Harris absolutely should be in the top 100, but given that we haven't seen him yet, I doubt he's in the top 40. That's a shame, considering he's been one of the best safeties in the league for the past two years.
    • Thielen was No. 33 last year and No. 36 in 2018, but his hamstring injury and advancing age seems to have bumped him out of the top 100 entirely. I think a lot of people are forgetting just how good he is.
  • These rankings are interesting, but take them with a grain of salt. For example, Jimmy Garoppolo was No. 43 and Todd Gurley was No. 51. Neither of those makes a lot of sense whatsoever.

Check out all of our Vikings 2020 season preview content right here.

Join the conversation at InsideTheVikings by clicking the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first), and follow @WillRagatz on Twitter.