NFL's Top Players For 2017: 40-31

NFL Network continued it's march through their Top 100 Players for 2017. On Monday the players ranked 40-31 were revealed.

40. Vic Beasley, DE
39. Bobby Wagner, LB
38. Fletcher Cox, DT
37. Aqib Talib, CB
36. Tyreek Hill, WR/KR
35. J.J. Watt, DE
34. Kam Chancellor, S
33. DeMarco Murray, RB
32. Marcus Peters, CB
31. Matthew Stafford, QB

It's nice mix of youth and veteran.

Vic Beasley disappointed some as a rookie in 2015. It was another example of many expecting too much too early from top picks. He still had his moments. Watching him against the Vikings during that rookie season two things stood out with Beasley. First of all, seeing someone coming off the edge wearing #44 is more than a little strange. Second of all, and most importantly, he comes off the line as if he's shot out of a cannon. I came away from that one game during a frustrating rookie season thinking that Beasley could be a real problem for offensive lines if he can get all of his talents together. Well, he got all of his talents together in 2016.

Three players returned to the Top 100 after an absence of a year or more.

Bobby Wagner
DeMarco Murray
Matthew Stafford

Welcome back.

Surprises.

J.J. Watt
Tyreek Hill

Watt called his ranking a joke due to his spending nearly all of the 2016 season on the sideline. He only played in three games. I have no problem with the ranking. People, and apparently some of the players, tend to forget that this list presents the best players, in the view of the players, for the upcoming season. It's impacted greatly by past performances but it's also a projection. When healthy, Watt is one of the best players in the league. His injury-thrashed season dropped him from #3 in 2016 to #35 but he's still one of the best.

Tyreek Hill admitted to having chills when his name was revealed. He was a game-changer for the Chiefs and nightmare for opponents as a rookie in 2016. He's going to attract a lot of attention whenever he's on the field and the Chiefs play him all over the field. It's tough to defend against his sort of speed.

It's interesting that corners Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters are in the same block of ten. They are the older and younger versions of the same sort of players. Feisty, agressive, big-play corners. They are also a little on the wild side. They can snap. But they are both terrific football players first.

Next week: 30-21.