#3 - Jimmie Ward
Jimmie Ward has spent his entire career so far with the San Francisco 49ers, where he has established himself as a solid defensive back, mostly as a safety. It's a bit surprising to see him pop up at 96th in the rankings this year, especially considering he's never even made it to the Pro Bowl in any of his eight seasons in the NFL.
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Ward has recorded just four career interceptions and three sacks while never eclipsing 100 tackles in a single season. While there's no denying he's a solid player, ranking him in the top 100 may be a bit of a stretch.
#4 - Cordarrelle Patterson
Cordarrelle Patterson was one of the best stories of the 2021-22 NFL season. While he has long been one of the best special teams players in the NFL, especially as a returner, he has struggled to make an impact offensively. That changed last year when he recorded a huge breakout season, setting new career highs in almost every offensive statistical category for rushing and receiving.
While Patterson's breakout was a spectacular story of a veteran finally finding an offensive role after almost a decade, it still seems like a stretch to rank him 73rd. He totaled just 1,163 scrimmage yards last year, which is good but not great. He has also recorded the lowest number of return yards in any season of his entire career so far.
#5 - Brian Burns
Brian Burns comes in at 76 in the 2022 NFL Top 100 rankings. While his high ranking would suggest he is one of the top pass rushers in the league, his numbers haven't exactly matched that description.
Burns has totaled 25.5 career sacks during his first three seasons in the NFL. He's never recorded double-digit sacks in any of those seasons while averaging just 8.5 sacks per season. He is somehow ranked 10 spots higher than Shaquil Barrett, who once led the league with 19.5 sacks in a single season.
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