NFL Top 100 Players of 2019

#51 to #60

51. Quenton Nelson

52. Myles Garrett

53. A.J. Bouye

54. Derwin James

55. Melvin Gordon

56. Jaylon Smith

57. Joey Bosa

58. Deshaun Watson

59. Kevin Byard

60. David Johnson

Like I already said, Big Q is on his way to becoming the best guard in the game and a Hall of Famer down the road. Not only was he a first-team All-Pro as a rookie and completely transformed the Colts offensive line, when was the last time you had videos of a guard going viral, where he pancakes a total badass in Jadeveon Clowney or scream on his way to devouring somebody pulling around?

Next up we have another young star in the making. Myles Garrett put up 13.5 sacks, 12 TFLs and three forced fumbles in his second year as a pro. At only 23 years he is an athletic phenom, who kind of looks like superman and is only scratching the surface of his powers, as he is still developing his pass rush arsenal.

Just like Jalen Ramsey and Calais Campbell, Bouye drops a few spots from his 2018 ranking because of the decline of the Sacksonville defense. However, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that he isn’t one of the top cornerbacks in all of football. He wasn’t as good as he was the year before, when he surrendered the lowest catch rate of anybody at the position, but opposing teams still didn’t find a lot of success against him.

Here we have another young stud safety in Derwin James. The Chargers got an absolute steal in the middle of last year’s draft when they selected the freakish Florida State DB. In his first year as a pro, he was already the key piece to the Bolts’ defense, erasing seam routes, making big stops in the run game and terrorizing quarterbacks as a blitzer.

Right behind him, we have his teammate Melvin Gordon, who is often forgotten in the conversation for the best running backs in the game. Since the start of his second year in the league, he has averaged 106.6 yards from scrimmage and just under a touchdown per game. He is a violent runner, who can explode for big plays in both the run game and as a receiver.

There is a very clear duo at the top among off-ball linebackers with Bobby Wagner and Luke Kuechly, but after that, there is no real consensus. I think Jaylon Smith has earned that spot with how he played last season. He might have not recorded any interceptions, but his ability to fly sideline to sideline and knock people backwards is amazing.

Some people might think I’m a little low on Bosa because of his rookie and sophomore seasons, but I think this is fair for him. I always thought he was an excellent technician and hustle player, but I don’t believe he will ever quite be among the elite pass rushers, because he doesn’t have the burst or length needed. So I can’t ignore the injury concerns either.

That loss to the Colts in the Wildcard Round really left a bad taste in my mouth, but I won’t ignore what kind of a talent and competitor Deshaun Watson is. While I wasn’t happy when he called out his offensive line following the loss, that protection really was atrocious. He only had DeAndre Hopkins for most of the season and the run game worked pretty well partially because of him. Help this man out more and he can be special.

We have a lot of really talented young safeties in the league. Kevin Byard might not be a household name quite yet simply because he plays in Tennessee, but his play has been outstanding these last two years. Not only has he recorded 12 interceptions and deflected another 24 passes over that stretch, but he also gives the Titans defense some attitude.

Man, it hurts me to put David Johnson this low, but I just can’t justify putting him ahead of any of those guys I have in front of him. After flirting with that 1000-1000 feat these last two offseasons, seeing him miss basically a full season and then not get anything going in a lifeless Cardinals offense was disappointing. I fully expect him to bounce back, but until he does I can’t put him inside my top 50.