NFL Top 100 Players of 2019

#61 to #70

61. Melvin Ingram

62. Chandler Jones

63. Marshon Lattimore

64. Ben Roethlisberger

65. Jurrell Casey

66. Carson Wentz

67. Geno Atkins

68. Deion Jones

69. Lane Johnson

70. JuJu Smith-Schuster

While I have Joey Bosa ahead by a few spots, I always have my eyes on Ingram when I watch that Chargers pass rush. He is so different from his running mate, not only because of his preference for the speed rush but also his ultra-confident personality. Ingram brings a ton of versatility to the table and his performance against the Ravens in the Wildcard Round was absolutely dominant, moving all around the front and winning matchups against everybody.

The next edge rusher took a little bit of a step back. In 2017 Chandler Jones led the league in sacks and tackles for loss, but he couldn’t reproduce those numbers on a team that always played from behind. However, he is still one of the top pass rushers in the league and should get a lot more opportunities to prove it this upcoming season.

Another guy, who took a step backward – Marshon Lattimore had an amazing Defensive Rookie of the Year season, in which he played like one of the elite cover-guys in all of football. Last year he went from five to just two interceptions and had some bad showings against the likes of Mike Evans and Julio Jones inside that NFC South.

I put Big Ben here because he certainly still is in the discussion for top ten quarterbacks, but with some of his late-game decisions and behavior overall have been highly questionable, he has is now on the fringe of that group. While there are certainly still pieces around him, I need to see what he can do without Antonio Brown and (to a lesser degree) Le’Veon Bell.

As I mentioned already, Kevin Byard has become the voice of the Titans, but the guy who has been there the longest is Jurrell Casey. Looking for a fifth straight Pro Bowl selection, he has established himself as one of the premier defensive linemen in football. Whether it may be clogging lanes against the run of putting the heat on quarterback, he has been phenomenal.

Last year I had Wentz as a top-five quarterback and one of the 20 best overall players, while also naming him the regular season MVP until he got hurt, but I have to be cautious here. Yes, he wasn’t as special last season, but he did complete almost 70 percent of his passes and had a three-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. When healthy he can be one of the young superstars in this league.

Atkins is on the other side of the spectrum, entering his tenth season as a pro with the Bengals. As the original penetrating 3-tech, he has been a nightmare for offensive linemen for a long time now, but a few of the newer guys have surpassed him. That doesn’t mean he isn’t still an awesome player. Once again he had double-digit sacks and tackles for loss in 2018.

I am a firm believer that the Falcons could have had a great season in 2018 had they not lost that many key pieces, especially on defense, and Deion Jones is the biggest of them all. The third-year man is one of the biggest difference-makers in the passing game we have at inside linebacker. He has eight interceptions in 37 career games and took three of those back to the house.

Despite taking a step back personally and as a unit, I had to put Lane Johnson of the Eagles up here. When it comes to right tackles in the NFL it really only is a three-man race for who the best is and I would take Johnson ahead of those other guys. His athleticism is huge both protecting the passer and getting out on the move. He can shut down some of the most dominant pass rushers.

We have a new number one wide receiver in Pittsburgh and he will have to prove that he can get it done in that role going forward. JuJu finished top five in the league with over 1400 receiving yards. Coming out of USC I didn’t feel like he had the speed to become the type of big-play threat he has shown to be, but he now has 97-yard touchdown receptions in both of his first two years.