NFL Top 100 Players of 2019

#71 to #80

71. Jason Kelce

72. Casey Hayward

73. Brandon Graham

74. Trey Flowers

75. Baker Mayfield

76. Darius Leonard

77. Marshal Yanda

78. Grady Jarrett

79. Chris Harris Jr.

80. Frank Clark

The best center in the league today is the incredible Jason Kelce. His athleticism and football IQ are off the charts when you look at how he handles stunts and blitz pick-ups as well as his brilliance as a move blocker. He is the biggest piece to how the Eagles zone run game works and his adjustments on the fly are pure genius.

Even though some lists might drop Casey Hayward a bunch of spots because he didn’t even come close to the ball-production of the previous two years (11 interceptions and 42 PBUs compared to no picks and eight deflected passes), I thought he had another really good season. He is still one of the best zone and off-man corners in the league.

It took a while for these Eagles players to come up after Fletcher Cox, but now they are just flying off the board. Brandon Graham has been one of the most underrated players in the entire for the last five years or so. The sack totals are never impressive – to some degree because he primarily rushes off the left side where quarterbacks see him more – but he is always amongst the top in QB pressures.

Let’s stay with on the defensive line with another guy whose numbers don’t tell the whole story as an inside-out presence. Trey Flowers was by far the most important player on that Patriots defense outside of Stephon Gilmore and he had some dominant games sliding inside on sub-packages beating guards. That’s why Matt Patricia brought him over to Detroit.

A close second in the race for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Baker Mayfield instantly threw his number in the conversation for the best young quarterbacks, as he beat the rookie passing touchdown record despite only being inserted into the starting lineup in the second half of game three and he completely transformed the Browns, who we now look at as a contender in the AFC.

Let’s stay with the rookies here and who took home the honors on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker Darius Leonard had a phenomenal rookie campaign, leading the league in total tackles by a fairly wide margin, recording seven sacks, four forced fumbles, and two picks. “The Maniac” was all over the field for the Colts and will be a foundational piece to their success in the future.

Now entering his 13th season as a pro, Marshal Yanda is still one of the best offensive linemen in all of football. After missing out on the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2011 due to an injury in 2017, Yanda once again was one of the more dominant run-blockers and walls to get through in the passing game. He might have left the top spot for good, but he is up there with the best of them.

Another one of those underappreciated defensive linemen is Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett. It has been kind of theme for this list – but the normal stats just don’t tell the whole story. Jarrett’s ability to shoot upfield and create chaos for offenses make him a very valuable player and the reason the Falcons decided to put the franchise tag on him.

As far as all-around coverage guys go, I think Chris Harris Jr. is still up there with some of the best out there. When you get into the weeds of passer rating allowed, yards per reception and others you see that he deserves to be in that conversation. Especially when you look at how the Broncos expect him to play outside on base downs and then move into the slot as part of sub-packages.

Frank Clark has improved every year he has been in the league and just made the Chiefs trade a first-round pick and some extras to replace their departed edge rushers. The former Seahawk has put together 32 sacks over his last three years and been a headache for offensive tackles, as one of the highest effort guys we have coming off the corner.