Eric D. Williams 9y

Philip Rivers, Eric Weddle, Antonio Gates make cut for ESPN's top 100 players

SAN DIEGO -- Our annual ranking of the top 100 players in the NFL on ESPN.com debuted on Tuesday.

Called NFLRank, 71 voters, including ESPN analysts, insiders, reporters, and Stats & Info NFL experts, as well as partner sites including Pro Football Focus and Football Outsiders, weighed in. Each player was rated on a 0-to-10 scale, with 10 being the best regardless of position in the NFL.

Houston Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt topped the list, followed by Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Ndamukong Suh and Rob Gronkowski.

The San Diego Chargers had three on the list -- Philip Rivers at No. 37, safety Eric Weddle at No. 52 and tight end Antonio Gates at No. 93.

Rivers is the ninth quarterback on the list, ranked behind Rodgers (2), Brady (3), Andrew Luck (12), Peyton Manning (19), Ben Roethlisberger (24), Tony Romo (31), Russell Wilson (33) and Drew Brees (34).

Rivers is too low, and did more with less overall talent in 2014. I would move him ahead of Wilson and Brees.

Weddle is the third safety on the list behind Earl Thomas (15) and Kam Chancellor (36). It’s hard to argue with that ranking, although Weddle is more versatile than either of those players.

Thomas played 838 snaps at free safety in 2014, and Weddle played 490 snaps at free safety, 350 at strong safety and 111 as a slot defender.

Gates is the sixth tight end on the list behind Gronkowski (6), Jimmy Graham (23), Jason Witten (54), Greg Olsen (74) and Julius Thomas (75). I would move Gates ahead of Olsen and Thomas.

Gates had more touchdowns (12) than Olsen (6) and Witten (5) combined, and is a better blocker than Graham or Thomas.

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