ESPN.com is ranking NFL players and counting them down (follow on Twitter @ESPNNFL) from No. 100 to No. 1 on offense and on defense, 10 per day for 10 days. The top 10 on both sides of the ball will be revealed Friday, Aug. 29.
What is #NFLRank?
#NFLRank is the Twitter hashtag to use if you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along. You can also follow along @ESPNNFL and on Facebook.
How did we rank the players?
We polled 90 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, with 10 being the best regardless of position in the NFL. Ties, as denoted by an asterisk, were broken by determining which player had more ballots with the higher number (if players are tied, the player with three 10s is ranked higher than the player with two 10s; if the tied players had the same amount of highest numbers -- each with two 10s -- we moved to the next number: three 9s beats two 9s).
Here is the full list of voters from ESPN.com, ESPN TV, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider (including Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus), ESPN fantasy, ESPN locals and ESPN Stats & Information.
In the Colts' nine regular-season games after Reggie Wayne's season-ending injury, Hilton finished among the NFL's top 10 in both receptions (55) and receiving yards (671) during that span. Hilton followed that up with 224 yards, the most in a postseason game since 1999 (Eric Moulds, 240), in the Colts' wild-card win against the Chiefs.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
69
6.91
Trent Williams | @TrentW71
Washington Redskins | OT | Age: 26 | NFL experience: 5th year
2013 #NFLRank: 67
ESPN Fantasy rank: Redskins' projections
Williams has made the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons. The Redskins have the NFL's top rush offense during that span (152.3 rush yards per game).
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
68
6.92
Mike Pouncey | Team Twitter: @Dolphins
Miami Dolphins | C | Age: 25 | NFL experience: 4th year
2013 #NFLRank: 73
ESPN Fantasy rank: Dolphins' projections
Pouncey made his first Pro Bowl last season despite missing two games due to illness. Pouncey is expected to miss the first portion of the 2014 season due to hip surgery.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
67
6.96
Jason Kelce | @Jkelce
Philadelphia Eagles | C | Age: 26 | NFL experience: 4th year
2013 #NFLRank: NR
ESPN Fantasy rank: Eagles' projections
Kelce and the Eagles offensive line helped create holes for a running game that averaged an NFL-best 3.6 yards before contact per rush last season.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
66
7.04
Randall Cobb | @rcobb18
Green Bay Packers | WR | Age: 23 | NFL experience: 4th year
2013 #NFLRank: 64
ESPN Fantasy rank: WR10
Cobb missed 10 games last season with a leg injury. In 2012, Cobb caught 78 percent of his targets, second best among wide receivers (Brandon Stokley, 79 percent).
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
65
7.06
Russell Okung | @russell_okung
Seattle Seahawks | OT | Age: 25 | NFL experience: 5th year
2013 #NFLRank: 49
ESPN Fantasy rank: Seahawks' projections
In the past two seasons, quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked on 7.2 percent of dropbacks with Okung on the field, compared to 9.4 percent of plays that Okung was not on the field for. Okung missed eight games last season with a toe injury.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
64
7.07
Jordan Cameron | @jordancameron
Cleveland Browns | TE | Age: 26 | NFL experience: 4th year
2013 #NFLRank: NR
ESPN Fantasy rank: TE6
Cameron caught 73.4 percent of his targets last season, best among the 42 players with at least 100 targets. Cameron recorded just one drop all last season.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
63
7.08*
Jake Long | Team Twitter: @STLouisRams
St. Louis Rams | OT | Age: 29 | NFL experience: 7th year
2013 #NFLRank: 61
ESPN Fantasy rank: Rams' projections
Long has made the Pro Bowl in four of his five seasons, with last season being the first time he missed out. With Long on the field in 2012 for the Dolphins, Ryan Tannehill was sacked once every 18.3 dropbacks compared to once every 10.9 dropbacks when Long was off the field.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
62
7.08*
Eli Manning | Team Twitter: @Giants
New York Giants | QB | Age: 33 | NFL experience: 11th year
2013 #NFLRank: 17
ESPN Fantasy rank: QB18
Manning has started each of the Giants' past 151 games, the longest active streak among quarterbacks and second longest among offensive players (Jason Witten, 171).
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
61
7.10
Tony Romo | Team Twitter: @dallascowboys
Dallas Cowboys | QB | Age: 34 | NFL experience: 12th year
2013 #NFLRank: 62
ESPN Fantasy rank: QB13
Romo leads the NFL with a 79.4 Total QBR outside the pocket in the past three seasons, including 22 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions (coming off back surgery)
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)