NFL Top 100
The NFL Top 100 is an annual television series aired during the NFL offseason counting down the top one hundred players in the National Football League, as chosen by fellow NFL players. The rankings are based on an off-season poll organized by the NFL, where players vote on their peers based on their performance for the recent NFL season. Only players that are not retired in the next season are eligible for consideration.
In 2010, NFL Network aired The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players, an all-time top 100 list, with wide receiver Jerry Rice being voted as the number-one player. The following year, the network debuted their annual NFL Top 100, with quarterback Tom Brady being voted at the top. Brady holds the record for most number-one selections, with four. Fellow quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the only other player to have been voted number-one multiple times. Non-quarterbacks to be voted number-one include running back Adrian Peterson, defensive end J. J. Watt, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and running back Saquon Barkley.
Series overview
History
Produced by NFL Films, the series' first season was released during the 2011 NFL offseason. The series was aired on NFL Network, which released ten episodes, each revealing ten players. The first episode, revealing the players ranked #100 through #91 was aired on April 30, 2011. The list and series began with the #100 ranked player, Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb, and ended when New England Patriots quarterback and 2010 NFL MVP Tom Brady was selected as the number one ranked player.The NFL Top 100 list returned following the 2012 NFL season, running during the NFL's offseason. Each episode of the season was followed up by NFL Top 100 Reaction Show, which featured NFL Network analysts reacting and voicing their opinions on the ten most recent players revealed on the list. The series has run every offseason since, following the same countdown format and continuing to feature players and analysts reacting to the rankings. NFL Films have also released annual lists of ten players who just missed the Top 100 listing.
Players with most ''Top 100'' selections
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Denotes Pro Football Hall of Fame member | |
| ^ | Denotes active player |
| Player | Position | Years selected | Peak | |
| Aaron Rodgers^ | Quarterback | 14 | 2011–2024 | #1 |
| Tom Brady | Quarterback | 12 | 2011–2022 | #1 |
| Trent Williams^ | Offensive tackle | 12 | 2013–2019, 2021–2025 | #7 |
| Drew Brees | Quarterback | 10 | 2011–2020 | #2 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | Wide receiver | 10 | 2011–2020 | #7 |
| Tyreek Hill^ | Wide receiver | 10 | 2017–2025 | #1 |
| Travis Kelce^ | Tight end | 10 | 2016–2025 | #5 |
| Khalil Mack^ | Defensive end | 10 | 2015–2021, 2024, 2025 | #3 |
| Von Miller^ | Linebacker | 10 | 2012–2020, 2022 | #2 |
| Bobby Wagner^ | Linebacker | 10 | 2015, 2017–2025 | #13 |
| Russell Wilson^ | Quarterback | 10 | 2013–2022 | #2 |
| J. J. Watt | Defensive end | 9 | 2013–2021 | #1 |
| Aaron Donald | Defensive tackle | 9 | 2015–2023 | #1 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | Quarterback | 9 | 2011–2019 | #18 |
| Mike Evans^ | Wide receiver | 9 | 2015, 2017, 2019–2025 | #26 |
| Cameron Heyward^ | Defensive tackle | 9 | 2016, 2018–2025 | #42 |
| Cam Newton | Quarterback | 8 | 2012–2019 | #1 |
| Julio Jones | Wide receiver | 8 | 2013, 2015–2021 | #3 |
| A. J. Green | Wide receiver | 8 | 2012–2019 | #9 |
| Earl Thomas | Safety | 8 | 2012–2018, 2020 | #17 |
| Philip Rivers | Quarterback | 8 | 2011, 2012, 2014–2019 | #17 |
| Patrick Peterson | Cornerback | 8 | 2012–2019 | #18 |
| Tyron Smith | Offensive tackle | 8 | 2014–2020, 2022 | #18 |
| Cameron Jordan^ | Defensive end | 8 | 2014, 2016, 2018–2023 | #23 |
| Ndamukong Suh^ | Defensive tackle | 8 | 2011–2018 | #24 |
| Kirk Cousins^ | Quarterback | 8 | 2016–2020, 2022–2024 | #42 |
| Zack Martin | Guard | 8 | 2017–2024 | #53 |
Reception
Several NFL players have expressed negative opinions of NFL Top 100. Responding to the 2021 list, Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle D. J. Humphries called the list "bullshit" and "made up" and cast personal doubt on if players actually vote, stating that he had never voted. In 2022, former tackle Andrew Whitworth, a 3× NFL Top 100 selection himself, also asserted that not every player votes on the list, calling it a "joke" and "content filler".NFL.com writer Jeremy Bergman opined that Aaron Rodgers' inclusion and Joe Flacco's near-make on the 2024 list showed that "players continue to suffer simultaneously from recency bias and a misunderstanding of what the criteria for this exercise are, if there are any".