To preview the 2020 NFL season, we asked over 50 leaders, coaches, scouts and league players to help us stack the top 10 players in 11 positions (sorry, special teams). The results may surprise you. They surprised me.
Here’s how it worked: the voters gave their best 10 to 15 players to a position, and then we compiled the results and ranked the candidates based on the number of votes in the top 10, the composite average, interviews and the research. We had several links, so we broke them by isolating the meeting for two with additional votes and follow-up calls. Each section is filled with voter quotes and nuggets about every guy – even honorable mentions.
The goal is to identify the best players right now for 2020. It is not a five-year projection or a success prize. Who is the best today? Simple enough.
We will deploy one position per day over the next 11 days. Here is the schedule:
Week 1: ends tight (July 7); quarters (July 8); running backs (July 9); wide receivers (July 10); offensive tackles (July 11)
Week 2: domestic offensive linemen (July 12); Edge Defenders (July 13); interior defensive linemen (July 14); off-line linebackers (July 15); half corner (July 16); security (July 17)
Quick passes, pass options and moving shifts have forced teams to improve their male coverage. Perhaps more than ever, general managers and coaches are prioritizing players with human covering traits, with the ability to follow when needed.
When voting for the top 10 corner backs, the tiebreakers generally went to players with this ability, which complicates things because the league has so many good corners in a variety of different systems and roles.
Most of the players below can be real outside guys who bring balance to the back of a defense.
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