Some lists – whether they be in sports or in some other walk of life – are just that.
They are lists. They’re not worth the paper they’re written on, or your time to peruse them.
Then there are the lists put together by sportsillustrated.com’s Peter King, not just that site’s chief NFL writer but the best NFL writer around, anywhere. Period. In fact, anything King writes is worth reading. It’s always interesting.
And, just as importantly, he’s put a lot – a whole lot – of thought into it. It’s not something he just threw together in a way-too-short period of time.
One of his best works is the recent piece, a part of his “Monday Morning Quarterback” series, entitled, “The MMQB: Ranking The NFL’s 400 Best Players.”
OK, so how many Browns are included?
Nine.
When you do the math, if everything were equal, each of the 32 teams should each have 12.5 players. But everything is not equal.
That the Browns have 3.5 players less than that seems about right. After all, this is a team that has had nine consecutive losing seasons, 16 losing records in the 18 years of the expansion era, and is coming a franchise- and NFL-worst 1-15 mark.
None of the Browns’ rookies – or those on any team – are included on this list, not even Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Why? Because they have no official body of work in the NFL yet. With that, then, there is nothing on which to judge them on this level.
Not surprisingly, Joe Thomas, the left tackle who will someday be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is the Browns’ No. 1 player at No. 38 overall.
There are plenty of sports – 65, to be specific – before King lists another Brown in cornerback Joe Haden at No. 113. King is banking on Haden getting healthy again, and back to his old self.
Linebacker Jamie Collins, acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots last season and then signed to a new contract in the offseason, is next at No. 137. The Browns hope he’s better than that.
Right guard Kevin Zeitler, a free-agent signee in the offseason, is No. 187.
Left guard Joel Bitonio, bothered by injuries for much of his short career, is next at No. 227. That three members are in the top 227 bodes well for the offensive line.
A little bit of a surprise – but probably not to head coach Hue Jackson, who really likes him – is that running back Duke Johnson is next at 293. As such, he is ahead of a much higher-profile back, Isaiah Crowell, who is the next-to-last Brown on the list at No. 328.
The final Brown listed is defensive end Carl Nassib, the former walk-on at Penn State who is No. 376.
The top player overall is, of course, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is No. 2, followed in order by Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller at 3, Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly (4), Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell (5), Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (6), Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (7), Oakland Raiders linebacker Khalil Mack (8), Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (9) and Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown (10).
