Ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, the TGH staff have ranked their top 100 players for the 2021 season.
Five TGH staff members voted on their top 75 players, who were given scores based on their ranks, then sorted by their final score. The players were ranked regardless of position, and the editors broke any ties at their discretion.
Each article in this series will list 10 players at a time, with brief comments on their 2020 performances and what is expected of them in 2021. Make sure to check back every Friday for the next 10 players in our list!
Today, we list and evaluate players 90-81 in our list of the 2021 NFL Top 100.
[Check out the other entries in the 2021 NFL Top 100 here: #100-91, #90-81, #80-71, #60-51, #50-41, #40-31, #30-21, #20-11, #10-1]
Kelly is the anchor of maybe the best offensive line in the NFL. He earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2020 and is firmly planted in the Colts plans moving forward.
He has suffered a few injuries that caused him to miss time (2017 and 2018), but the fifth-year center has proven his ability to bounce back. In his Pro Bowl seasons he has had his hands on the ball on 95 percent and 92 percent of the Colts’ offensive snaps, consecutively.
Kelly takes very few penalties and blocks well for both the passing and running games. Any line would be lucky to have him, as its anchor. The Colts will go on to block well for years to come if he stays put and stays healthy. -Ben Hendricks
Julio Jones has been one of the most dominant receivers in the NFL for a while now. His speed and his excellent route running truly set him apart from other receivers. He played in only nine games this season due to a hamstring injury.
Jones was having a fantastic season before the injury, racking up 771 receiving yards and three touchdowns. If he would have played all 16 games of the 2020 season, he would have been on track for his seventh straight 1,000 yard receiving year.
Atlanta’s number one option has 60 touchdowns during his career. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and has three first team All-Pro honors. He is truly one of the best receivers in the NFL. -Matthew Brown
Defensive end Chandler Jones is one of the best at his position in the NFL. Jones did not play the whole season because of a bicep injury, but he did manage to collect 11 tackles, hit the quarterback seven times and grab a sack in 2020.
Chandler Jones is part of one of the best front sevens in the NFL. (Photo by Ross D. Franklin)
He is known for getting after the quarterback and being a perennial sack leader when healthy. During his 2019 season he had a career high 19 sacks. He also had 53 tackles, 11 of them for losses. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and has been honored with two first team All-Pro selections.
Chandler Jones is a nightmare for any NFL quarterback and will look to get his dominant career rolling again in 2021. -Matthew Brown
Entering 2019, Dak Prescott would be much higher on this list. He put together 14 game-winning drives in his first three seasons and led the Cowboys to a 32-16 combined regular season record.
Then, a step back in the win column coincided with Dak hitting 30 touchdowns for the first time as well as passing the 4,000 mark in passing yards with 4,902. Ankle surgery kept him out for most of the past season but there is no reason to doubt his ability to perform at a high level will return. -Jack Kochman
Cornerback James Bradberry earned his first Pro Bowl selection during his first season with the Giants in 2020.
He hauled in a career-high tying three interceptions on the season and forced two fumbles. His pass defense numbers also hit a career-high, knocking the ball away from its intended receiver 18 times in 2020. Bradberry is on the rise and could be a key part of a surprisingly stout New York Giants defense that started rolling last season. -Ben Hendricks
Darren Waller has had a meteoric rise from unknown spot starter to one of the best tight ends in the entire league. A focal point of the Raiders’ offense, the fifth-year tight end put up career-high in almost every category in 2020.
Along with a Pro Bowl selection, Waller racked up nine touchdowns, 1,196 yards, and 107 receptions. He did fumble twice, but having the ball as much as he does inflates the chances for a bad break. With numbers rivaling those of Kittle and Kelce, Waller will be a household name in a short while as his career continues its ascension.
The New England Patriots had one of the tougher pass defenses in the NFL in 2020. Of course Stephon Gilmore is an elite cornerback, but on the other side of the field, J.C. Jackson strung together a good season.
Jackson was opportunistic, nabbing nine interceptions (second best in the NFL) and recovering a couple fumbles, too. As a restricted free agent, the rest of the league now has a chance to evaluate the young cornerback and make a move. -Jack Kochman
What a rookie campaign for this first-round pick. Tristan Wirfs played every snap at right tackle for the Buccaneers all the way through a Super Bowl victory with Tom Brady.
According to Pro Football Reference’s approximate value for players, Wirfs was the 5th most valuable rookie in 2020. With Brady back and the Bucs looking to contend again, expect Wirfs to be a core piece of another great offense. -Jack Kochman
Jenkins was a standout on a Packers offensive line that was one of the very best in the entire NFL in 2020. Next to players like Corey Linsley and David Bakhtiari, that is no small task.
A second round pick in 2019, Jenkins made his first Pro Bowl in 2020. He played every single Packers offensive snaps, up from 89 percent he took as a rookie. His false start and holding penalties also decreased last season. Simply put, there are many teams who are paying for high-priced lineman hoping they get the same kind of production as the second-year man out of Mississippi State. -Ben Hendricks
Budda Baker has become one of Arizona’s more reliable safeties in the last few years. He had a monster 2020 season, totaling 118 tackles and two interceptions. The three-time Pro Bowler can also disrupt the quarterback, as he had three quarterback hits during the season.
Budda Baker’s ascension put him on the NFL Top 100. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
This past year was not Baker’s only impressive season. In 2019, he had 140 tackles, seven of them for a loss. His open field tackling is excellent, preventing big gains and touchdowns. Baker can be on one side of the field and dash to the other side to make an improbable tackle.
He is also familiar with playing both free safety and strong safety, which is impressive since these two positions involve different reads on the field. Baker is without a doubt one of the best defensive players on the Cardinals and should continue making an impact for them in the future. -Matthew Brown
Featured Image courtesy of Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
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