For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Issac Newton wasn’t alive when people were making lists of the NFL’s best and most dominant players, but he had that statement right, and it applies to any subjective list about anything, whether we’re discussing NFL players or different brands of bug spray.
So, when it comes to the list of the NFL’s 50 most dominant players in the game today, put together by out estimable group of editors and writers, there are arguments for an against some of the people who made the cut, no matter how great they may be. I’ve already made my case for six players who I think should have made this Top 50 but didn’t, and to make things entirely fair, here are six players who did make the Top 50 that maybe should not have.
You can read both parts of the list right here!
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
This was a tough one. If this Top 50 was more about the guys due for career-best seasons in 2023, Jackson might be Top 10. But it wasn’t — it was about the most dominant players coming into the 2023 season, and based on his last two campaigns, I have a tough time putting Jackson anywhere neat No. 19, which is where he finished. Jackson has perhaps his best receiver corps to date, and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken has the tools to de-compress a passing game that has been less than stellar overall under Greg Roman of late.
Beyond that, there’s the fact that Jackson has missed a total of nine games in the last two seasons due to injury (five in 2022), and when he was on the field, he ranked 19th in DYAR among starting quarterbacks, and 14th in DVOA. That’s okay, but is it dominant? I have trouble ascribing that particular adjective to Jackson’s last two seasons, no matter how bullish I am on his near future.
Jalen Ramsey, CB, Miami Dolphins
Ramsey finished 21st on our list, and while that’s deserved to a point when he’s at his best, there are also too many instances these days when that’s not quite good enough. Last season — his final season for the Rams before the trade that sent him to the Dolphins — Ramsey allowed 56 catches on 86 targets for 712 yards, 234 yards after the catch, seven touchdowns, four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 98.6.
Not ideal, but maybe you can slough that off and go to the tape and balance it out. Here’s the problem there — Ramsey’s performance in man coverage last season aligned in metrics and tape, and it was highly problematic, to say the least. When in man coverage last season, Ramsey allowed nine catches on 11 targets for 145 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 149.1.
Yes, Ramsey has been a great player for the most part throughout his career. But as important as man coverage is in today’s NFL, calling a cornerback “dominant” when he nearly allows a perfect passer rating when he’s playing it seems a bit much.
Aaron Rodgers, QB, New York Jets
Our group ranked Rodgers as the 38th-most dominant player on the list, which is an indication that we all know something’s up. In most years over the last decade, he would have been top-3 without a second thought. And while there was the matter of his thumb injury in 2022, we’re still dealing with a 40-year-old quarterback who’s coming off one of his worst seasons since he became an NFL starting quarterback in 2008.
Last season, Rodgers completed 350 of 542 passes for 3,695 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passer rating of 91.1. That’s his fifth-lowest completion rate (64.6%) over his career as a starter since 2008. It’s his third-lowest touchdown rate (4.8%), his fourth-highest interception rate (2.2%), his lowest Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt (5.95), and his lowest passer rating (91.1).
Moreover, the before-and-after with the thumb injury was less pronounced than anybody would prefer. In Weeks 1-5, he completed 114 of 168 passes (67.9%) for 1,157 yards (6.9 yards per attempt), eight touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 95.8. In Weeks 6-18, after the injury, Rodgers completed 236 of 374 passes (63.1%) for 2,358 yards (6.8 YPA), 18 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a passer rating of 89.0.
So… maybe he comes back from all of that in a new city and silences all the doubters. It wouldn’t surprise me, but those numbers don’t say “Top 50” to me in any way, shape, or form.
Quenton Nelson, OG, Indianapolis Colts
Through most of his career, since the Colts selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft. Nelson has justifiably been at the top of, or on a very short list of, the NFL’s best guards. At his best, there’s nobody in the league that combined technique, athleticism, power, and the desire to just beat the living crap out of people in quite the same package.
But Nelson was not at his best in 2022, and that’s worth mentioning, because as much as I’d love for his ranking of 42nd on our Top 50 to stand, I just can’t. In his first four seasons, Nelson allowed just four sacks… combined. Last season, he gave up five, along with six quarterback hits, and 20 quarterback hurries. No, it didn’t help that quarterback Matt Ryan was a sitting duck in the pocket a lot of the time, and there are different reasons for allowed sacks, but Nelson’s tape told an unfortunate story far more than once.
I am not at all saying that Nelson is “done,” or past his prime. But if you’re going to be considered dominant in the present tense, you have to have had a better season than Nelson just did.
Chris Lindstrom, OG, Atlanta Falcons
Nothing against Lindstrom, who ranked just below Quenton Nelson as the 43rd player on our list. I love the addition of a guard, especially a guard who I believe to be underrated in a national sense. And Lindstrom had am amazing season in 2022, allowing two sacks, one quarterback hit, and six quarterback hurries in 517 pass-blocking reps for a team with a quarterback situation that… well, wasn’t great.
The only reason I’m pushing Lindstrom off this list is that I believe that Joel Bitonio of the Browns is the best guard in football right now, and somebody’s gotta go.
Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens.
Tucker may be the best kicker in NFL history, but he was ranked as the NFL’s 48th-most dominant player on our list. and he’s a kicker. Do I need to go any further here?
