I was intrigued by Ed’s piece on Monday highlighting the New York Giants players who made the Pro Football and Sports Network’s Top 100 list. Like some of you, my first reaction was: 32 teams, 100 players, three Giants - sounds about right if you do the math. In reality three Giants was a generous amount, considering that one of the three, Malik Nabers, played fewer than three games before suffering a season-ending injury.
That then got me to thinking: Do more great players make for a great team? If so, how many others besides those three might make next year’s list if all goes well? Let’s face it, we all get hyped up over first round draft picks, because we expect them to become great NFL players, despite the evidence that shows that only somewhat more than half the first rounders in any draft become great or even good NFL players (the evidence being fifth year options that get picked up and extensions or second contracts signed -this year it was 22 out of 32). The featured image I chose for this piece is of the two Giants first-round picks, Sisi Mauigoa and Arvell Reese, throwing out the first ball at Yankee Stadium. They haven’t played a down in the NFL yet they are treated something like royalty, just as Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart were last year.
So if the hypothesis that great players make for great teams is true, then we should expect PFSN’s list of the Top 100 of 2025 to be dominated by the best teams. Here are the teams represented most often in their top 100:
Courtesy of Pro Football Sports Network
So much for the hypothesis. Only eight of the top 12 teams in great players in 2025-26 even made the playoffs. The Lions, No. 2 on the list with seven Top 100 players, didn’t. Of those eight, the Eagles (who lead the list with nine Top 100 players), Packers, Steelers, and Chargers (each with four Top 100 players) didn’t make it out of Wild Card Weekend. Two more, the 49ers and Texans, lost in the Divisional Round. The other two, the Rams and Broncos, lost in the Conference Championship games.
Neither Super Bowl team made the PFSN Top 12 list. Super Bowl Champion Seattle had only three, just like the Giants (Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Leonard Williams, Sam Darnold). New England also had only three (Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez, and A.J. Brown, who wasn’t even a Patriot last year).
This matters (to me, anyway), because I’d like to be optimistic about the 2026 Giants, but I truly don’t know how many “stars” this team is going to have in the 2026-27 season. Let’s be optimistic about Nabers and assume that he, Burns, and Thomas make the list again. Who else might join them?
Here’s one clue: The positional breakdown of the Top 100 looks like this:
Courtesy of Pro Football Sports Network
Whatever the specifics of the PFSN methodology, it’s clear that it reflects modern views of positional value, with quarterback, wide receiver, edge, and offensive tackle leading the pack, and safety, tight end, linebacker, and center bringing up the rear. That pretty much lines up with NFL salary structure, as well. Overall, 61% of the PFSN Top 100 are offensive players, 39% defense.
Scanning the Top 100, I believe that no rookies made the list at all, but several second-year players did. It’s not hard to imagine the Giants’ two first round picks from 2025 draft moving into the Top 100 this year:
Jaxson Dart: 16 QBs made the PFSN Top 100 list, which is based on their “impact score.” Impact score for QBs is based on EPA/dropback, success rate, average net yards/attempt, completion rate over expected, and designed run value. In 2025-26, Dart ranked 23rd with an impact score of 73.4, 3.2 points below 16th-place finisher Jalen Hurts. (For perspective, Drake Maye led the NFL at 91.8.) Dart ranked 12th in rush EPA but only 23rd in overall EPA/dropback, suggesting that his passing accuracy, especially on the deep balls that have the most impact on EPA, could stand some improvement. Remember also, though, that Dart didn’t play a full season.
Abdul Carter: Carter finished 38th among edge defenders. PFSN’s methodology for edge defenders is based on “pass-rush disruption and sacks, with run defense added”. No surprise, then, that Carter, who only had a few sacks as a rookie, didn’t make the cut. Carter did however finish fourth in QB hits, which suggests that he’s not far from having a greater impact.
Beyond those two and the three that made it this year, though, the Giants are at this moment a team fairly devoid of “stars” compared to some other NFL teams. I could easily imagine this year’s first-round picks, Reese and Mauigoa, reaching that status, but we’ll have to see them play in the NFL before anointing them. Cam Skattebo is a uniquely interesting and fun running back to watch, but let’s see him make it through a full season. Maybe Colton Hood or Malachi Fields will surprise us. I’m not sure I see anyone else on the roster threatening to be a Top 100 player, though, whatever the methodology used.
In the end, though, it doesn’t matter. Ask Seattle if they care that only three of their players made the Top 100 list. They’ll take the ring instead. Just win, baby, as the late Al Davis said. A sufficient overall level of quality across the roster, combined with good coaching, may be more important in today’s NFL than having many of the best players at some positions but weaknesses elsewhere that can be exploited by opponents. The former is what the Seahawks had last season - quality across the board despite only a few of the biggest stars. If John Harbaugh and his staff can bring the best out of some of the draftees and free agent acquisitions who disappointed in 2025 and before, even if that “best” is only pretty good or at least competent, then 2026 may be a success in the win-loss column.