If you read this space on a regular basis, you know that I am a huge fan of the NFL’s Top 100 Player rankings, which are determined by votes from roughly 1,000 current NFL players sending in their list of their top 20 players in the league, in order. There is nothing empirical about it. It’s completely subjective, and players get worked up about it. That’s the best part.
For whatever reasons, this summer the NFL is counting the list down in excruciatingly slow fashion, releasing two players per day until sometime in early September. This week, they began dipping into the players between 40 and 31. Thus far, prior to this week, two Houston Texans have appeared on the list, with RB Joe Mixon coming in at 58th and DE Will Anderson coming in at 46th.
On Monday, though, we got one of the bigger reveals, as QB C.J. Stroud came in at 39th. Here is the tribute video for the Texans’ quarterback:
What a sophomore slump for CJ Stroud… lands him all the way at 39 on the NFL Top 100 List
Anyone who sold their stock sold too soon
pic.twitter.com/HDZjq3MZE8
— Dylan Mehl (@DylanMehl) August 11, 2025
Okay, a few thoughts on this placement for Stroud:
Stroud drops 19 spots, and still I’m happy
Last season, after a rookie year in which he was named Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud was placed 20th on this list, one of the highest finishes ever for a player coming off his rookie season. On the surface, a 19 spot drop doesn’t look or feel good, but considering the statistical regression Stroud had in 2024, where almost all of his numbers went backwards, 39th is not bad. I think it’s a sign of respect from his peers that his numbers were fairly average, and yet he is still viewed as one of the top eight quarterbacks in the game.
Here are the quarterbacks still left
How do I know he’s one of the top eight quarterbacks on this list? Well, process of elimination, of course. If you cross reference the names that have come up thus far with most other power rankings, it’s fairly obvious that these are the seven quarterbacks who will be named ahead of Stroud in the coming days and weeks — Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, Jalen Hurts. I have no idea what order they’re in, but I’d be shocked if the top four quarterbacks were not some permutation of Mahomes, Allen, Burrow and Jackson. That’s how every list has gone this offseason.
Here are the Texans I still expect to hear from
As mentioned above, Mixon and Anderson, so far, join Stroud on this list as Houston Texan honorees. I would expect three more names to pop onto this list over the ensuing days. I would expect Nico Collins to be named within the week, and I would expect Danielle Hunter this week, as well. I think both feel like they are among the 35th to 30th best players in the game. Beyond that, I think CB Derek Stingley will be named within the top 20, and possibly threatening the top 15. He is the top cornerback in the game.
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