Neil's NFL Daily: July 22, 2013

So, as promised, with my series grading the NFL’s starting line-ups at an end, you get the chance to have your say. I’ve revisited all the charts over the weekend and made minor changes to many. As training camp wears on I’ll continue this process as more information becomes available on who’s likely to start etc., and I’ll amend every team I visit during my camp tour starting on Thursday.

You can find all the updated charts here:

ARZ | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET
GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ
OAK | PHI | PIT | STL | SD | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WAS

Monday, July 22nd

The “Blue-Chip” Players

Most of the discussion so far has focused on the “elites”, so that’s where we’ll start. After looking back and checking for consistency I’ve added one and let a couple go to produce a final list. I’ve also included a comment and a “trend” symbol for performance based on the criteria below:

 Likely to get even better
 Will probably carry on at a similar level of performance (i.e. Elite)
 Could be the last year in this category as may be in decline

There are 50 players in this category at the moment, but that round number is just coincidence. This is about performance, not numbers. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to consider the list and if you feel a player has been wrongly omitted (or included) give your reasoned argument in the comments section below, and the most compelling (to us at PFF at least) will win a year’s free subscription, which will be awarded after Friday 26th. No more than 100 well-chosen words, and try to remember calling me names is not going to be very persuasive — well, not in your favor anyway.

Name	Pos.	Team	Trend	Comment
Geno Atkins	DT	CIN		How can you top the best season we've ever seen from a defensive tackle
Tom Brady	QB	NE		There were signs of decline in the playoff loss. The receiver turnover will make 2013 perhaps his biggest test.
Drew Brees	QB	NO		So how much does he need Sean Payton? Maybe 2012 was simply a performance blip.
Duane Brown	T	HOU		The best all-around tackle in 2012; our eighth-ranked pass protector and third-ranked run blocker
Jairus Byrd	S	BUF		Probably doesn't get the credit he deserves because he plays deep so frequently. Always delivers when called upon, though.
Calais Campbell	DE	ARZ		In 2011 played very well without being a real threat against the run. In 2012 became a complete player
Jamaal Charles	HB	KC		Last season was not his best with fumbles & limited receiving opportunities. Expect 2013 to be a resumption of normal service
Antonio Cromartie	CB	NYJ		Taking over from Revis he tracked the opposition's top WR too and held quarterbacks targeting him to a rating of 69.7
Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARZ		Poor QBs eventually took a toll in 2012 but Carson Palmer should reverse trend
Brandon Flowers	CB	KC		His lowest pass coverage grade since 2008 has been +9.8. An ultra consistent player who rarely gets praise he deserves
Tony Gonzalez	TE	ATL		The best receiving TE in the NFL is also among the worst blockers, but so good at the former who cares?
A.J. Green	WR	CIN		Getting better year on year. Dalton needs to improve to allow the upward trend to continue
Rob Gronkowski	TE	NE		Injury continues to inhibit the best all-around player at his position since Jason Witten was at his peak.
Mike Iupati	G	SF		A truly dominating run blocker who struggled with pass protection and penalties on occasion
Vincent Jackson	WR	TB		Makes Josh Freeman look better than he is. Never graded in the red in any individual game
Andre Johnson	WR	HOU		Rumors of him losing a step seem premature as he pulled in our highest WR grade last season
Calvin Johnson	WR	DET		More drops than usual last year but still thriving despite all the extravagant coverages thrown at him
Nick Mangold	C	NYJ		The gold standard by which all recent centers should be measured now has a couple of bad games a year
Peyton Manning	QB	DEN		Once he got his new skill set locked into muscle memory it was business as usual for him
Brandon Marshall	WR	CHI		Went on a tear to start 2012 and then fell away a tad. +15.1 in first half and “only” +6.1 in second
Evan Mathis	G	PHI		Graded positively in every single game. His unremarked genius highlights a media weakness regarding interior OL
Clay Matthews	OLB	GB		Gets it done, year in, year out, with little help. What happens when he has support?
Devin McCourty	S	NE		Elite in two roles; graded +10 in 10 games as a FS and +12.7 as a CB. Extrapolated out he'd be our third-rated S & fifth-rated CB
Gerald McCoy	DT	TB		Not only did McCoy get our second-best overall grade at DT, he did it playing a mammoth 87% of snaps.
Von Miller	OLB	DEN		Has a mild habit of not playing his best at the season's end, but still probably the best pass rusher in the game today
Chris Myers	C	HOU		Not as dominant as in 2011 when he was the best in the league; he's never been outside our Top 10 centers
Carl Nicks	G	TB		Given how well he was playing when a toe injury put him on IR everyone should feel cheated by the loss
Russell Okung	T	SEA		Graded -8.8 the first two games of the season. Only gave up 12 QB disruptions total in 16 games thereafter
Adrian Peterson	HB	MIN		An upward trend? Is that possible? Well isn't it supposed to take two years after surgery to get back to your best?
Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	NYG		The best run-defending 4-3 end still got enough pressure (54 QB disruptions) to justify his inclusion here
Darrelle Revis	CB	TB		Will Revis return to his old form? Who knows… but so good was he that he'd have to fall a long way not to grade elite.
Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB		Most people's choice as the current best quarterback in football still looks to have a lot in the tank
Ben Roethlisberger	QB	PIT		After being handed one Super Bowl he won another and makes a declining team constantly dangerous
Richard Sherman	CB	SEA		He likes to talk but has the ability to back it up. Throwing at him quarterbacks managed a 44.9 rating.
Joe Staley	T	SF		The best run blocking tackle in the NFL by a country mile and still our ninth-ranked pass protector
John Sullivan	C	MIN		A continuation of his upward trend would put next season off the scale. Will he flatten off?
Joe Thomas	T	CLE		Still the best pass protector in the game but his run blocking remains in decline
Charles Tillman	CB	CHI		As our own Sam Monson describes, could be even better out of Cover 2
Max Unger	C	SEA		Got some of the notoriety his performances deserved last year. Another man on an upward trajectory
Sebastian Vollmer	T	NE		If not for coming back a week early from injury (and suffering at hands of Wake) would have been third-ranked T
Cameron Wake	DE	MIA		I felt the move inside would negatively impact his performance. Our best ever grade for 4-3 end (+53.8) says you are wrong again Hornsby
DeMarcus Ware	OLB	DAL		Looked out of sorts while still playing well enough. A great player falling away or a blip?
J.J. Watt	DE	HOU		The best season we've ever seen from any player, any position came in 2012. It's not possible he could get better is it?
Eric Weddle	S	SD		May be even better if he was asked to play in the box more often but still looks the NFL's best all-round safety
Roddy White	WR	ATL		Probably the premier sideline receiver in the NFL. Reduced drops from 17 to four to take play to next level
Muhammad Wilkerson	DE	NYJ		He show signs in '11 before bursting out in '12. His position is a black hole for running plays & he still gets pressure vs. the pass
Kyle Williams	DT	BUF		Two very bad games against the 49ers and at Miami was all that stood between Williams and a perfect return from injury
Patrick Willis	ILB	SF		The best-graded ILB in coverage and the second-best (after Brandon Spikes) vs the run. A step change better than the rest
Antoine Winfield	CB	SEA		Controversial? Maybe, but still a Top-20 coverage corner. Never gives up penalties and makes screens to his side an act of blatant stupidity
Marshal Yanda	G	BAL		The best right guard in the game still played brilliantly after getting paid thanks to his new contract before the season began

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