2024 NFLTR Top 100 Players: 80-71

By
Logan Ulrich
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Our 2024 NFLTR Top 100 Players series continues today with players 80-71.

Cooper Kupp

This is the third year of the series giving our take on the league’s top 100 players, compiled rigorously using both traditional and advanced statistics, awards, positional value, career trajectory and a dash of intuition.

We’ll be rolling these out over the next couple of weeks to pass the time until training camp, so keep an eye out for the rest of the 2024 NFLTR Top 100!

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80: Texans WR Stefon Diggs

Last year, Diggs was the No. 19 player on this list and in the conversation as one of the best receivers in football. For the first half of the season or so, he was living up to that billing. Diggs went over 100 yards receiving five times in the first six games and scored five touchdowns in that span. It was the best six-game stretch of his career. 

But something happened over the second half of the season. After getting double-digit targets in six of the first eight games, Diggs hit that mark just twice over the final nine. He didn’t have another 100-yard receiving the rest of the season and was held under 60 yards seven times, plus in both playoff games. He still finished the season with 107 receptions for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns but something was undeniably different and it’s not clear exactly what happened.

The Bills’ offense changed with the switch from Ken Dorsey to Joe Brady, focusing more on running the ball and spreading targets around. Diggs’ average depth of target also dropped from prior seasons, showing a change in how he was used. But there were also concerning signs surrounding Diggs himself. He finished with his lowest overall score in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics since 2017 by a decent gap, notching a 52. Diggs’ open score went from 83 in 2022 to 69 in 2023. 

There were a lot of reasons the Bills felt it was time to move on from Diggs this offseason and trade him to the Texans but the drop in production has to be considered a factor. If Diggs is the same receiver he was in the first half of the year, this ranking is ludicrously low. But now that he’s on the other side of 30 years old, it’s possible we’ve seen the first step in the inevitable decline that comes for every player. 

Obviously the Texans don’t think that will happen. And even a diminished Diggs could remain one of the top receivers in football and a productive part of what looks like a fearsome Houston passing attack. 

79: Rams WR Cooper Kupp

In the two years since Kupp recorded one of the top five single seasons ever for a wide receiver, things have not come as easily for the veteran wideout. Injuries, including nagging ankle sprains and to his hamstring, have limited him to 21 of a possible 34 games and hampered him even when he’s been on the field. In 2023, Kupp played 12 games and recorded 59 receptions on 95 targets for 737 yards and five touchdowns. His catch percentage of 62.1 percent was the worst of his career. 

A deeper look doesn’t paint a much better picture. Kupp has never fared super well in ESPN’s receiver tracking metrics. Even his ludicrous 2021 season is only tied for 15th best in ESPN’s overall receiver score for all seasons from 2017-2023. But last year was his lowest overall score in his career at 48, and his open score (47), catch score (50) and YAC score (50) were all average to below average. 

So why is Kupp still in the top 100? For one, his production speaks for itself. When healthy, Kupp remains difficult for opposing defenses to stop even when they know he’s getting the ball. His game is not built on elite athleticism, so he should be able to remain productive as long as he can get past the ankle and soft tissue injuries, which should be an attainable goal. With a reloaded offense to help take attention off of Kupp, the veteran has a great opportunity for a major bounceback season in 2024. 

78: Bears DE Montez Sweat

Chicago’s trade for Sweat at the midseason deadline last year proved to be one of the most impactful additions of the 2023 season. Before the Sweat trade, the Bears’ defense allowed an average of 341 yards per game, 262 against the pass and 79 against the run, gave up 27.2 points per game and forced nine turnovers in eight games. 

After the trade, Chicago’s defense improved overall to 309 yards per game and cut the passing yards allowed to 216 per game. The rush defense got slightly worse, going up to 93 yards per game, but scoring defense and turnovers improved dramatically. In the final nine games after trading for Sweat, the Bears allowed just 17.8 points per game and forced 19 turnovers, as well as upping their sack total from 10 in the first eight games to 20 over the final nine. Probably not coincidentally, the Bears went from 2-6 to 7-10, though getting QB Justin Fields back from injury didn’t hurt either. 

Sweat had six of those sacks himself and finished the season with 12.5 including his first eight games in Washington. It was Sweat’s first double-digit sack season of his career and he was rewarded with a lucrative long-term deal from the Bears after the trade. Not only was Sweat an impact player, but his arrival helped put everyone else on the Bears’ defense in a better position to succeed, which led to the unit’s overall improvement. 

77: Buccaneers WR Mike Evans

As Evans entered his age-30 season poised to catch passes from Baker Mayfield instead of Tom Brady, it looked like the veteran would have his work cut out to preserve his streak of thousand-yard receiving seasons which stretched nine years from when he was drafted back in 2014. He also was entering the final year of his contract and Tampa Bay wasn’t in a big rush to extend him before he played out the 2023 season. 

Yet Evans responded to the doubts in a huge way, catching 79 passes for 1,255 yards and a league-leading 13 touchdowns. He was as dominant as ever and earned second-team All-Pro honors while helping Tampa Bay win the NFC South and make a run to the divisional round of the playoffs.

This offseason, both Evans and Mayfield cashed in with huge contracts. They’ll be looking to extend Evans’ streak of thousand-yard seasons even further. 

76: Jets WR Garrett Wilson

Wilson’s first two seasons have unfortunately been defined by instability and incompetency in the offense around him marring his clear and obvious talent. Last year was supposed to be his coming out party but that was one of the many things changed by QB Aaron Rodgers‘ unfortunate Achilles injury. A year after recording 83 receptions for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, Wilson had 95 receptions for 1,042 yards and three scores. 

There is still a step forward Wilson needs to make with his game. His catch and YAC score (via ESPN) dropped from his first to his second year and his PFF receiving grade was 73.5 in 2023 after coming in at 85.9 as a rookie. That said, his open score improved from 77 to 82 and the bigger problem by far has been the quarterback play.

Wilson has clearly been frustrated by how his first two seasons have played out but has overall handled things well for a young player. He could reap the rewards of that patience this coming year as long as Rodgers stays healthy. 

75: Texans CB Derek Stingley

In his second season after being picked No. 3 overall by the Texans, Stingley had a breakout season. He picked off five passed and broke up 13 others. PFF gave him the fifth-best coverage grade of all qualifying cornerbacks and the ninth-best grade overall while also tracking him with some impressive stats like a 54.2 completion percentage allowed and a 21 percent forced incompletion rate — tied for fifth-best in the NFL. 

Health continues to be the major hangup for Stingley. After playing only nine games as a rookie, Stingley was limited to 11 games in 2023 and had a stint on injured reserve due to his hamstring. A similar issue plagued him as a rookie and he had repeated foot and ankle issues in college at LSU. Stingley has the talent to assert himself as one of, if not the best, cornerbacks in the game but he has to stay on the field to do so. 

74: Browns CB Denzel Ward

Ward has been a picture of consistency for most of his career since being drafted fifth overall by the Browns out of Ohio State. He’s had double-digit pass breakups in all six of his seasons, between two and three interceptions every year and just made his third Pro Bowl in 2023. His ability in man coverage was a huge key for Browns DC Jim Schwartz in his first year in Cleveland and a big reason the Browns finished with the No. 1 defense. 

Per PFF’s charting, Ward was targeted 68 times and allowed just 35 receptions for a 51.5 completion percentage that ranked No. 8 out of 132 qualifying cornerbacks. He surrendered a passer rating of only 77.3, 22nd out of 132 corners. 

If there’s a bone to pick, it’s that Ward is banged up too often. He’s never played a full season and played a career-low 79 percent of the snaps in 2023. However, when he’s on the field (which is more often than not) he’s a key piece of the Browns’ defense. 

73: 49ers CB Charvarius Ward

This Ward isn’t nearly as much of a household name as the other one on this list or the other cornerbacks in this top 100. But he was one of the two or three best cornerbacks in football in 2023 and has been a good football player for a couple of seasons now. 

Ward entered the league as an undrafted free agent, which helps explain some of the lack of buzz. He joined the 49ers on a big-money deal in 2022 and has been a major part of the team’s elite success the past two years with two NFC title game appearances and a Super Bowl appearance. Ward has played like a No. 1 cornerback, and finally was able to put up the ball production to prove it in 2023 with five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, and an eye-popping 23 pass deflections. 

Opponents went after Ward 101 times which was tied for the ninth-most targets for any single cornerback last year per PFF. He surrendered only 55 catches for 653 yards and three touchdowns, which works out to a completion percentage allowed of 54.5 percent and a 63.7 passer rating allowed — fifth-best in the NFL. In fact, Ward hasn’t given up a completion percentage above 60 percent since his rookie year with the Chiefs. 

For my money, he’s the most underrated cornerback in football right now. 

72: Saints LB Demario Davis

The ageless wonder, Davis turned in another top season despite being 34 years old and has shown no signs of slowing down. Last year was his fifth-straight All-Pro season and his second Pro Bowl nod as he steered a Saints defense that finished inside the top 10 in scoring for the fourth straight year.

Davis stuffed the stat sheet once again with 121 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, a career-high 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one recovery and four pass deflections. He earned his second-highest-ever grade from PFF, with some statistical highlights from that service including 48 stops and a completion percentage allowed of 66 percent. That might not sound great but it ranked fourth out of 88 qualifying linebackers in 2023. 

The veteran linebacker has had a Benjamin Button-style career with all of his best seasons coming the older he gets. It defies expectation, particularly at a position as grueling as linebacker. At this point, it seems like the biggest factor for Davis continuing his career is how long he wants to. 

71: Bears CB Jaylon Johnson

Contract years can push players to new heights and it seems that might have been the case with Johnson. The former second-round pick entered the 2023 season with a reputation as a solid cornerback but perhaps not a true No. 1 option. It didn’t help that he had just one interception in his first three seasons, even if interception totals can fail to capture the true impact of cornerbacks these days. 

Johnson quieted those doubts, however, and secured himself a bag with a phenomenal 2023 season. He picked off four passes and returned one of them for a touchdown, answering the biggest question about his game. Johnson added 10 pass deflections and a forced fumble en route to a second-team AP All-Pro nod and his first career Pro Bowl. 

The advanced stats might be even more impressive, however. Johnson was PFF’s top cornerback in both overall grade and coverage grade. He was targeted only 50 times and gave up just 25 catches for a completion percentage that was fifth-best in the league. He gave up a paltry 195 yards and was beaten for just one touchdown, resulting in a passer rating allowed of 33.3 which was 20 points better than the next closest competitor. 

Following that up will be the next challenge, as cornerback play can be notoriously volatile. But 2023 was a legitimately remarkable season and Johnson deserves everything he got as a result. 

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