Peter Schrager at Foxsports.com has released his list of the top 99 players in the NFL; of the 99, four wear a blue star on their helmets.
Jason Witten lands at number 96, just ahead of Keith Bulluck of the Tennessee Titans. Putting Witten on the list seems like a must, and while arguing the merits of one of these lists equates roughly to kicking a dead horse, I would say he should be higher on the list.
Witten, in my humble opinion, is the best tight end, not as Schrager says in the NFC, but in the NFL. As it stands now, he has usurped that title from Antonio Gates, who, despite a down year in 2008, lands a solid forty spots ahead of Witten, at 53.
Marion Barber III lands at number 80, probably fitting given his oft-injured, vaguely disappointing 2008.
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Tony Romo owns the 28th spot on the list, with an interesting bit from Schrager concerning the Dallas shot-caller: “Like him or not, he's a tremendously gifted quarterback. He's got to win a big game one of these years.”
The highest ranked Cowboy, predictably, is about to be one of the highest paid defensive players in NFL history.
Demarcus Ware lands in the sixth spot on the list, a nod to his leviathan, almost-record-breaking 2008 campaign. He is the top rated defensive player, beaten out by three quarterbacks (Roethlisberger-3, Brady-2, P. Manning-1), a running back (Peterson-5), and a receiver (Fitzgerald-4).
Dallas was one of nine teams to have four representatives on the list. NFC East rivals, Philadelphia and New York also have four, while the Redskins have only three.
Carolina, Chicago and San Diego have five representatives, while New England, Arizona, Pittsburgh and Tennessee have six.
And since I know everyone in Dallas wants to know—whether they’ll admit or not—Terrell Owens landed at number 51.
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