With another round of names unveiled in NFL Network's "Top 100: Players of 2012" on Wednesday, we can't help but ask: Where will Cam Newton land?
Fifty players are off the board including a handful of household names at the quarterback position. Newton's peers have spoken, and the Carolina Panthers passer has been deemed more talented than Tony Romo, Philip Rivers and Michael Vick, among others.
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The league has taken notice of Newton's outrageous rookie campaign and lifted it up for what it was: unprecedented. I'd have no problem with Cam landing as high as No. 20, but I expect his name to be called sooner (flash prediction: No. 37).
Only a short list of players were more valuable to their team last season, but how the players vote on this list remains mysterious.
Newton played with fire in 2011. So much of what he did was based on raw skill and field intelligence. We hear people whisper about a sophomore slump for Newton, but that seems unlikely. With the benefit of a full offseason, a storm is coming to the NFC South.
Newton's name soon will be called on this list. Not because he isn't in the conversation to land much closer to the top of the heap, but the vote is a hedge against his feats of tomorrow. His fellow players are asking the same question we pose: Have we even begun to see Cam's true powers?
