Is Joe Flacco elite?
We kid, we kid. Now seven years deep into his NFL career, Flacco shouldn't really be anyone's version of the QB Rubik's cube. Flacco is what he is: A fundamentally sound, outrageously durable, mostly dependable franchise quarterback with monster playoff bona fides. That combination can make you a very rich person. Which Flacco most certainly is.
And while we feel like we've figured Flacco out, we can't say the same for the voters associated with NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2015 countdown. The series returned for its fifth season on Wednesday night, unveiling 100 through 91 on the list.
Flacco came in at No. 97, a 39-spot free-fall from where he was on last year's list. A more macro look at the countdown's history reveals that NFL players -- the only voters in this exercise -- have never really settled on Flacco's value. His rankings since the series began in 2011: 90, 74, 18, 58 and 97.
That No. 18 ranking came after Flacco tore through the playoffs en route to a Super Bowl XLVII title in 2013. Eighteen was probably too high, just as 97 feels too low. One of these years, the voters might actually get it right.
Some other takeaways from Wednesday's premiere:
» 42-year-old Adam Vinatieri makes his first appearance in Top 100 history, landing at No. 98. The voters finally recognized the old-timer after a season in which he didn't miss his first field-goal attempt until Week 17.
»Randall Cobb comes in at No. 100. Julian Edelman comes in at No. 91. Which player would you rather have? (That's what I thought.)
» Only two of the first 10 players revealed cracked this list in 2014. One is Flacco. The other is Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who has found a home on this list every year. He's up five spots from last year.
» You know you made a big impact as a rookie if you crack a players list like this. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (92) and Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley (94) made it. That got us thinking: Which rookie will place highest on this list? After Odell Beckham, of course.
- Sixteen AFC teams. Four Heroes. Three minutes per team. The latest Around The NFL Podcast breaks down the AFC. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.*
