Offensive player rankings, Week 10: Jared Goff nears top 10

Each week in the 2017 campaign, former No. 1 overall pick and NFL Network analyst David Carr will take a look at all offensive players and rank his top 15. Rankings are based solely on this season's efforts. Now, let's get to it -- the Week 10 pecking order is below.

NOTE: Arrows reflect changes from last week's rankings.

The first three players on my list had a bye last weekend. Even without playing Sunday, Brady still leads the league in passing yards and ranks close to the top of nearly every major QB category. Next up: Von Miller and the Broncos.

Heading into their Week 9 bye, Brown and the Steelers' offense looked like the unit we all expected from the beginning. This week against the Colts, expect Brown to top his single-game season high in receiving yards (182).

After a slow September, Bell dominated October. In the five games the Steelers played in that month, he totaled 580 rushing yards and 743 yards from scrimmage. If this trend continues, I wonder what November looks like.

The Saints are averaging 269.8 passing yards, which is their lowest mark since Brees joined the team in 2006, but the 39-year-old quarterback is as efficient as ever. On Sunday, Brees completed over 80 percent of his passes for the second straight game, becoming the first QB to do that since Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers in Weeks 3-4 of the 2013 season. Brees also made history in his home stadium, throwing his 225th touchdown pass at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome -- that's the most by a quarterback in one stadium in NFL history. He has the 6-2 Saints' offense rolling and in good position heading into the second half of the season.

I was curious to see how Wentz would perform against the league's top defense, and he wasn't fazed ... at all. He became the first quarterback with at least four touchdown passes vs. Denver since Week 9 of 2014. Wentz, who leads the league with 23 touchdown passes, has been so impressive over the last five games, posting a 17:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio in that span. More impressive is how he's performed on third down this season (10 TDs, two INTs and a 125.1 passer rating). Philly's going as far as Wentz takes them this season. That could mean February.

Bucky Brooks recently wrote that Gurley is having himself an MVP-caliber campaign in Year 3, and he's not wrong. In eight games, Gurley has 161 carries for 686 yards and seven rushing TDs, including 18 runs for at least 10 yards. In the Rams' blowout victory over the New York Giants on Sunday, Gurley finished with 16 carries for 59 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and added two receptions on three targets for 45 yards. Sean McVay is using him in creative ways, and Gurley's numbers are proving it.

It finally happened: Smith threw his first interception of the season Sunday, on his 29th pass attempt against the Cowboys. But before the pick, Smith put himself in the record books as the QB with the most consecutive pass attempts without an INT (287) to begin a season in NFL history, surpassing Cleveland's Bernie Kosar (286 in 1991). Smith and the passing game weren't the issue in Sunday's loss, as the Chiefs only rushed for 68 yards all game. Though it wasn't enough to beat Dallas, he's still putting together the best and most productive season of his career.

For the second consecutive game, Hunt failed to record 100 or more yards from scrimmage, collecting just 37 rushing yards on nine carries and 24 receiving yards on four catches (five targets) against Dallas. Hunt's production has declined the last few weeks, or since the Steelers provided a blueprint for stalling the Chiefs' dynamic offense in Week 6. Defenses have quit trying to key on and stop all of their playmakers and instead have played traditional zone defense. From that loss to the Steelers onward, Kansas City has averaged 318.8 offensive yards per game -- almost 100 fewer than its per-game mark in the first five games (414.2). The Chiefs, Hunt included on the ground, haven't been the same as we saw early on.

Even with the addition of left tackle Duane Brown, the Seahawks allowed 12 pressures on the left side of the line against Washington on Sunday. Wilson kept plays alive with his legs and ultimately threw nearly one-fourth of his passes from outside the pocket. Of his 11 attempts from outside the pocket, he completed seven for 73 yards, a touchdown and a 113.1 passer rating. He's everything to this team -- leading in rushing yards (77) for the second straight week -- and will always have the Seahawks in the game at the end.

Having caught touchdown passes from 10 different quarterbacks in his career, Hopkins continues to prove his greatness. With Tom Savage under center on Sunday, Hopkins had just six receptions on 16 targets (in large part due to Savage's inaccuracy) for 86 yards and a TD, extending his TD reception streak to five straight games. Hopkins has carried the Texans' offense for much of his five-year career, and it looks like he'll continue to shoulder the load with Deshaun Watson going down last week.

Sean McVay has led the most surprising turnaround since last season, revitalizing the Rams' offense. The Rams have scored 263 points through eight games this season after putting up 224 in all of 2016. Goff's improvement in Year 2 has also been instrumental to the Rams 6-2 start. He had a career-best performance Sunday against the Giants, with four passing touchdowns in just 22 attempts and a 146.8 passer rating. There's a night-and-day difference between his play last season and this season; he's going through progressions and making good decisions, week in and week out.

The Patriots didn't play last week, and Gronk is healthy. He stays put.

Julio finished with six receptions on 12 targets for a season-high 118 receiving yards in Sunday's loss. But I know of one target he'd like to get back. Sure, it was a bad drop -- at a bad time, fourth-and-7 with 8:20 left in the game and Atlanta trailing 20-10 -- but he makes that play 99 times out of 100. The Falcons have involved their best player more over the last three weeks, and if they continue to give him the ball, they're bound to see more success.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is looking more comfortable in this offense, and Hilton's reaping the benefits. Hilton made huge plays in a must-win game for the Colts, finishing with five catches on nine targets for 175 yards and two TDs -- one for 45 yards and this 80-yarder. Indy would be smart to keep targeting Hilton, because his stats directly reflect the team's wins and losses. In wins this season, Hilton averages almost three targets, four receptions and 135.5 reception yards more per game than in losses. It's a no-brainer. Keep him involved.

My colleague Heath Evans said back in May that the Saints would likely use Kamara like they did Reggie Bush. And that's exactly what Kamara's been -- only he's been more effective than Bush as a rookie. Kamara has totaled more rushing, receiving and scrimmage yards than Bush did in his first eight games in New Orleans. On Sunday, Kamara had 152 scrimmage yards, the most by any Saints player in a game this season, and it was his first NFL game with multiple touchdowns. He's becoming a huge component of Sean Payton's offense and is a mismatch for most defenders.

Dropped out: Deshaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans (previously No. 11); LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills (No. 15).

JUST OUTSIDE THE TOP 15:

Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys proved they are a team to beat in the NFC on Sunday. Prescott, who threw for two TDs and ran for another in the win, has improved since the Week 6 bye and led his team to three straight wins.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs:Alex Smith's favorite target, Kelce hauled in seven receptions on nine targets for 73 yards and a touchdown Sunday. Kelce's doing his part, but the ground game needs to get going if K.C. wants to keep its lead in the AFC West.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: Zeke continues to come on strong as the season progresses, totaling 27 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's win. Again, the only thing keeping him down here is the question of his availability going forward.

Follow David Carr on Twitter @DCarr8.