Grab the pitchforks and torches -- Minnesota's messiah isn't in the top 10. Heck, he's not even in the top 50, or the top 75.
That's right -- Kirk Cousins is in the 90s in this year's Top 100.
The Vikings' new $84 million man lands at No. 94 after his injury-riddled Redskins finished 7-9 and his team traded for a different starting quarterback. His numbers saw a close to 1,000 passing yards dropoff, but he tossed two more touchdowns and did so with a lesser receiving corps after DeSean Jackson left for Tampa Bay and Pierre Garcon for San Francisco, and were replaced by a nonexistent Terrelle Pryor (kudos to Josh Doctson for a solid second season, though).
None of that, nor this ranking kept Minnesota from dumping truckloads of money on him, replacing Case Keenum with Cousins for a hefty price tag. It will present us with an interesting case study: Which team's fans will get angry about this? The Redskins, who have since hitched their wagon to Alex Smith? The Vikings, who haven't seen Cousins play a single game in purple? The intrigue is undeniable.
As for the rest of the first 10, read below:
Losing a starting quarterback will have its collateral damage, even on the other side of the ball. Here we find Clinton-Dix, still an above-average safety who spent a good chunk of his season on the field far too often, because Green Bay's offense became a wet paper bag without Aaron Rodgers. His numbers were largely the same as past seasons, but a two-interception drop and being part of a team that missed the playoffs (again, hard to make it without Rodgers) and finished 23rd against the pass didn't help his ranking, which also saw a 23-place drop.
Statistically, Baldwin experienced a slight decline, falling from 1,128 receiving yards to 991 and 94 catches to 75, but he scored one more receiving touchdown (eight total) than he did in 2016. Much like Clinton-Dix, this seemes to be more about his team's performance than anything, because I don't see much of a dropoff from him. Baldwin is one bad dude, and an 11-place drop doesn't change that.
Welcome to the Top 100 for the first time, C.J. Mosley. The Ravens linebacker is growing into everything they imagined he'd be when Baltimore selected him in the first round of the 2014 draft. Mosley racked up 132 tackles (one off his career high of 133, logged in 2014), one sack and two interceptions in 2017 as part of a Baltimore defense that started drawing comparisons to its famed 2000 Super Bowl-winning unit. The Ravens didn't make the postseason (thanks, Tyler Boyd), but with Mosley as one of its key pieces, Baltimore has reason for optimism on the defensive side of the ball.
Hyde arrives for the first time on a body of work that was more than just the 2017 season. During San Francisco's darkest, quarterback-less times, Hyde was a beacon of hope, rushing for 988 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games in 2016 and piling up 938 yards and eight touchdowns in 2017. The 49ers let him walk in free agency, opting to pay Jerick McKinnon much more money, but the 235-pound bulldozer enters the Top 100 for the first time with a new team and lead role with the Cleveland Browns.
Jenkins dropped seven places but did a lot of the same things that landed him at No. 90 last year, leading a defense that improved tremendously and ended up accomplishing the goal of every team in pro sports: Win a world title. Individually, Jenkins' numbers were nearly identical to 2016, recording 76 tackles, eight passes defensed, two interceptions and a forced fumble. One difference? A Lombardi Trophy.
Look, a run on Philaldelphia Eagles! Despite losing Jason Peters to injury, Johnson and the rest of the Eagles line didn't miss a beat, clearing lanes for the league's third-best rushing offense (132.2 yards per game). The group also surrendered just 36 sacks all season. Johnson has long been a pillar at right tackle opposite Peters, and this recognition has been long overdue. A Super Bowl tends to help that.
I can hear you as I type this: How can the NFL's richest quarterback, the man with the fully guaranteed contract, finish 94th in rankings? So goes the Kirk Cousins conundrum. The Washington Redskins front office isn't the only group of executives who don't believe Cousins is special, and though he's still in the Top 100, his 24-place drop on the heels of a season that saw his team miss the playoffs (with most of the blame due to injury) seems to validate that sentiment. Statistics say he's still quite an effective quarterback (survey says that is true), with his 4,093 yards passing, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. There are also some people who say stats are for losers. The numbers are hard to argue with here.
Daniels appeared in 14 of 16 games as part of a defense that finished 22nd in yards allowed per game, but 17th against the run. Much of the credit for that middling defense is due to Daniels, who's better than the statistics show. His third straight appearance in the Top 100 and his 49-tackle, five-sack season serve as proof, even if he did fall nine places.
New York's dumpster fire of a 2017 season is a major reason why Collins saw the second-largest drop in ranking (66 places, from 28 to 92). He's far from the only one to see such a fall thanks to team struggles, which included the Giants finishing 31st against the pass. Statistically, Collins recorded three fewer interceptions (from five to two) and 21 less tackles in one less game. He also logged seven fewer passes defensed. Having said that, he's still one of the league's better safeties with the sky as his limit at 24 years old.
Bakhtiari was limited to 12 games in 2017 due to injury, but his inclusion is years in the making. The former fourth-round pick has made himself into the ideal left tackle for Green Bay in five pro seasons and, based on his ranking, created quite a reputation for himself as one of the league's rising stars at the position. While Green Bay shuffles one or two linemen out per year due to injury or free agency, Bakhtiari remains as a cornerstone for the unit.
