Marcus Peters, Tyreek Hill land among NFL’s Top 100

The NFL’s Top 100 included two members of the Kansas City Chiefs as they unveiled No. 31 to 40: Marcus Peters and Tyreek Hill.

The NFL is currently counting down the 2017 edition of their Top 100, an annual ranking of the best players as voted by players from around the league. This year, the NFL said that 902 players voted on this list, the most ever, and the rules are not based on the previous year’s stats or performances, but simply about who they believe is the top players in the NFL right now, whether some are coming off of injury or what. Consider less of a Pro Bowl sort of vote and more of a “if you could redraft the NFL” sort of exercise.

The countdown helps to eat up the lighter weeks of the postseason and some Kansas City Chiefs players have already been featured on the list. Linebacker Justin Houston came in at No. 76 overall and quarterback Alex Smith entered at No. 81, his same position from the previous year. Now two more Chiefs enter the list as the numbers creep lower. This time, two of the Chiefs youngest and most promising players show that NFL players have plenty of respect despite their lack of experience.

First up was cornerback Marcus Peters, coming in at No. 32 overall. NFL.com writer Nick Shook writes:

"It’s rare that a rookie is immediately vaulted into the upper echelon of active defenders, but there was Peters, ripe for a sophomore slump. Instead, he matched his play, notching two fewer interceptions but playing just as effectively, resulting in the smallest of upward bumps in the rankings."

Pro Football Focus seems to agree with the rankings and shows in their own way how much Peters can dominate in the NFL.

On the other side of the ball is last year’s rookie sensation Tyreek Hill, coming in at No. 36 overall. From the return dynamics to the receiving touchdowns to the rushing threat, Hill proved himself to be a significant offensive asset for Andy Reid to deploy. Now that the Chiefs know what they have with Hill on the roster, expectations for the way they use him should be high heading into another year. If not for the presence of the Cowboys rookies of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot, the Chiefs likely would have had the offensive rookie of the year. Shook writes:

"What is it with the Chiefs and immediate contributors? A year after Marcus Peters burst on the scene at cornerback, Tyreek Hill did the same on the opposite side of the ball. Well, first he did it in the return game, but it didn’t take coach Andy Reid long to figure out Hill should be a regular part of his offense. The speedster finished with 61 catches for 593 yards and six receiving touchdowns, rushed 24 times for another 267 yards and three scores, added another touchdown while returning kicks 14 times for an average of 27.4 yards and also returned 39 punts for 592 yards (15.2 yards per return) and two more touchdowns."

Hill apparently approved of the inclusion as this was his response on Twitter.

Not wanting to be left out of the festivities, defensive lineman Chris Jones made a promise for next year.

Given his display of dominance, particularly down the stretch, we absolutely believe he will be a Top 100 player heading into 2018.