ESPN.com is ranking NFL players and counting them down (follow on Twitter -- @ESPNNFL) from No. 100 to No. 1 on offense and on defense, 10 per day for 10 days.
What is #NFLRank?
#NFLrank is the Twitter hashtag to use if you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along.
You can also follow along here: @ESPNNFL (NFL on ESPN) and on Facebook.
How did we rank the players?
We polled 63 experts to rate each player on a 0-to-10 scale, with 10 being the best regardless of position in the NFL. Ties, as denoted by an asterisk, were broken by determining which player had more ballots with the higher number (if players are tied, the player with three 10s is ranked higher than the player with two 10s; if the tied players had the same amount of highest numbers -- each with two 10s -- we moved to the next number: three 9s beats two 9s).
Here is the full list of voters from ESPN.com, ESPN TV, ESPN Radio, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider (including Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus), ESPN Fantasy, ESPN Boston, ESPN Chicago, ESPN Dallas, ESPN New York and ESPN Stats & Information.
In the past two seasons, Rodgers has thrown 70 more touchdown passes (84) than interceptions (14). He has 57 wins, including playoffs, in his first five seasons as the Packers starter. That's the same number Brett Favre had in his first five seasons with Green Bay.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
2
9.89
Calvin Johnson | @Bigplaycj
Detroit Lions | WR | Age: 27 | NFL Experience: 7th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: WR1
Johnson set an NFL record with 1,964 receiving yards in 2012 and also became the first player in league history to top 1,600 receiving yards in consecutive seasons. He has been targeted a league-high 355 times over the past two seasons.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
Megatron had a historic season in 2012 but that doesn't mean he should be No. 2.
-- Football Outsiders
3
9.87
Adrian Peterson | @AdrianPeterson
Minnesota Vikings | RB | Age: 28 | NFL Experience: 7th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: RB1
In 2012, Peterson had 1,019 rush yards after contact, which would have made him the NFL's 16th-leading rusher. In the past four seasons, Peterson has 2,918 rush yards after contact, the most of any NFL player.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
Peterson nearly set an NFL single-season rushing record, but he shouldn't be ahead of three QBs.
-- Football Outsiders
4
9.57
Tom Brady | Team Twitter: @Patriots
New England Patriots | QB | Age: 36 | NFL Experience: 14th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: QB4
In 2012, Brady registered a 77.1 QBR, his highest since we started keeping the stat in 2008. He had only eight interceptions, tied for the second-lowest full-season total of his career.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
5
9.51
Peyton Manning | Team Twitter: @DenverBroncos
Denver Broncos | QB | Age: 37 | NFL Experience: 16th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: QB3
Manning has 12 seasons of more than 4,000 yards passing, more than any QB in NFL history. He needs 1,875 passing yards to pass Dan Marino (61,361) for second on the NFL's all-time list.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
6
9.21
Drew Brees | @drewbrees
New Orleans Saints | QB | Age: 34 | NFL Experience: 13th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: QB2
Brees threw for 5,177 yards in 2012 as he became the only player in NFL history to top 5,000 in consecutive seasons. Brees also established an NFL record by throwing a TD pass in 54 consecutive games.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
7
9.17
Larry Fitzgerald | @LarryFitzgerald
Arizona Cardinals | WR | Age: 29 | NFL Experience: 10th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: WR11
The sure-handed Fitzgerald has been targeted 306 times over the past two seasons but has dropped only two balls. That drop percentage of 0.7% is the lowest among wide receivers over that span.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
8
9.15
Rob Gronkowski | @RobGronkowski
New England Patriots | TE | Age: 24 | NFL Experience: 4th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: TE2
Since his rookie season in 2010, Gronkowski leads the NFL with 38 TD receptions. That's the third-highest total in NFL history for any player in his first three seasons, trailing only Randy Moss (43) and Jerry Rice (40).
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
9
8.90
A.J. Green | @AJGreen18
Cincinnati Bengals | WR | Age: 25 | NFL Experience: 3rd year
ESPN Fantasy rank: WR2
Green caught a TD pass in nine straight games in 2012 to tie Lance Alworth for the third-longest single-season streak in NFL history. Like Alworth, the only players with longer streaks are also Hall of Famers: Jerry Rice and Elroy Hirsch.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)
It's tough to say someone in the top 10 is underrated, but Green is the second-best WR on this list.
-- Football Outsiders
10
8.84*
Joe Thomas | Team Twitter: @Browns
Cleveland Browns | OT | Age: 28 | NFL Experience: 7th year
ESPN Fantasy rank: Browns projections
Thomas hasn't missed a game and has been named to the Pro Bowl in all six of his NFL seasons.
-- ESPN Stats & Information (@ESPNStatsInfo)