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NFL Network wrapped up their Top 100 Players of 2017 list, and, as suspected, the Detroit Lions only had one player make an appearance on the list. Though Matthew Stafford placed at No. 31—a very respectable position for the quarterback—I’m sure many Lions fans felt slighted by the list. No Darius Slay. No Golden Tate. No Ezekiel Ansah.
But for a team that just barely eked its way into the playoffs and only had a single Pro Bowl player (kicker Matt Prater), it couldn’t have come as a huge surprise that Detroit was nearly shut out.
However, that could all change next year. Today’s Question of the Day is:
How many Detroit Lions players do you think will make next year’s list of the Top 100 Players of 2018?
My answer: Three. Matthew Stafford is the given. As for the other two, I’m going to go with Ameer Abdullah and Darius Slay.
Slay has to be one of the Lions that has been closest to making the list. The NFL is filled with a ton of talented cornerbacks, so it has been hard for Slay to make noise nationally without the interceptions to back it up. I don’t know if this will be the year that Slay lives up to his “Big Play” moniker and finishes among the league-leaders in interceptions, but he seems to only be gaining more and more respect as his career goes on.
As for Abdullah, this is admittedly a big leap of faith. I really think he’s in for a big year in 2017. Not only do I think he’ll be the first Lions back to reach 1,000 rushing yards since Reggie Bush, but I think he’ll have a very significant role in the passing game as well. I’m not saying he’ll be playing at a David Johnson level, but I’m also not saying that he won’t.
Your turn.